Winter and Your Skin
Winter is hard! Between frigid temperatures, high winds, and dry air, keeping your skin moisturized and healthy during the colder months can be quite the challenge. After all, when the environment around you begins to cool, humidity drops, pulling critical moisture from your skin. And without even realizing it, your skin can become dry, dull, and uncomfortable.
So, despite all the cozy trappings of the season, such as snow days, coffee by the fire, and the holidays, it can still be incredibly difficult to keep your skin functioning at its best. However, if you’re looking for the best techniques for maintaining your skin’s luminance even in the coldest parts of the winter, we’ve got you covered! Below, we’ll dive into some of our favorite winter skincare tips that will leave you feeling warm, invigorated, and radiant!
Why Are Winter Skincare Routines Necessary?
While sweater weather and crisp air are vastly enjoyable aspects of winter, your skin might not feel the same way. Cold temperatures, wind, and low humidity can wreak havoc on the skin, causing dry, flaky skin and irritation.
These issues can also be exacerbated by lower light levels, changes in diet, and thicker clothing that can be abrasive to the skin. For example, colder temperatures can constrict small capillaries in the dermis that reduce the flow of oxygen and reparative nutrients to your skin. Cold weather is also known to reduce your skin’s ability to produce lipids, which creates a moisture barrier along the epidermis.
And it’s not only cold temperatures that cause so much trouble for skin’s health! Heat is also a major issue. Warmer building interiors and climate systems can significantly reduce moisture in the air, allowing your skin to dry out, crack, and become irritated.
What Are the Signs of Dry Skin?
Dry skin, or xerosis, occurs when your skin loses crucial levels of moisture. Symptoms of this can range in terms of severity, and can result in:
• Flakiness
• Redness
• Irritation
• Raw Skin
• Stinging
• Rough Texture
• Cracking
• And More
Preventing Dry Skin with a Skin Treatment Routine
Despite xerosis being an uncomfortable reality for many folks, developing a winter skincare routine can allow you to fight back against elemental hazards that reduce your skin’s elasticity, texture, and glow.
Let’s take a look at a few ways to boost your skin’s health:
1. Moisturize After Washing
One of the most important parts of any skincare routine is keeping your skin clean by washing. However, washing your face without taking steps to moisturize can actually work against your efforts, stripping the skin of natural oils and allowing it to dry out. That’s why it’s important to lock the moisture in with a moisturizer following your daily face wash.
2. Use Overnight Treatments
Using an overnight skin treatment and serums can work to heal your skin and lock in moisture that would otherwise be lost while you sleep.
3. Use SPF Appropriate Sunscreen
Yes, even during the darker, dreary parts of winter, harmful UV rays can penetrate cloud cover and damage your skin, reducing its moisture and causing wrinkles, lines, spots, and more. However, by using the right SPF-level sunscreen and minimizing your exposure to the sun, you can significantly increase your skin’s health during the winter.
4. Use a Humidifier
Having a humidifier on hand can help add moisture back into the air that is often lost due to indoor heating. Increasing the ambient humidity can have a tremendous effect on your skin’s ability to retain moisture.
5. Reduce the Temperature
As we’ve mentioned several times, warmer internal temperatures and heating units can pull critical moisture from the air, allowing your skin to become dry and irritated. But by reducing the ambient temperature, you can minimize this occurrence.
6. Minimize the Use of Exfoliants and Scrubs
While exfoliation and scrub products are fine to occasionally drop into your skincare routine, overuse of exfoliants can dry out the skin and cause flaking and irritation.
7. Use Occlusives as Part of Your Routine
Emollients can help keep your skin smooth and allow you to develop a well-moisturized skin barrier, but incorporating occlusive ingredients can provide additional help. Some examples of products with occlusive ingredients include:
• Cocoa Butter
• Rosehip Oil
• Jojoba Oil
• Shea Butter
• Petroleum Jelly Products
8. Hydrate from the Inside
One of the best ways to preserve moisture in your skin is by drinking enough fluids. After all, your body is heavily comprised of water! Failing to drink enough water can affect your skin’s appearance and increase susceptibility to moisture loss. As such, you’ll want to drink plenty of water to improve your skin’s health, texture, and radiance.
9. Maintain a Healthy Diet
Much like your water intake, what you eat can have a big impact on your skin’s health. Along with nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, foods with high levels of antioxidants can help protect skin from cellular damage, increase moisture retention, and improve overall skin health.
Winston Salem Dermatology Are Your Dedicated Skincare Experts
Whether you’re suffering from a troubling skin condition, or you simply seek to improve your skin’s youthful glow, Winston Salem Dermatology has the expertise to help! We have years of experience providing cosmetic and dermatological services to North Carolina residents and can help you!
We proudly offer a wide range of treatments and services that can improve your skin’s health, including microdermabrasion, microblading, IPL therapies, cosmetic laser procedures, chemical peels, and more.
In addition to our cosmetic offerings, our dermatology services include acne treatments and help with rosacea, eczema, dermatitis, and skin cancers, among others.
So, if you suffer from dry, irritated, dull skin, give Winston Salem Dermatology a call at (336) 774-8636! Our experts are waiting to help you improve your skin’s vibrancy, elasticity, and luster.