Winter can be a difficult season for skin health, and the change in temperature and conditions may bring on a dry, flaky, dull complexion if you don’t modify your winter skincare routine to include quality, hydrating, enriching products.
While you may not have to drastically and completely reformulate your routine, a few key modifications will help your skin survive the cold, dry weather and remain healthy and glowing. In this article, we’ll tell you exactly what changes you need to make to ensure your daily skincare regimen matches the demands of the winter season.
How Does the Winter Affect Your Skin?
The cold winter temperature and winds remove hydration from your skin and disrupt the moisture barrier, which can easily dry out your complexion. The climate strips your skin of the healthy oils it requires to stay moisturized and vibrant.
During the winter season, your complexion may take on a dull, lustreless appearance, and you might notice redness, irritation, itchiness, and flaky skin. To make it even more difficult, indoor environments tend to be hot and stuffy in winter as we use heaters and shut windows, further contributing to dry skin.
Therefore, it's essential to protect your skin from the elements. In addition, incorporating products with deeply hydrating ingredients into your winter skincare routine can help combat the harsh weather.
The Key Skincare Ingredients To Use During Winter
When you’re building your new winter skin care routine for dry skin, look for products that include some of the following ingredients:
- Hyaluronic Acid - This substance exists naturally in the skin, and it draws massive amounts of moisture to hydrate your complexion, eliminate dry skin, and plump to smooth fine lines and wrinkles.
- Retinol - As a Vitamin A derivative, retinol exfoliates the pores and increases cell turnover for a fresher, more radiant complexion. It also stimulates collagen production to tighten the skin and smooth fine lines and wrinkles.
- Vitamin C - This powerful antioxidant repairs skin barrier damage, protects from UV rays, and slows melanin production to fade dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
- Ceramides - These are fatty acids that exist in the outer layer of the skin and they protect the moisture barrier, promoting deep hydration.
- Niacinamide - Vitamin B3 prevents moisture loss from the skin barrier, and it also soothes the complexion and reduces irritation, promotes an even skin tone, and protects against UV rays and other environmental stressors.
- Caffeine - This ingredient improves blood flow to your skin to revitalize dull complexion, and it’s packed with antioxidants that repair damage to the skin barrier.
Effective Skincare Routine Tips For Winter Skincare
You can combat the extra stress of the cold weather on your skin by making some simple shifts in your regular skincare routine to boost hydration and promote health and glow. For best results, follow these basic winter skincare tips.
1. Use a Cleanser
Naturally, you should continue to cleanse your skin twice daily as the first step in your routine, but in the winter it’s a good idea to put away products that have drying ingredients like salicylic and glycolic acid.
Switch your foam cleanser with a rich cream, oil, or balm which deeply moisturizes while removing dirt, oil, and dead skin cells. A quality cleanser will get rid of impurities while leaving your skin’s natural oils intact for optimal balance, health, and prevention of dry skin.
2. Make Use of Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is the optimal ingredient for winter skin care, with its deep hydrating benefits and anti-inflammatory properties that help soothe wintertime redness and irritation. One of the best sensitive skin care tips is to include this powerful ingredient in your wintertime routine.
HA pulls the moisture from the air even in dry environments, keeping your skin moisturized and supple even in the worst weather. The extra liquid also plumps your complexion and eliminates signs of age, for a more youthful appearance.
Hyaluronic acid stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to tighten, improve elasticity, and smooth fine lines and wrinkles on your face. Make sure to look for products that contain this hydrating ingredient in the colder months, or add a hyaluronic serum to your routine for maximum benefits.
3. Moisturize Your Skin
It’s particularly important to make sure you use a deep, hydrating moisturizer like Infusoderm twice daily in the winter without fail to keep the dryness at bay. Between the cold, dry air outside and the hot, dry indoor environment, your skin needs consistent hydration to stay healthy and balanced.
In this season, choose a product that has humectants like hyaluronic acid to draw liquid, emollients to protect skin barrier function, and occlusives like oils that form a protective layer over the skin to prevent moisture loss. To keep your skin hydrated during the day, carry Blackstone Collection Face + Body Mist with you and use it when you need a refresh.
4. Sunscreen is Still a Must!
While you may think that in the winter when the sun is less prominent, you can put the sunscreen away, that is absolutely false. The sun’s rays still shine in the winter and they can impact your skin, causing damage, premature aging, and skin dryness. They can be especially powerful when reflecting off of the snow. This means that even in the cold weather, the last step in your skincare routine must be sunscreen with a high SPF count to defend and protect from damage. In addition to using regular sunscreen, apply Sun Defend Lip Balm SPF15 to prevent damage to the thin, vulnerable skin on your lips.
FAQ
Question #1 - How can I improve my skin in winter?
Winter skincare is largely about preventing dryness, keeping your skin hydrated, and soothing the complexion to stave off redness and irritation. Use gentle, deeply hydrating products, in particular your cleanser and moisturizer, and look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and vitamin C to protect, repair, and soothe your complexion as well as boost moisture levels.
Question #2 - Why is winter skincare important?
The winter weather can have a devastating effect on the skin as cold weather and winds strip the moisture from your complexion and leave it vulnerable to redness and irritation. In addition, indoor environments in winter tend to be hot and dry as people use heaters that zap the liquid from the air.
In order to combat the difficult conditions, it's essential that you modify your skincare routine to include ingredients and products that boost hydration levels, seal in moisture, and soothe red, inflamed skin.
Bottom Line
While the winter wind and chill may strip your skin of moisture, the few simple modifications to your skincare routine that we have suggested should help keep your complexion hydrated and healthy all season long.
Look through the Solvaderm collection of rich, high-quality, pure organic skincare products to build your winter skincare routine. Infused with deeply hydrating ingredients and botanicals which soothe, repair, protect, and rejuvenate the complexion, this brand will make sure your skin is as healthy and radiant in winter as it is in the middle of spring.
