This post was brought to you by Adore Beauty.
For some people who tend to have more sensitive skin, cold weather can mean peeling, itchy, red skin. Finding the right skincare for dry skin is no easy feat. It’s important to know that the moisturiser that worked wonders in summer may do little for your skin when temperatures plummet.
Luckily, you don’t have to resign yourself to patchy, flaky skin. Here are some tips for healthy, moist skin all year long.
Also Read: How to get rid of acne on your neck
Table of Content
1. Drink More Water
Winter/cold temperatures often bring drier weather. Because you’re no longer sweating in the heat, you may actually feel less thirsty.
Dehydration can exacerbate dry skin and other wintertime miseries, such as sinus infections and an itchy throat. Drink plenty of water every day to keep yourself hydrated and your body healthy.
Not a fan of water? Try flavouring your water with a few drops of fruit juice or drinking seltzer water instead. It tastes a lot like soda, but without the sugar.
2. Try a Humidifier
Inviting fireplaces, central heating, and space heaters at your feet may keep you warm, but they can be a double edged sword that also saps your skin of much-needed moisture. You don’t have to trade warmth for healthy skin, though.
Instead, try using a humidifier especially when you sleep. Humidifiers restore the moisture that heat sources remove from the air. You may even find you’re less congested if you sleep with a humidifier on.
3. Take Shorter, Cooler Showers
There’s nothing quite like stepping into a steamy shower when you wake up in a freezing house. But that hot shower may punish your skin all day.
Hot water saps your skin of moisture, so try cutting back on your shower time. If you can tolerate lowering the temperature of your shower by even just a degree or two, your skin will thank you.
Addicted to long, hot showers? You don’t have to give them up. Instead, try taking less frequent showers. Use soap only in key areas—maybe even every other day. Soap saps your skin of moisture, especially when paired with hot water.
And of course, remember to moisturise your entire body as soon as you get out of the shower, when skin is most adept at absorbing products. Try La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP+ which enriches even the driest winter skin.
4. Try a Relaxing Bath
Baths can calm even the most frayed nerves, and they’re a vital strategy for relieving dry skin. Try sprinkling oatmeal, a natural skin soother, in your bath and then soaking for 20 to 30 minutes. Natural oils such as almond oil can also hydrate your skin.
If you continue to shave in winter, do so in the tub while soaking in a moisturising bath product. Shaving is notorious for drying out skin, but you can offset some of its effects with an ultra-hydrating bath.
5. Use a Hyperemollient Moisturiser
The light, oil-free moisturiser you used in summer probably won’t do much in the winter, so it’s time for a switch. Look for moisturisers specifically designed for dry, stressed skin.
If you’re prone to breakouts, moisturise just once per day, and consider applying your moisturiser only to the driest areas of your skin. If you have combination skin, you may need to apply an oil-free moisturiser to breakout-prone regions and a hyperemollient formula to your driest, patchiest regions.
6. Exfoliate to Keep Skin Smooth
Dry skin is often flaky skin. When the top layer of your skin doesn’t slough off on its own, you can develop a number of other skin problems, including acne. Your moisturiser may also not be as effective, since it can’t fully penetrate your skin.
The solution is a gentle exfoliator, which are usually cream types. Exfoliate once per week at first, and then gradually increase to twice weekly if your skin can tolerate it.
Some people with extremely dry or sensitive skin find that exfoliating more than once per week strips skin of vital oils or increases skin sensitivity, so let your skin be your guide. You can offset these side effects by moisturising immediately after exfoliating.
7. Choose Makeup for Dry Skin
The wrong makeup can sap your skin of vital moisture, creating a caked-on, uneven finish. The solution is makeup specifically designed for dry skin.
For light coverage, try a BB cream, which will perfect your skin while still looking natural. Look for a BB cream with a focus on glow – they tend to work best for dry skin. Need fuller coverage? Choose a highly emollient foundation like moisture rich foundations.
8. Protect Your Skin from the Sun
The fact that the sun isn’t doing a great job warming you doesn’t mean it no longer affects your skin. UV rays are present year-round, and they can sap your skin of moisture—particularly when it’s already dry.
Protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays by using a moisturiser or foundation with an SPF of at least 15. If you struggle with sensitivity, you may need to choose a moisturiser specifically designed for sensitive skin, such as Dermalogica Super Sensitive Shield.
