As fall turns to winter and the temperatures drop, maintaining healthy skin gets tough. No matter how much you moisturize, dryness, tightness, and itchiness can become frequent seasonal companions.
On the other hand, winter also presents some fantastic opportunities, especially if you’ve wanted to try more transformative treatments that require careful sun protection.
In this guide, we’ll help your skin get the most out of this winter season with useful winter skincare tips. We’ll also recommend the added treatments and lifestyle habits that’ll boost your glow. Let’s dive in!
Winter Skin Challenges
Studies show that winter weather weakens the skin barrier, leading to increased dryness and inflammation. It can make skin feel rough, itchy, textured, tight, and uncomfortable, and can worsen existing skin conditions like eczema.
Cold air holds less water than hot air, which is why the humidity is lower in winter. The dry air leaches water out of your skin, a process called trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), leading to dehydration. This disrupts the skin barrier, causing the skin to release signals that result in inflammation.
Indoor heating, wind burn, and even friction from blowing your nose can all make the skin even more susceptible to dryness and irritation.
Skincare Tips To Stay Moisturized In Winter
Combatting winter dryness is a lot easier with these moisture tips.
Moisturizer: Absolute Must
During winter, make sure to moisturize your skin from head to toe on a daily basis. The best time to moisturize is the moment you get out of the shower. This is when your skin is most saturated with water, so moisturizer can lock it into place.
Make sure your moisturizer contains a blend of:
- Oily and fatty ingredients to lock in moisture
- Light, water-attracting ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin
Use a Gentler Cleanser
A gentle, more nourishing face and body cleanser will help maintain your skin’s integrity, regardless of your skin type.
Look for creamy or oil-based formulas that’ll cleanse without stripping your skin of moisture, especially if your skin is typically dry. If you’re a little oilier, switch from foaming or gel cleansers to lighter, minimally foaming options.
Stack Layers of Hydration
Another great way to saturate your skin with moisture in winter is to layer your hydrating products — especially if you’re doing your skincare routine without having showered recently.
Start with a lightweight, hydrating essence, toner, or serum. This will saturate your skin with humectants like glycerin or hyaluronic acid that hold the water in place. Then, follow it up with your thicker moisturizer, which contains more occlusive ingredients that can seal in moisture.
If your skin can tolerate it, you can even try slugging, which means sealing everything off completely with a thick balm or ointment.
Add Barrier Repair Products
If you’re prone to irritation, flakiness, or dryness, and other moisturizers haven’t helped, consider introducing a barrier repair product.
These are serums or moisturizers with ingredients that mimic your skin’s natural barrier lipids. They include ceramides, cholesterols, fatty acids, and botanical oils. Other common moisturizing ingredients, like glycerin, panthenol, vitamin E, squalane, and hyaluronic acid will also help.
If Needed: Exfoliate Gently
If you’re experiencing slight dryness and you’re looking to maintain your skin through winter, a gentle exfoliant will help remove dead skin buildup and allow your moisturizers to work better.
Ditch the drying peels or overly harsh scrubs, and instead opt for:
- Light, hydrating serums with gentler acids like lactic or mandelic acid
- Gentle micro-exfoliant powders or creamy scrubs
- Enzyme-based masks if your skin is especially sensitive
Please note: If you’re getting laser or other skin treatments, you may need to take an exfoliation break before and after, depending on the treatment.
Use Sunscreen
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you get to skip sunscreen. UVA rays, which are the main rays responsible for photoaging, remain constant throughout the year. They can even penetrate through clouds and window glass, which means you should wear sunscreen even if you’re spending your day sitting by the window without going outside.
Dealing With Sensitive or Itchy Winter Skin
If your skin is already sensitized or irritated from harsh winter weather, you’ll want to be a little more careful. Continue to prioritize moisture by following all of the other tips we’ve outlined so far.
Avoid using any active ingredients in your skincare routine, as they might make things worse. Avoid exfoliants, retinoids, and other active ingredients while waiting for your skin to recover.
If your skin is feeling particularly itchy or uncomfortable, you can explore over-the-counter anti-inflammatory options like hydrocortisone cream. If the problem persists, speak to a doctor or dermatologist.
Lifestyle Tips for Dry Winter Skin
Take Warm (Not Hot) Showers
Hot showers can be tempting in winter, but they’re not so kind to your skin. Opt for warm showers instead, to hit the right balance of cozy, cleansing, and gentle on the skin barrier.
Just like excessive cold, excessive heat makes your skin a little more susceptible to inflammation and dryness.
Hot water evaporates a lot faster, as well, leaving your skin drier than it was before. This is why moisturizing immediately after you shower is so important.
Stay Hydrated
It can be easy to forget to drink in winter. Internal dehydration shows in your skin and hair, so prioritize getting enough liquid in whatever way works for you. Embrace hot, nourishing soups, or opt for caffeine-free teas and infusions. Even a cup of hot water with a few drops of lemon juice can be incredibly comforting.
Use a Humidifier
One of the easiest ways to counter low humidity is to increase the moisture levels in your home, especially if you use an indoor heater. Running a humidifier at night will prevent your skin from drying out.
Keep Moving
It’s easy to feel down in winter, and you might be tempted to spend most of your time at home under the covers. There’s nothing wrong with comfort and coziness, as long as you still make time for physical activity, whether it’s a bit of calisthenics at home, classes in a heated gym, or winter sports! Your body needs it, and the results will show in your skin.
Aesthetic Treatments Worth Getting in Winter
While winter presents some challenges, it also brings opportunities. This season is a great time to start skin treatments that require consistency to build results.
Skinvive
Skinvive by Juvéderm is a great treatment option if you’re looking for a deeper solution for dryness and dehydration. It’s a microdroplet injection that infuses the dermis with hyaluronic acid, boosting moisturization from within, and creating a glass skin effect.
Laser Hair Removal
Famously, winter is the best time for laser hair removal. The treatment areas that would be at risk of sun exposure in summer are kept under wraps, and you don’t have to worry about prolonged irritation from heat.
Microneedling & Laser Facials
Microneedling and laser facials are two of the most powerful reparative skin treatments you can get, but they do make the skin a little more sensitive to sun exposure. With less time spent outdoors in the sun, winter presents the perfect season to start these treatments.
They’re ideal if you’re looking to address specific and tougher-to-treat skin concerns, like acne scarring, hyperpigmentation, or loss of elasticity.
Bottom line
Winter doesn’t have to mean dry, chafed skin. By focusing on smarter ways to lock in moisture, you can maintain that radiance and glow you’re used to in summer.
And beyond avoiding winter dryness, you can enjoy the opportunity for real skin renewal and recovery with targeted treatments that are often harder to schedule in summer and spring, like laser hair removal, laser facials, or microneedling.
If you’re ready to embark on a new aesthetic journey, we invite you to SEV. Book online and choose one of our intro offers to get started with a free treatment!
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