Tips for Dealing with Dry Winter Skin
It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but winter can be rough on your skin. With the dry air and dropping temperatures comes the loss of moisture and glow to the skin. However, there are measures you can take to ensure your skin looks and feels its best throughout the winter months.
Last month we covered some basic ways to “winterproof” your skin. Here are more great tips for protecting your skin from the winter cold from our friends over at Colorescience:
Skincare
In order to have the healthiest skin possible, you need to formulate a skincare routine that is focused on the specific needs of your skin. When the winter weather hits, the air dries out and the heaters come on which means that often the skin needs more moisture.
- Cleansers: Use a gentle cleanser that is not going to take any moisture out of skin. Be sure to look for cleansers that use natural ingredients and do not contain any unnecessary scents or dyes.
- Toners: If you like to use a toner, select one that is meant to cleanse without being drying. Look for products that focus on softening or balancing the skin. Balancing toners work well for people with more oily skin types (even in the winter), while toners labeled as softening work well for people with dry, sensitive skin.
- Exfoliators: Another way to help reduce dry skin is to exfoliate regularly in the winter. Aim to exfoliate your skin two to three times each week in order to remove any dead, surface cells. You can exfoliate using a washcloth and your regular cleanser or with a scrub cleanser.
- Moisturizers: When your skin has been thoroughly cleansed and exfoliated, add moisture back in. The type of moisturizer you use will depend on your specific skin type. When your skin is in serious need of moisture, look for moisturizers that include hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid helps attract, and then retain, moisture in your skin.
Makeup
If your skin is particularly dry, it is important to exfoliate prior to your makeup application. Doing so ensures that your foundation, and other face makeup, glides smoothly on and that dry patches of skin are not accentuated by foundation. Because skin can appear dull in the winter, look for a foundation that includes the words luminous or dewy. These leave a more “skin-like” finish and help give life to your face.
Winter is a great time to experiment with cream products, as powders may make dry skin appear drier. To help your foundation last as long as possible, use a setting mist when you have finished applying all of your face makeup. Colorescience makes a sunforgettable setting mist that adds moisture to your skin while keeping makeup on longer. Spritz this anytime during the day that you want to feel refreshed.
Lifestyle
Just as you make adjustments to your skincare and makeup routine during the winter, you can make lifestyle changes that will help care for dry winter skin.
- Use a humidifier: One of the best things that you can do for your skin is to purchase a humidifier. Sleep next to it each night and wake up with softer, more hydrated skin.
- Increase your water intake: In addition to using a humidifier, it can help to increase your water intake. Water helps to add moisture to your skin from the inside out, in addition to helping clear out impurities.
- Take your vitamins: Another lifestyle change you can make is to begin taking vitamins. Vitamin E is particularly beneficial to skin softness. Biotin is another vitamin formulation that helps not only dry winter skin, but also nails and hair.
Dry winter skin is not something that you have to suffer from when it gets cold. Be sure to take care of your skin and exfoliate often to remove dead skin cells. Opt for makeup that helps add moisture to the skin and remember to drink plenty of water.
Brian is a recent college graduate from Northern California who joined the Colorescience team as a marketing assistant. He enjoys writing, surfing, and is a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan.
Good article
I didn’t know that drinking more water could help with getting rid of dry skin. My aunt has dry skin and she went to a dermatologist. They seemed to be able to help her find some good creams she could use to help her.
My skin tends to get really rough and dry during the winter. I really need to start moisturizing my skin better in the winter. There is nothing worse than always having your skin crack open and bleed. It would be really nice to be able to find a good dermatologist that can help me find the best moisturizer for me.
Hi Mary, please contact us today to see on of our dermatologists. We’d be happy to help!
Hi Brian,
Thank you for this information-rich article. I’m having an extremely dry, itchy and cracked skin. Now here we are experiencing a very cold climate and was in search of a good dry skincare routine to resolve my skin problems. Sure that this article will suit me the most and is really gonna try this.
I also found https://www.cetaphil-me.com/en/article/choosing-moisturizer-for-dry-skin-and-other-tips this article to be useful and would like to share it with you.
Thank you once more 🙂