Upgrade Your Winter Skincare Routine With These Essential Tips
When the weather changes, you not only need to upgrade your wardrobe but your skincare routine too. What you use in summer for your skin, such as lightweight moisturizers or gel cleansers, may not be ideal when the weather gets colder. During winter, you experience more dry air, winds, and constant exposure to indoor heaters that strip your skin of its natural oils and moisture, which are essential for a healthy skin barrier.
The winter months can also increase skin sensitivity, irritation, and even redness. That’s why it’s essential to upgrade your skincare routine if you want to avoid any skin issues. However, we don’t mean that you take out all the skincare products. You need a few tweaks and additions, which we will discuss in the article today.
Use a hydrating or oil-based cleanser
When the temperature drops, the skin loses its oil and moisture and may easily become dry and flaky. If you were using foaming cleansers during the summer, it’s time you switched to a balm and oil cleanser during the colder months. Oil-based cleansers are best for cleaning your skin during winter because they’re more gentle and won’t strip your skin of its oil.
Ensure you are also using micellar water with hydrating ingredients that are gentle on your skin and work well to remove your makeup.
If you have acne-prone skin and use cleansers with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, tread carefully with such because they dry out the skin if used in excess. If you have to use such products to work on your acne, then use them together with PH optimized skincare, which can help regulate and restore your skin barrier when disrupted by these products.
Use a hydrating toner with PH balancing properties after cleansing with the salicylic or benzoyl peroxide cleanser to restore your PH and moisture.
Add oils and Vitamin C to your routine
During winter, you are constantly changing temperatures, for example, switching from indoor heating to the outside then hot showers or baths. Constant temperatures make your skin lose moisture quickly, making it drier and flaky. However, you can remedy this by introducing oils to your skincare routine.
Great examples are jojoba oil; this is a good one because it mimics the skin’s natural oils so that it won’t clog your pores. Other oils you can use in your routine are sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil.
Never use coconut oil on your face if you have acne-prone skin because it tends to clog pores and may lead to more breakouts. Alternatively, you can also buy oil blends that have different oils, and you can benefit from the various oils and their ingredients at a go.
Vitamin C is another essential and effective ingredient you can add to your winter skincare routine. Vitamin C will help you maintain your summer glow by brightening your dull skin and boosting collagen production. During winter, the skin may have dead skin cell buildup, which may lead to dull-looking skin, so using Vitamin C may help brighten your skin’s appearance.
Vitamin C also helps protect your skin from external radicals. During the hotter months, you were exposed to intense UV rays, so you can use Vitamin C to reverse the damage from UV rays which may even cause premature aging to your skin. Vitamin C will correct any uneven tone and help maintain your skin’s natural glow.
Try using gentler exfoliation alternatives
During winter, the skin usually accumulates dead cells, clogging pores, leading to more breakouts and dull-looking skin. Exfoliation is the best remedy to work on this. Exfoliation sloughs away dead skin cells leaving your skin glowy plus, and it allows your skin to absorb moisturizers better, leaving it hydrated.
However, if you are used to scrubs that can be abrasive and drying, you may want to consider gentler options such as chemical exfoliants. During winter, you should opt for more peaceful AHA options such as mandelic acid, which will not only help treat dry and flaky skin but will help improve your skin’s appearance. AHAs, get rid of sunspots you got during summer while also leaving your skin hydrated.
Ensure you are using a thicker moisturizer
During the hotter months, a light moisturizer may have worked for your skin, but winter and indoor heating can take a toll on your skin. Even though you are using oils in your routine, ensure you invest in a thicker moisturizer with hydrating properties to seal in all the ingredients you are using in your skincare routine.
Lighter moisturizers usually contain humectants, sufficient for your skin during summer. But as the weather changes and temperatures dip, you need emollients and occlusive in your moisturizer to help retain and seal in moisture in your skin. Emollients come in creams and help your skin’s barrier, while occlusive add a physical block on your skin, preventing the skin from losing moisture. According to experts, the perfect winter moisturizer will contain humectants, emollients, and occlusive.
Remember not to forget your thinner areas on your face that are more prone to dryness, such as the skin around your eyes and lips. With that said, ensure you invest in moisturizing balms, creams, or salves to use in these areas for hydration.
Don’t forget your sunscreen
Most people don’t use sunscreen during winter because they assume the dark, cold weather protects them from UV rays. However, even with the dull cloudy weather, your skin is still prone to damage from UV rays. Radiation from the sun can penetrate through clouds and windows. So one part of your summer skincare routine that should continue is using sunscreen.
Apply to all areas of your body that are usually exposed, like the face, arms, neck, chest, ears, and legs. Change in seasons can take a toll on your skin, which is why it is essential to upgrade your winter skincare routine with these fantastic tips.
