Skin feeling dry, flaky, easily irritated, and a little tight? These are all common complaints that can flare up fast during the Winter months. But help is here; we’re going to talk you through all the different moves you can make to turn it around and welcome back your WOW.
We all know the visible toll that Winter can take on your skin; but it’s not just the lower humidity levels, the cold temperatures, and drying winds that affect hydration levels, texture, and radiance. Another important factor is how you’re weathering Winter.
Winter Lifestyle Factors That Affect Your Skin
Yes, weather and environmental conditions directly affect your skin. But are you aware of how they influence your lifestyle and how those choices also affect your skin? A couple of lifestyle factors to consider:
• ARTIFICIAL HEATING
Standard Winter behaviour: it’s cold so we dial up the heating in our homes and our cars. However, be aware that spending too much time in artificially heated environments quickly dehydrates your epidermis which in turn, affects your overall skin texture, tone, and luminosity. DO: Try not to spend the majority of your time in an overly heated environment if possible. You can also try to combat the dehydrating effect on your skin by drinking more water and regularly spritzing with a hydrating face mist, preferably one that contains moisture-attracting Hyaluronic Acid like Multi-Active Mist.
• THE BIG THREE: CAFFEINE, SALT & ALCOHOL
There’s no denying that what we ingest tends to show up in our skin. If you’ve ever done a cleanse, a detox, or an elimination diet you’ve seen the effect that sidelining caffeine, salt, and alcohol, even for a few days, has on your complexion. Your skin glows with good health and looks dewy, plump, and clear. However, cold Winter conditions combined with multiple COVID-19 lockdowns has made the big three hard to resist. No judgement.
DO: Try to be aware of just how much caffeine you’re ingesting every day and if you’re not willing to go easy on the lattes and cups of tea, at least ensure you’re compensating by upping your daily water intake to keep skin hydrated from the inside out. Try to limit your salt intake and your takeaway consumption and ensure you have a couple of consecutive alcohol-free days each week to give your liver a break. You’ll definitely see a difference in your skin.
How To Boost Your Skin’s Hydration Levels
There are many ways you can boost moisture levels from the outside in with the right topical products. Ingredients that can make all the difference for Winter skin include: moisture-binding Hyaluronic Acid, calming anti-inflammatory Oat Extract, hydrating B-group Vitamins, and moisture-preserving plant-derived sugar Trehalose.
Learn more about these ingredients and where to find them in our Ingredient Glossary.
Some important skincare steps that we know can and will make a difference to Winter skin include:
• EXFOLIATION
A year-round essential, exfoliation does tend to slow down as we age. During the cooler, more drying seasons, it’s even more important to help stimulate cellular turnover and encourage expired skin cells and surface dryness on its way. Try our Multi-Active Oil and Glycolic Scrub 14% combo (see Layering below) for a super effective but gentler approach or our trusted Enzymatic Micro Peel for sensitive and seasonally sensitised skins.
• LAYERING
Working in support products like a Hyaluronic-rich face mist or a nourishing face oil can give Winter skin the boost it badly needs. We like to spritz with our Multi-Active Mist after cleansing and before applying a treatment serum or moisturiser. Not only is skin given an instant hydration blitz but layering your products over damp skin will help to lock in and hold onto that moisture. Bonus: you’ll also find you use less product.
Our Multi-Active Oil can also be added into your moisturiser for days when your skin needs a little extra nourishment; we also like to mix it with Glycolic Scrub 14% for a gentler, more nourishing exfoliant. And let’s not forget our favourite booster: Vitamin C 100%. A sprinkle of this pure Vitamin-C powder can be added to your moisturiser, serum (exception: Rejuvenate 15 Serum), mask, or sunscreen for hydrating, antioxidant support.
• UPGRADE YOUR MOISTURISER
What kept your skin happily hydrated during Spring and Summer may not work as well when your environment and weather changes dramatically. Switching up to a more nourishing, anti-inflammatory moisturiser like Moisture Defence Ultra Dry can be one simple move that makes all the difference to your skin tone and texture. It delivers instant relief to dehydrated and irritated skin (including those with eczema and psoriasis) with calming Oat Extract and a deeply nourishing biomimetic peptide. Our Ultra Firming Eye & Neck Cream can provide further support to help smooth and tone the skin around the eyes and on the neck, both of which are prone to premature ageing.
The Perfect Winter Skin Peel
An in-clinic exfoliating treatment can help to reset your skin to a calmer, more balanced, and hydrated state and is the perfect antidote to dull, dry Winter skin. Our Ageless Peel offered treats skin to a rejuvenating antioxidant and amino-acid peel that works deep within the skin to boost cellular renewal. In the hands of an experienced dermal therapist, a potent cocktail of botanical Vitamin A, L-Lactic and Mandelic Acids, and a Ceramide complex help to refresh, refine, and balance the moisture content in your skin. A professional glow is a given.
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