Winter Skincare
Winter is a tough season for skin – ever looked down at your legs and wondered who replaced them with a reptilian version? Well, needless to say it’s incredibly drying. First there’s the lack of moisture in the air thanks to Mr Humidity departing to the other hemisphere; and then there’s the constant switching from heated indoors to cold outdoors – both environments are drying enough on their own, let alone the constant back and forth between them. The result? Dry, parched, frightfully thirsty skin.
We need moisture and no, I don’t mean by drinking litres of water. That helps but not as much as we’d like to think. What we need to do is help it topically by switching from the lightweight, gel-like summer moisturiser to a thicker, creamy winter weight. Just as we do with our duvets.
Look for moisturisers with humectant properties (like glycerin) as these draw water in to skin cells. You also need to look after the intercellular matrix, the bits between the cells that bind them together. The intercellular structure is comprised of different components (and many of these you will have heard of plenty of times) – ceramides, collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid, proteins, amino acids and so on. So, you need a moisturiser that targets these too.
The worst thing you can do is exacerbate the situation by washing your face in hot water, especially in the shower. It’s tempting – and I’m sure we all do it, I know I do, but you really should turn the shower down to cleanse your face. You should only ever wash your face with lukewarm water.
If your skin has become really dry and flakey exfoliate it twice a week – you don’t need to any more than that or you’ll only irritate your skin and aggravate the situation. Exfoliation removes the dead skin sitting on the top of the surface. If you don’t get rid of it, it can settle into pores and mix with oil creating blackheads and whiteheads. When you help dry skin remove this outer layer of dead, dried-up skin, it can make room for plumper, newer skin cells to come to the surface – leaving fresher looking skin.
One thing that’s non-negotiable in winter is missing out sunscreen (especially when you hit the slopes!). Always wear sunblock – even in winter. The thing about sun damage is that it is accumulative – meaning it builds up over years and then pops up, voila, unexpected and unwanted when we’re older.
Mature skin with pigmentation is due to sundamage. Young skin with pigmentation is often the result of a hormonal imbalance – the contraceptive pill, pregnancy and so on. Some medications can cause pigmentation and some skin types, usually darker tones, are liable to getting pigmentation from injuries to skin – like acne scarring.
There are plenty of topical treatments for pigmentation, but the best – especially for stubborn pigmentation, is IPL. Read more about it here.
Winter is an excellent time for skin treatments like glycolic peels, microdermabrasion and IPL.
How’s your skin going with this long winter?
Tamsin xo
Product love to help with winter skin blues: L’Oreal Derma Genesis Pore Minimising Serum and Soother $39.99 (contains hyaluronic acid). Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, $32.99, has an SPF 15. This Works active oil, $55, 100% natural oil to nourish and protect. Clinique Comfort On Call, $, allergy tested – helps soothe skin and perfect for those who ski or snowboard. Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque, $69, try it – has an abundance of skin helping goodies like Vitamins A,C, E. Dermalogica ChromaWhite TRx range is especially for skin with pigmentation.
