You’re Doing It Wrong: Winter Skincare

 

There’s a common misconception that your skincare routine gets to stay the same all year round. We’re here to tell you that the opposite is true: as the seasons change and the temperature fluctuates, you need to update your skincare routine to account for changes in humidity, temperature, and all of the other unique aspects of each season. With winter upon us, the air is colder and drier – in other words, your skin is screaming for some extra moisture and TLC. 

 

Here are our recommendations for how to update your skincare routine in the coming months:

 

Exfoliate your skin properly. It should come as no surprise (or maybe it does!) that the biggest issue people face with their skin during the winter is dryness. Gently exfoliating your skin removes all the dry, dead skin and allows the fresh skin underneath to receive the moisture it really, really needs. Which leads us to our next point…

 

Avoid things that will strip your skin of its natural oils and moisture. When washing your skin you want to get rid of the bad stuff, but what you don’t want to do is get rid of the good stuff too. During the colder months, switch to a mild soap or facial cleanser that doesn’t strip your skin of its natural oils. Another tip is to lower the temperature of your shower water. We all love a good hot shower, but too much heat can seriously dry out your skin. Your shower doesn’t need to be cold, but it also shouldn’t scald you: think warm, rather than hot.

 

Give your skin extra moisture to make up for what it’s missing. Even if you take all precautions, chances are your skin will still feel drier in the winter than it does during the warmer months. The last thing we suggest is to feed it some extra moisture. Trust us, your skin will be forever grateful. Switch to water-based moisturizers, and introduce hyaluronic acid (one of our fave beauty hacks) into your routine if it’s not there already! We love the GlyMed Plus Ultra Hydro Gel. A couple of our favorite ultra-hydrating moisturizers are the Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream and the Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance. Apply your moisturizer right out of the shower before your pores close up. For some extra extra moisture, opt for nourishing, moisturizing face masks. We recommend the GlyMed Plus Ultra-Hydrating Enzyme Masque.

 

To summarize: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Your skin has to adjust to a lack of moisture in the air, so it’s important to do everything in your power to combat that! Drink lots of water, exfoliate, be gentle, and moisturize! We wish you a winter of clear skin!