Winter has a lot to enjoy: ice skating, crisp walks in frosty parks, and all the parties, presents and good food that attend Christmas. Even if you’re someone who finds themselves seriously depressed by the cold weather, short days and long, dark nights, there are silver linings to be found.
Unfortunately your skin isn’t one of these silver linings: winter weather is hard on your face and hands. It puts stress on your body: the air is cold and dry, weather can be extreme, and the swings of temperature from cold outside to warm indoors can be as much as a stressor as simple exposure to the cold.
Today we’re taking a look at how you can protect yourself in the winter to make sure you look and feel your best when the time comes to party!
Dry Skin
The biggest problem you’re going to run into in the winter is dry skin. The cold and the wind dry your skin directly, but they also leave the air dry so your skin needs to work over time to keep hydrated. If you don’t help it out, it’s going to have a hard time.
There are plenty of things you can do to help you skin battle the extreme weather, from booking into a skin clinic – UK winter weather permitting! – for a rejuvenating, moisturising facial, to buying a selection of day and night creams to use at home, to trying to avoid exposure to the cold in the first place: keeping wrapped up warm with your face covered can help avoid the worst of the damage in the first place.
While you’re out and about, make sure you have some hand cream with you: it doesn’t have to be highly scented (in fact that can even irritate sensitive skin), just a functional one your able to keep with you and apply whenever you need it. Once you get into the habit of keeping it topped up and reapplying when you wash your hands, or come in from the cold, you’ll be doing valuable work keeping your skin moisturised and defended against the bitter weather, and potentially calming eczema outbreaks caused by dry indoor air.
Cracked Skin
Even if you’re moisturising regularly, you might find your skin is cracked and flaky in the winter months. The key here is to use an exfoliating wash to remove the damaged outer layers of the skin.
Be kind to yourself here: use a sensitive soap to avoid irritating skin further and pat yourself dry rathe than rubbing yourself down aggressively with a towel. Follow up with a moisturising facemask and you’ll have everything in place to look and feel your best all the way through the winter!