After the warm summer weather comes the cold and dry winter weather. While everyone looks out to seeing the beautiful winter snow, no one is in a hurry to encounter the dry air that comes with it. Winter weather is not good for the skin due to the fact that the low humidity level and cold weather causes an overflow of dry air thereby extracting the skin’s natural moisture.
This harsh winter air can cause skin dryness, itching, redness and even cause your skin to bleed. To adjust the body temperature, most people further enable indoor heat, hot shower and make use of harsh cleansers. All of these further reduces the moisture in the air thereby causing skin outbreak. One immediate way to keep your skin at this time is drinking water to keep you hydrated.
Irrespective of skin type, the effect of winter is evident on everyone. While the effect may be more pronounced on people with dry skin, those with oily skin also tend to lose natural oils during this period. While some people get accustomed to using moisturizers during the weather, you will have to do more if you want to retain your looks
At this time, all you need to do to regain and maintain your skin smoothness and look younger is change your skin care routine or make few additions to the existing ones.
Here are 12 skin care tips to see you through the season:
1. Avoid hot showers with harsh soaps: Winter weather comes with extra cold weather and everyone wants to be as warm as possible to be comfortable and to avoid influenza. In a bid to do that, we tend to go for hot baths. While it feels really good, you are actually causing more damage to your skin. The weather naturally extracts natural oil from your skin. Inclusion of hot bath can cause itching and bleeding.
At this time, it is best to make use of lukewarm water. Even when you only need to wash your face and hands, make use of lukewarm water. It helps you to retain natural oils.
If you need to make use of soaps while having your bath, ensure you switch to soaps that also works as moisturizers. In all, avoid rubbing your skin in a harsh way while showering. You should pat rather than rub.
2. Moisturize Immediately: It will not be advantageous for you if you rely only on your natural oils. Immediately after you wash, ensure you moisturize. As important as it is to moisturize, ensure you do not make use of just any moisturizer. Switch to an ultra-hydrating moisturizer type especially one that contains Vitamin E, Chia seeds, fatty acids and Patua and Lavender oils.
Moisturizers that contain these ingredients will surely keep in the moisture and protect your skin aging appearances. Avoid ingredients that are petroleum based as they will further cause skin dryness. It is best to go for oil-based moisturizer rather than water-based.
3. Avoid exposing your skin: Whether your job requires you to look as good as possible or not, ensure you avoid exposing your body. Wear cardigans to cover your body, gloves to protect your hands and scarves for protection against rain, snow and winds. You should consider wearing socks depending on the type of shoe you decide to put on.
4. Make use of Sunscreen: Sunscreen is not only beneficial during summer as winter sun can be as injurious as summer sun. The ultraviolet ray does not change. Since you cannot cover your face, protect your face with sunscreen. Ensure you apply sunscreen regularly even when you go on ski vacation.
5. Do not skip drinking water: Just because we want to keep ourselves warm as much as we can, we tend to skip water for hot coffee and tea. It is not wrong to take hot drinks but not drinking water can cause dehydration. While coffee and tea are liquid substance, they cannot replace the importance of water. There are many health benefits of drinking water apart from hydrating your body.
Take your regular eight glasses of water per day. You can add lemon to your glass of water to keep you refreshed while getting hydrated.
6. Exfoliate properly: You may have planned to stay away from exfoliating your skin during winter because you think it will further dehydrate your skin. Well, if you exfoliate properly, you will not have to deal with a dehydrated skin. The dry indoor heating and the cold air outside your room can cause your skin to flake and dry off.
This will cause you to harbour dead cells and make it difficult for moisture to get in. Exfoliating rids off dead cells, allows a generation of new cells thereby making it easy for moisture to get into your sin without causing skin irritation. Exfoliate your body, face, and hand.
More so, chapped and cracked lips are not uncommon during this period. This will surely make you look unattractive and untidy or even cause discomfort. When this happens, ensure you exfoliate mildly, pat with cold water and make use of lips balm that contains Vitamins A & E.
7. Opt for a new cleanser: The cleanser you used all through summer should not be used during winter. Even so, the dry air can make your skin hypersensitive during this period. The wrong cleanser can further cause irritating skin condition and premature skin aging.
All through the season, go for a mild cleanser that contains no alcohol and surfactants. Dermatologists have proven that both Surfactant and Alcohol cause skin dryness. After cleansing, ensure you apply moisturizer and hydrating toner to keep the moisture in.
8. Avoid using shampoo every day: Every part of your body contributes to your total appearance including your hair. While you concentrate on retaining as much as oil as you want in your body, never forget to keep the natural oils in your hair. Much more, winter is that period you do not want to damage your scalp. It is advisable to wash your hair two-three times a week.
Install a humidifier: Installing a heating system in your house will make you warm but will cause an extraction of the available hair in your room. At this time, it is advisable to fix a humidifier in your house much more, your room to retain the moisture in the air.
9. Stay away from Irritants and Allergens: During the winter, the skin tends to become more fragile and overly sensitive. A little mistake can make you spend a lot on regaining your skin. If you have dermatitis or eczema, ensure you stay away from irritants that can cause an outburst.
While the effect of the irritants may not be obvious in other periods, the winter weather makes its effect obvious and damaging.
Irritant fabrics like wool, chemical based detergent should be avoided to prevent skin issues. By having a sensitive skin, you should stick to materials designed for sensitive skin type. Even when you do not have a sensitive skin, ensure you stay away from these materials as they can cause a huge damage.
10. Eat foods with high water content: Water does not only dehydrate, eating foods that have high water content will also dehydrate your skin from your body system. You should include apples, oranges, watermelon, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes and other watery vegetables and fruits in your meal. What you eat have a great effect on how you look.
11. Stay healthy: Infections maybe difficult to control during this weather. Boost your immunity by staying healthy. Stay away from activities that can cause fungi, bacterial and viral infection.
While you may try different activities to maintain a perfect skin, skin problems that may emanate as a result of the weather can be controlled when you do lot of exercise, you maintain good hygiene and get enough rest. While the cold weather will naturally make you stay in all day, do not give in. Work out and generate that sweat.
12. Stay stress-free: Winter is not the best time to work yourself out. Even if you cannot determine how much you work, ensure there is a commensurate level of break. Take time out to relax. Whether you are battling with emotional or psychological stress, take time to rest without thinking about the matter at hand for some time.
Resting will help you to make the best decision without leaving your skin in a bad shape. According to the 2001 archives of Dermatology, stress affect the body’s ability to hold water. You should also opt in for Yoga. It is one of the sure ways to stay clear and free of stress.
You cannot change or modify the weather for your own convenience and at the expense of others but you can modify your lifestyle to suit your interaction with the weather. Take note of the products you buy and ensure you make adequate research before purchasing any product.
The eye is one of the most obvious part of your body. Any signs of premature aging will be more obvious during winter. Top moisturizing eye cream like Eyevage is effective to keep you away from dark circles and fines lines around your eye region.
Get prepared and get all essentials available, it’s going to be the best winter for your skin all through this season.