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As the seasons change, so should your skincare routine. Winter brings cold, dry air that can strip your skin of its natural moisture, leading to a dull and dehydrated complexion. Thankfully, it's easy enough to adapt your winter skincare routine to maintain healthy, glowing skin throughout the colder months, and the key is to use hydrating and nourishing products. Let's talk about how you can protect your skin from the harsh winter elements and keep it looking its best.
How Does Winter Air Affect Skin?
Winter air can have a profound impact on your skin's health and appearance. The cold, dry air outside paired with the added heat from furnaces and fireplaces indoors create a perfect storm for skin dehydration and dullness.
When temperatures drop, the air holds less moisture, leading to lower humidity levels. This dry air draws moisture away from the skin, causing it to lose its natural hydration. The natural skin barrier, which helps retain moisture and protect against environmental aggressors, becomes compromised. As a result, the skin can become dry, flaky, and more susceptible to irritation.
On top of that, indoor heating systems can further dry out the skin. These systems ultimately reduce indoor humidity levels, creating an environment that strips the skin of its natural oils. The combination of cold outdoor air and dry indoor heat can lead to a massive decrease in the skin's moisture content, making it appear dull and lifeless.
All of this explains why winter conditions can also cause flare-ups in skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis; the cold, dry air and reduced humidity levels can trigger increased redness, itching, and discomfort. The compromised skin barrier in these conditions becomes even more vulnerable during winter, making it essential to adopt a skincare routine that focuses on intense hydration and barrier repair. Using emollient-rich moisturizers and gentle, non-irritating products can help manage these conditions and provide much-needed relief during the colder months.
Step-by-Step Winter Skincare Routine
To combat the effects of winter air, you'll need a winter skincare routine with products that provide deep hydration while strengthening the skin's barrier to help maintain moisture levels and protect against environmental stressors. Here's what we recommend:
1. Gentle Cleansing
Start your winter skincare routine with a hydrating cleanser that effectively removes impurities without stripping your skin of its natural oils.
Our Hydrating Gel Cleanser with Solabiome is formulated to do just this. Formulated with 1.2% Solabiome, our proprietary complex of skin-soothing synbiotics and barrier-strengthening ingredients, this cleanser gently purifies the skin while maintaining its essential moisture balance. It also contains Pro Vitamin B5, a humectant that retains and preserves moisture, helping your skin stay soft and supple.
By using a hydrating cleanser, you ensure that your skin stays clean and refreshed without the risk of over-drying (especially when the skin is already so dry!), setting the perfect foundation for the rest of your winter skincare routine.
2. Red Light Therapy
Red Light Therapy is known for its benefits in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, which can help play a role in visibly smoothing skin that can look crepey and dull during the colder months. This non-invasive treatment works by supporting collagen production, which helps rejuvenate and energize the skin, giving it a radiant glow, even when it's a little gloomy outside!
For a convenient, at-home full-face treatment, we recommend our Red Light Therapy LED Face Mask. This device delivers targeted Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy to your skin, visibly smoothing fine lines and wrinkles, rejuvenating a dull complexion, and creating a lifted, firmer appearance.
Use our Light Therapy Mask after cleansing and drying your face to ensure your skin can absorb all of the benefits, then continue on with your routine after just 10 minutes of treatment.
3. Hydrating Toner
After cleansing, it's essential to use an alcohol-free toner to maintain your skin's pH balance and add an extra layer of hydration.
Our Refreshing Jelly Mist is enriched with Gotu Kola, an antioxidant that hydrates and soothes the skin, and Beta-Glucan, a mushroom-derived humectant that locks in moisture and reduces the appearance of fine lines. By incorporating a hydrating toner into your routine, you can enhance your skin's ability to retain moisture, which is especially important during the dry winter months.
You can also use our Jelly Mist throughout the day to give your face a much-needed hydration boost — we recommend spritzing multiple times per day during the winter to help keep skin moisturized, especially if you feel any tightness in the skin through the day or if you're outside for extended periods.
4. Hydrating Serum
A hydrating serum helps to deliver intense hydration and essential nutrients to your skin, fortifying it against the harsh winter elements.
Our Plumping Peptide Serum is made with Triple Hyaluronic Acid, a powerful humectant that retains and preserves moisture, helping your skin stay soft and supple. Additionally, Avocado Peptides help strengthen and deeply hydrate the skin, leaving it feeling plump and rejuvenated.
5. Nourishing Moisturizer
Choosing a rich, nourishing moisturizer is essential to lock in hydration and protect your skin during the winter months.
Our Nourishing Moisturizer is formulated with Triple Hyaluronic Acid and Polyglutamic Acid, powerful humectants that retain and preserve moisture, helping your skin stay plump, soft, and supple. Additionally, the inclusion of Collagen Peptides helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, promoting a smoother, healthier-looking complexion.
6. Eye Cream
Using an eye cream is especially crucial during the winter months to nourish the thin skin around your eyes, which is often the first area to show signs of fatigue. The cold, dry air can darken dark circles and emphasize puffiness, so look for eye creams that contain peptides, which support skin elasticity and firmness, and caffeine, known for its ability to reduce puffiness and improve circulation.
7. Sunscreen
Applying sunscreen is important even during the winter months when the sun isn't quite shining like in summer. Despite the colder weather, harmful UV rays can still penetrate and damage the skin. Choosing a broad-spectrum sunscreen ensures protection against both UVA and UVB rays; go with either a face-specific sunscreen or a moisturizer or foundation with SPF built in.
Additional Beauty and Skincare Tips for Winter
Here are a few additional tips to help keep your skin nourished during the winter:
- Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water helps maintain skin hydration from the inside out, counteracting the drying effects of cold air and indoor heating to keep your skin looking plump and healthy. Aim for at least eight glasses a day to ensure your skin stays well-hydrated.
- Use a Humidifier: Adding moisture to the air with a humidifier can counteract the drying effects of indoor heating. This simple step can make a noticeable difference in your skin's hydration levels, especially overnight, which is why many people use humidifiers directly in their bedrooms while they sleep.
- Avoid Hot Showers: Hot water can strip your skin of its natural oils and dry out your complexion, even with the use of gentle, restoring skincare products. Opt for lukewarm showers to help preserve your skin's moisture and prevent irritation, and if you must take hot showers, try to limit them to no more than about ten minutes.
- Exfoliate Gently: Gentle exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells and promote cell turnover. Use a mild exfoliant once or twice a week to keep your skin smooth without causing irritation. Avoid harsh scrubs that can damage the skin barrier, and if you notice the exfoliation is drying out or irritating your skin, reduce exfoliants to once per week or even every other week.
- Lip Care: Prevent chapped lips by using lip balms with hydrating ingredients like shea butter or beeswax. Regular application helps to keep your lips soft and protected from the cold. Reapply throughout the day, especially before going outside.
- Hand and Body Care: It's not just the skin on your face that needs extra care during the winter months. Don't forget to also moisturize your hands and body — choose rich, nourishing lotions or creams to keep your skin soft and supple. Apply immediately after bathing to lock in moisture and reapply as needed throughout the day.
Conclusion
A consistent winter skincare routine is key to keeping your skin healthy and glowing during the colder, drier months. Hydrating and nourishing products can help shield your skin from the harsh effects of winter air and indoor heating, so ensure your winter routine includes gentle cleansing, Red Light Therapy, and deep moisturization to help you maintain a supple, radiant, and resilient complexion. With the right care, your skin will stay vibrant and well-protected, no matter how chilly it gets outside.
Want more tips to get your skin glowing? Explore our blog here for more guides like this!
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