How to Look After Your Skin in The Winter

Winter might not have technically arrived just yet, but the drastic drop in temperatures and the simple fact we’re reaching for woolly knits on the daily means it’s fast approaching. And while we might be ready to welcome cosy season with open arms, that doesn’t mean our skin is. In fact, cold temperatures, beating winds and central heating can sap skin of moisture, causing a whole bunch of problems including redness, dullness and even flaking of the top layers of the skin. So, if your skin is feeling the wrath of the imminent winter months, keeping scrolling for all of the nerdie info you might need to help get that healthy glow back…

Why does skin tend to turn drier in the winter?

Before we get into the how of keeping skin happy during the winter months, let’s touch on why we need to adapt things slightly. In short, our skin thrives when it’s hydrated and, come winter, our skin loses a lot of much-needed moisture to the environment through transepidermal water loss (TEWL). It sounds complicated but we promise it’s not. Essentially, TEWL is the process of water loss through the epidermis into the atmosphere around us. The rate at which our skin experiences TEWL increases when the air contains less moisture than our skin, hence increased dryness come winter.

The ultimate winter regimen

If winter skin dryness could be cured by reaching for the most nourishing butters and oils around, things would be easy. But all of us hoomans have different skin types and needs that should be celebrated, and that means we have to find smarter ways to keep our skin’s moisture levels in check. However your skin is feeling, we’re of the belief that these two post-cleanse steps will help keep your skin hydrated and glowing…

Smart Hydration

Making sure your skin stays hydrated in winter relies heavily on the moisturiser you use, and it’s more important to look for the hardest working ingredients rather than textures. Cue, ceramides. Lipids that naturally occur in our skin, ceramides help to rebuild the skin’s natural moisture barrier and prevent further TEWL. Skingredients Skin Good Fats contains not only a whole bunch of those all-important ceramides, but also shea butter glycerides to moisturise without clogging pores, and oat kernel extract to sooth any dryness-related irritation. Suitable for oily-skinned hoomans as much as it is dry, Skin Good Fats is your winter skin saving grace.

Everyday Protection

We’ve already established that moisture is king come winter, but it’s also important to make sure you’re still giving your skin the protection it needs to stay healthy in the long-term too – and that means doing everything you can to get ahead of any issues caused by other factors (think wind, harsh central heating, stress and UV rays). While keeping your vitamin A intake up with a leafy green-rich diet and boosting your internal Omegas will help keep your skin barrier in-check, it’s also important to keep that SPF coming (yes, even if it’s cloudy). Applying Skingredients Skin Shield SPF 50 PA+++ rain or shine helps keep skin protected against those nasty skin-damaging and dulling UVA rays (that penetrate clouds and glass windows)! With niacinamide to improve texture, as well as vitamin E and allantoin to smooth and moisturise, Skin Shield also gives dull winter skin a dewy, peachy glow that oozes radiance. So, you can feel safe in the knowledge your skin looks great while the SPF is doing its important work!