Winter Skin: What Is It And Our Top Tips For Dealing With It

In winter, sudden temperature drops and fluctuations between the indoors and outdoors can cause distress to your skin. The extreme dryness in the air can compromise your microbiome (those are the friendly bugs that live on your skin and protect it), exacerbating common skin concerns such as itchiness and flaking and conditions such as dermatitis and eczema while conditions such as acne, seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis can become worsened by the lack of sunshine.

It’s not all bad news though. Pigmentation is known to improve during winter, making it a great time to be directional with other skin concerns and there are a host of ways we can combat winter skin with just a few small changes to our lifestyle and skincare routines.

Getting quality sleep, eating antioxidant rich foods and staying hydrated are three simple ways we can minimise winter’s impact on our skin internally but there are a few easy adjustments you can make to your daily skincare routine which will also help. The most important thing to remember however, is that your skin is unique and what works for one person will not necessarily work for the next. Your best bet is to visit a Script Skincare store for a complimentary consultation where our dermal clinicians can assess your skin and using our Script technology determine the products and treatments which will best suit your skin.

Tips for combatting winter skin in your skincare routine:

Tip #1: change the base of your cleanser.

Winter is a great time to consider changing the base of your cleanser to something more hydrating. For example, if you use a gel cleanser, perhaps consider moving to a cream base which is gentler on the skin. Avoid foaming cleansers which can be stripping of the skins natural oils and reduce the frequency of any cleansers that contain acids to help retain moisture.

Tip #2: continue to use spf.

Temperature drops in winter can deceive us into thinking that there is a correlating drop in UV rays. However, in Australia, even in the southern states, UV rays can be moderate enough that spf is still required. As UV rays can be detrimental in depleting our skins natural hyaluronic acid stores, continuing to use an spf in winter is a great way to retain moisture in the skin.

Tip #3: moisturise, moisturise, moisturise.

Consider using a thicker base in winter or layering a serum with hyaluronic acid underneath to boost your skins hydration levels. When a moisturiser is applied over the top of the serum it will stop the hyaluronic acid from evaporating from the skins surface giving you that glowy and plumped skin appearance.

Tip #4: opt for calming, strengthening and healing skincare.

The extreme cold and heat in winter can play havoc with blood vessels and consequently worsen conditions such as rosacea and flushing. Look for calming and healing ingredients such as chamomile, jojoba, hyaluronic acid and aloe vera to soothe and strengthen the skin.