Winter is here with its cold winds, low temperatures, foggy-smoggy skies and mild sunshine.

Winter weather can range from mildly cold to bitterly freezing depending upon where you live and which month of the year it is. Still, light cold to moderate to severely chilly; winters are cruel to your skin in any form. The reason is that when temperatures go down, the air also gets colder. This cold air has low humidity and it robs your skin of moisture. This leads to dryness, itching and flakiness – common winter skin woes, as we all know.

Thankfully there are some easy ways and handy products to help your skin stay soft and supple even in the harshest of winters. Here are some useful skincare tips that you can use to help your skin survive the cold season without any adverse effects.

Why winter damages your skin?

Even in the cold, skin barrier degradation is possible. Many factors affect our skin’s appearance, even though we might not always know them. The main symptoms we might experience during the colder months include dryness, tightness, irritation-like feelings, peeling, roughness, and small blisters, frequently all at once.

Winter brings significant temperature variations and humidity levels, putting great stress on the skin. Finding a cure before it’s too late is preferable to dealing with skin dryness and irritation during the winter. Avoid wasting time by living by the adage “Prevent, prevent, and again prevent.” Since everyone’s skin is unique, like for dry skin, people should follow – a winter skincare routine for dry skin, etc. You must pay attention to your skin’s needs, and developing a practice based on them is essential. Prevention means establishing this routine first and foremost.

How do you protect your skin in the winter?

During winter, Wow Winter skincare products are the best to use as they are rich in Hydroxytyrosol. This potent natural antioxidant helps skin health and moisture while protecting from free radical damage. Keep your skin glowing and healthy all winter by following these easy tips! Keep your skin shiny and healthy all winter by following these easy tips!

Morning:

Start the day with antioxidants and UV to protect the skin from oxidative damage. Start with the best moisturizer for winter for the face, a moist look for better hydration and absorption of activities.

Extra tips:

It is best to pat the skin dry and spritz the face with a toner to hydrate the skin if you have harsh municipal water.
To reduce sensitivity, retinol and chemical exfoliants should always choose the best moisturizer for dry skin in winter.

Evening:

The body shifts into “repair” mode while you sleep, requiring rehydration and re-nourishment to support the overnight “repair” process and ensure the skin is thoroughly hydrated and nourished the next day.

Tips for winter skincare routine

1. Choose the right Moisturizer:

Oil-based moisturizer works best for dry skin in winter. These compositions shield your skin from moisture loss by forming a barrier around it. You can use the best face moisturizer for winter to prevent dryness. Additionally, a dose of nutrition is considered a product with natural oils like Jojoba or avocado oil.

2. Gentle Cleansing:

Avoid using an abrasive, drying cleanser in the winter. Choose the best face moisturizer for winter, a mild cleanser that won’t dry out your skin or remove its natural oils.

3. Exfoliate Wisely:

Exfoliation is crucial, but you shouldn’t overdo it in your winter skincare routine. Use a moderate exfoliator once a week to eliminate dead skin cells and encourage cell turnover. It will improve your moisturizer’s penetration into the skin.

4. Protect your lips:

Dry and chapped lips are more common in winter. Use a lip balm with an SPF to protect them from the outdoors; apply butter, beeswax, or coconut oil for soft, smooth lips.

5. Modify your skincare routine:

A winter skincare and winter moisturizer cream is necessary. To offer an additional layer of defense against the cold, consider using a moisturizer serum or facial in your winter skincare routine.

6. Stay hydrated

As cold winds tend to suck moisture out of your skin, hydration becomes essential. As winter also means less thirst, people tend to forget to drink enough water. So our first crucial tip is that you should sip lukewarm water (8-10 glasses a day minimum) through the day. You can also sip green tea to get hydration as well as more antioxidants.

Remember, hydration in body gives hydration to skin too.

7. Keep skin well moisturized

Face or neck or hands or any other exposed body part, moisturize your skin really well in winters. For your delicate facial skin that gets full onslaught of winter chill, we recommend using a serum on face, neck and décolletage areas. Top up the serum with a good day cream enriched with botanical actives and extracts. At night, use a rich night cream to help your skin repair the environmental damage it has sustained through the day. We recommend a night cream with hyaluronic acid and peptides as key actives. Hyaluronic acid is a powerful skin hydrator due to its ability to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water. Peptides – especially Matrixyl peptides – are great at helping skin stay more supple and less lined.

For hands that have delicate skin prone to dryness and aging, we recommend a good quality hand cream that you should re-apply every time you wash your hands.

On other body parts such as legs, arms, back, and stomach etc that are equally prone to dryness, use a nourishing moisturizer enriched with premium cold pressed botanical oils and extracts. Some really effective key actives to look for on the label are shea butter, cocoa butter, argan oil, almond oil, aloe vera extract, vitamin E & pro vitamin B5, and coconut milk. Vitamins and pro-vitamins are also ingredients to look out for as these help the skin fight free radicals and improve skin’s lipid barrier. For holistic health benefits, you also need to ensure that your chosen products are free of harmful parabens and mineral oils.

For face serum, we recommend WOW Skin Science Flawless Whitening Pearl Serum powered with matte white pearls composed of Solawhite Glycofilm®, calcium alginate and titanium dioxide suspended in SolaGel®, a light and non-sticky gel (imported from France), patented and proven for skin lightening, anti-hyper pigmentation and anti-aging effects.

For day cream, we recommend WOW Skin Science 10-in-1 Active Miracle Face Cream with SPF15++. It moisturizes and nourishes to boost glow, protects from sun and pollutants to minimize tanning and age spots, and repairs everyday skin damage to visibly reduce sign of aging. It is powered by 10 excellent actives – Aloe Leaf Juice, Raw Honey, Cocoa & Shea Butters, Extra Virgin Olive & Coconut Oils, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Beetroot Extract, Moroccan Argan Oil, Vitamins B5, C&E.

For night cream, we recommend WOW Skin Science Anti-Aging Night Cream powered with clinically proven anti-aging bioactives – Matrixyl (3000 & Synthe 6) peptides, Aloe Leaf Juice, Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamins C & E. It helps minimize wrinkles, fine lines, age spots and dullness for firmer, youthful and glowing skin.

For hand care, we recommend WOW’s awesome hand cream trio – WOW Skin Science English Rose Hand Cream, WOW Skin Science Coconut Hand Cream, and WOW Skin Science Avocado Hand Cream. All these three creams are chock-a-block with healthy botanical actives including the wonderfully hydrating hyaluronic acid, shea butter, cocoa butter & pro vitamin B5.

For legs, arms, tummy and any other body areas, pick any moisturizer from WOW’s wide range of body lotions. You can opt for WOW Skin Science Skin Revive Nectar Moisturizer that suits all skin types. Or you can take your pick from WOW Skin Science Shea & Cocoa Butter Body Lotion (intensive level moisture & hydration), WOW Skin Science Coconut Milk Body Lotion (moderate level moisture & hydration) , or WOW Skin Science Aloe Vera Body Lotion (lightweight level moisture & hydration). All these three body lotion are non-greasy, nourishing and have anti-aging skincare qualities.

8. Go easy on heat

Heat feels like a luxury in winters. Internal heating, room heaters, bonfires, hot baths, hair dryers, sunshine…anything that brings warmth your way feels blissful. But beware; just like cold, the heat will also take away precious moisture your skin so wants to keep inside.

For healthy and happy skin, we advise wearing extra clothing layers for warmth. If you must use a heater or blower, keep these at the lowest possible temperature setting. For hair dryers, either use cold or low heat settings, or invest in an ionic hair dryer that doesn’t dry out hair.

9. Protect skin from sunlight

Sunshine on skin feels fabulous in winters, doesn’t it! But the bad thing is that it has ultraviolet rays (UVA & UVB) that are make the skin look aged. Exposure to sunlight causes skin damage right from surface to the layers underneath. This damage that’s also called photo aging shows up as fine lines, pigmentation, crow’s feet, dryness and wrinkles.

To shield your skin from sun damage you need to apply a sunscreen or a sunscreen serum with SPF value matching your sun exposure duration. If you live or work or commute through polluted areas with smog, exhaust fumes and lots of dust, you can opt for a specialist anti-pollution sunscreen too.

By the way, absence of direct sunshine doesn’t mean your skin is safe from UVA & UVB rays. If there is sunlight i.e. all through daylight hours, UV rays are coming to earth and if you are out in open air, these are falling on your skin and gradually harming it.

So a quality sunscreen is a must-apply product during winters for skincare.

WOW offers a wide range of sunscreen lotions and sunscreen face serums.

Among sunscreen lotions, you can choose as per your sun protection needs from WOW Skin Science AM2PM Sunscreen Lotion SPF50 (water resistant sun protection), WOW Skin Science Sunscreen Lotion SPF 35 (suitable for low intensity, everyday sun exposure), WOW Skin Science Sunscreen Lotion SPF 45 (suitable for medium intensity sun exposure), and WOW Skin Science Sunscreen Lotion SPF 55 (suitable for intense sun exposure). All the sunscreens are enriched with natural sun blocker botanical actives like carrot seed extract, raspberry extract and avocado oil.

If you live or work in a polluted area or commute through polluted roads, we recommend WOW Skin Science Anti-Pollution Sunscreen SPF 40 that provides advanced, water resistant and broad spectrum skin protection not just against sun’s UVA & UVB radiations, but also against pollution, smog, smoke, and fuel exhaust particles from harming skin. It has Alteromonas Ferment Extract that creates a shield to dispel pollution particles, even the tiniest PM2.5 sized pollution particles.

10. Use only sulphate-free cleansers and body washes

Sulphates are an inexpensive lathering ingredient added to face washes, body washes and shampoos for rich foaming effect. Often listed as SLS/ SLES on packaging, these sulphates have a drying effect i.e. along with washing away dirt and grime, these also leach away skin’s healthy oils and moisture leaving it prone to dryness and aging signs.

We recommend using cleansing products – on face, body or hair – that are totally sulphate-free. These will cleanse your skin without taking away precious moisture and skin’s healthy oils.

WOW offers a wide range of premium sulphate-free face washes, body washes and shower gels.

For face washes, you can match one of the following to your specific skin needs:

Take your pick from Our Collection

Apple Cider Vinegar Foaming Face Wash

WOW Skin Science Activated Charcoal face Wash

Vitamin C Brightening Face Wash

Aloe Vera Hydrating Face Wash

WOW Skin Science Anti Acne Neem & Tea Tree Face Wash

Apple Cider Vinegar Face Wash

Ubtan Face Wash

WOW Skin Science Amazon Rain Forest Collection Mineral Face Wash

For body washes and shower gels, you can match one of the following to your specific skin needs:

Foaming body washes

WOW Skin Science Apple Cider Vinegar Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Aqua Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Japanese Cherry Blossom Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science French Lavender & Chamomile Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Green Apple Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Lemon & Pine Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Melon, Cucumber & Aloe Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Peppermint, Pine & Rosemary Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Coconut Water & Pineapple Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Rock Rose & Jasmine Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Rose Otto Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Strawberry & Peach Foaming Body Wash, WOW Skin Science Tea Tree & Mint Foaming Body Wash & WOW Skin Science Valencia Orange & Ginger Foaming Body Wash.

Volcanic Gold Clay Shower Gel (with Acai, Passion Fruit & Rice Oil Complex) – A premium shower gel from our Amazon rain Forest Collection enriched with actives from South American Amazon Rainforests.

WOW Skin Science Ubtan Body Wash (with chickpea flour, rosewater, almond extract, turmeric extract, saffron extract, sandalwood oil, aloe vera extract and pro-vitamin B5) – A premium body wash from our Ubtan range based on Ayurvedic skincare traditions.

11. Go easy on exfoliation. Use ubtan.

In winters don’t exfoliate your skin too much or too often. Rather than harsh scrubs, go for the good old Indian skincare via ubtan. Ubtan (Sanskrit word: ubvartan) is a paste that’s applied to face and other body parts as a beauty ritual. This paste is applied on skin, left for a while, and then washed off. An ubtan is much more than a simple face/skin exfoliant. It works as an all-in-one cleanser, detoxifier, scrub, softener and polish for the skin. You can use it on face or any other body part. As an added benefit, regular ubtan application also helps remove fine hair from skin’s surface.

We recommend Ubtan Face & Body Scrub. Made from traditional natural ingredients – chickpea flour, rosewater, almond extract, turmeric extract, saffron extract, sandalwood oil, aloe vera extract, pro-vitamin B5, fine almond shell and walnut shell powders known for their exfoliating and skin rejuvenating properties, it works well in winter skincare regimen. It removes dead skin cells, deep-seated dirt and surface tan; delivers healthy moisturize and softens skin for velvet feel and lush glow.

Conclusion

You can keep healthy, radiant skin all winter by including these skincare suggestions in your daily regimen. Make these routines part of your day-to-day routine to battle the harsh effects of winter weather. Consistency is crucial. You can have lovely, well-hydrated skin no matter the weather by picking the correct products and paying attention to your skin’s requirements.