Winter is our favorite season, but it can also cause skin problems. Winter’s low humidity causes our skin to become dry and flaky. In addition to being dry, indoor heating dehydrates our skin, causing itching.
Skin health is vital for overall body function and aesthetic reasons. In addition to other things, it shields the body against the numerous viruses and germs a person encounters daily. The sun’s harmful UV rays, which might harm cells, are also protected from them. By feeling pressure or discomfort, healthy skin also helps individuals better respond to significant changes around them. Eczema (itchy, dry, reddish patches) and xerosis (dry skin), two severe skin conditions, can occur in cold weather.
The chilling fact is that winter brings a cocktail of factors that just aren’t skin friendly. Still, not all is lost and there are ways to keep your skin happy and healthy even during winters. We bring you handy tips for healthy skin care across the winter. Let’s know more.
What are the signs of dry skin?
A few signs of dry skin may include the need for therapy or lifestyle modifications, such as flaky or rough texture, Infections, peeling skin, skin burns, and itchiness. If you have acne, you can manage the symptoms as well.
Some people believe that acne only affects people with oily skin, but this is not the case. In particular, dry skin can occasionally cause blemishes to appear due to the widespread damage done to the skin, which can lead to acne breakouts.. Consider keeping your regular skin care regimen while using an acne-prone skin-specific moisturizer twice daily to prevent dry skin and outbreaks. Also, avoid chemicals like rubbing alcohol because they can dry up your skin.
How to prevent dry winter skin
A few essential habits are required to prevent dry winter skin. To begin, avoid stripping natural oils by using a moderately moisturizing cleanser. To seal in moisture, use a thick, non-comedogenic moisturizer daily. To fight dry air, humidify your interior environments. To avoid skin dryness:
- Use cool showers as opposed to hot ones.
- Gently exfoliate to eliminate dead skin cells and help absorb moisturizers.
- In the winter, use sunscreen to protect yourself from UV rays because they can be harmful when you spend a lot of time in the sun.
- Keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
- To protect your skin from the elements, layer up warmly.
These steps will help you keep your skin hydrated and healthy throughout the winter.
15 Important Skincare Tips That You Should Know
1. Avoid hot shower
Wintertime indulgences like hot baths can harm your skin. Dry, itchy, and irritated skin are symptoms of damaged keratin cells. When exposed to hot water, the skin becomes even more dry, which depletes its natural oils. You should avoid taking hot showers to keep your skin in good general health. You can gradually lower the heat if you are accustomed to taking hot showers twice a day in winter.
2. Maintain vigilance over your acne remedies.
With salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, acne is frequently treated. These procedures, though, might be too abrasive for your skin during the winter. It is time to alter your morning-to-night winter skincare routine if you realize that treatments that once worked wonders now leave your skin flaky.
3. Take vitamin D supplements.
In summer, we are more likely to exposure to su and get natural vitamin D instead of winter.. You can ensure you consistently get the recommended amounts of vitamin D by taking vitamin supplements.
4. See your dermatologist.
Consult your dermatologist if you have persistent dry skin, scaling, itching, rashes, or growth.
5. Avoid extreme cold:
It can be more dangerous to get frostbite during the winter. If the temperature drops below 32 degrees Celsius, you can protect your skin from the extreme cold by wearing warm clothing, including a hat, scarf, and gloves.
6. Stay hydrated, Drink water.
We know that winters mean less thirst, but remember; your skin still needs hydration from inside too to look clear and plump. So drink up at least 8 glasses of water on a daily basis.
7. Use a gentle, soap-free facial cleanser.
Cleanse your no more than twice a day, and always use a gentle, soap-free cleanser to help preserve your skin’s natural oils that save from dryness. When you wash your face too much, it removes your skin’s naturally protective oils leading to drier skin.
Choose from WOW Skin Science range of face washes and cleansers as per your skin type.
8. Exfoliate for smoother skin.
Face or body, exfoliating your skin removes dead skin cells and leaves it softer, smoother and glowing. This is a skincare step that people often tend to skip during the winters. However, a gentle scrub to buff away the dead cells and allow healthier skin to come out is exactly what your skin needs. Exfoliate after your bath once or twice a week for soft, glowing skin.
We recommend WOW Face Scrubs and Body Scrubs for smooth youthful skin throughout winters. Choose as per your skin type
9. Use a sunscreen face serum.
Winter sun may be not as bright and the winter sunshine may be milder but still it sends harmful ultraviolet (UV) sun rays to earth just the same. These UV rays can make your skin look old before time by penetrating the skin and damaging the collagen, the protein responsible for holding your skin firm and supple. As sunshine holds a special attraction in winters and you naturally wish to take in some sun to warm yourself, we strongly recommend applying a sunscreen face serum that combines anti-sun and anti-aging benefits in one formulation for convenience.
Choose from WOW Sunscreen Face Serums (available in SPF 35/45/55) as per your skin’s specific needs.
10. Keep your facial skin amply moisturized 24×7. Use separate day cream and night creams.
Don’t let your skin go dry. Keep it nicely and amply moisturized 24×7 with specialist day and night creams. A day cream with protective and hydrating activities like aloe vera and argan oil keeps the skin safe from cold air, sunrays and dryness. A night cream with peptides and hyaluronic acid facilitates overnight skin repair, hydration and healing. Used in tandem, these ensure excellent care for your facial skin through the winters.
Choose from WOW Skin Science range of Face Creams and Face Moisturizers as per your skin’s specific needs.
11. Apply an anti-pollution sunscreen
If you live in urban areas and/or stay outside for prolonged hours, your skin gets extra onslaught of pollutants as well besides the regular sun rays. This can cause irritations, aging skin signs, pigmentation and tanning. To shield your skin, wear a specialist anti-pollution sunscreen with botanical extracts that will not only stop UV rays but also repel pollution particles.
We recommend WOW Anti-Pollution Sunscreen SPF 40. A water resistant, all-in-one skin protection against pollution, smog, smoke, fuel exhausts and UVA & UVB radiations from the sun. It stops even the most harmful PM2.5-sized (up to 2.5 micrometers in size) pollution particles from adhering to your skin and clogging up pores.
12. Apply a body lotion.
Just like the skin on your face, the rest of your skin suffers in winters. To keep it soft and supple, make it a habit to apply a quality body lotion right after your shower (while the skin still retains light dampness) to seal in the moisture. Choose a body lotion enriched with seed oils and butters (shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, argan oil, sweet almond oil) and botanical extracts (aloe vera, beetroot) to give your skin ample fatty acid and antioxidant nourishment. Also be sure to choose a body lotion that’s without any mineral oils or parabens for healthy, holistic skincare.
We recommend the WOW Body Lotions as per your skin’s specific needs.
13. Use a body butter on extra dry areas.
If your skin is extra dry, or if some parts like feet, elbows and knees tend to go rough and chapping in winters, we recommend applying body butters for extra nourishing care. Body butters are intensive products formulated with botanical oils and butters and other luxurious ingredients like essential oils, fruit extracts, natural fragrances etc. to deliver intense hydration.
We recommend WOW Body Butters as per your skin’s specific needs.
14. Give extra healing care with ubtan and face mask.
Once or twice a week, give your skin extra pampering and replenishing care with a face mask and an ubtan face/ body pack. Face masks are creamy formulations containing a blend of skin-friendly activities like natural clays, plant extracts, hyaluronic acid, vitamins, essential oils, and herb and spice extracts etc. Each of these has a specific benefit like hydration, moisturization, depigmentation, toning, tightening, brightening, and removal of dead cells, sebum and impurities.
For Ubtan care, we recommend WOW Ubtan Face & Body Pack.
For Face mask, we recommend WOW Face Masks as per your skin’s specific needs.
15. Some general tips for winter skincare:
🔹 Minimize exposure to indoor heating as it makes interior moisture levels drop. This makes your skin go extra dry. Wear layers of clothing to stay warm instead.
🔹 Resist using hot water for bathing as it leaves skin drier than before. Use lukewarm water for bathing/showering to protect skin’s healthy oils from getting washed out.
🔹 Drink sufficient water to stay hydrated and expel out toxins.
Never sleep with makeup on. Follow the cleansing, toning, serum and moisturizing routine morning and evening.
🔹 Do not use skincare products with sulphates, parabens, alcohol, silicones or mineral oils.
Conclusion
Winters are knocking with months aheads full of cold air, dryness and low temperatures. It’s that time of the year when your skin starts going dry, flaky and dull. If you live in cities, add an onslaught of heavier than usual pollution load too. Up North, smog is a winter woe that just doesn’t seem to lift all through the winters. Then if you sit or walk outside in the sun, your skin runs the risk of photo-aging, tanning and pigmentation as well.
