Suddenly, you have winter skin.
Almost overnight, your skin goes from seemingly fine to sensitive, dry, parched, and well, just terrible and it’s a result of seasonal weather changes leaving you with stressed winter skin. Your makeup exacerbates the problem. Your skin feels tight and looks red and blotchy.
Okay, you expect this to happen. It happens every winter. The usual winter chill wreaks havoc with your sensitive, dry skin. A quick search around the internet and you find a few quick-fix remedies to settle your skin down and get you through the arctic freeze.
So, it’s time to take action!
You complain to anyone who’ll listen about how sensitive your skin feels. A thicker moisturiser is the answer to this problem. Right? Maybe.
Or one of those facial oils that everyone seems to rave over? Could it help? Perhaps.
But, you don’t want to spend any more money on your skin. How about Coconut Oil. Cheap. Natural. Perfect.
It’s the answer to just about any problem known to humanity. Off to the local supermarket. Organic, of course.
But it feels so greasy, and your makeup slides off, not to mention sticking to your pillow each night.
And, despite this, your skin’s not really feeling any better. In fact, it still looks and feels dry behind that slick of organic coconut oil. How can this be?
I LOVE coconut oil. But, not straight out of the jar and onto my face. It’s just not the answer. Applied to your skin in this way, well, there’s just no real affinity and if there’s one thing your skin needs it’s an affinity with what’s being topically applied.
You can’t go through winter like this.
It’s just awful.
It shouldn’t be this way.
It would be easy to say, well, y’know it’s just the season you’re in. Just get yourself a heavier moisturising cream. But that’s not the kind of advice you’re going to get from me.
You’re going to hear this a lot. Change your skincare routine as the season changes. Really?
The short answer is no, not really. But, when have I ever left you with a short answer?
You want skin so resilient there is absolutely no reason to change your skincare routine.
If you’ve got a rock star routine filled with nutrients and antioxidants to protect your skin and if you’ve been regulating the activities of the skin with ingredients that reboot the skin’s normal functions. Well, then you should sail through winter.
But what about the self-inflicted mishaps that cause our skin to stress out during winter? The crimes and misdemeanours. The daily habits that undo your skincare routine?
The 5 crimes and misdemeanours of winter skin.
#1. You sit in front of the fire.
Of course, you do; we all do. It’s not so much the heat of the fire but the lack of moisture in the air. Leave that fire raging for long enough, and every bit of moisture in the air is going to be sucked up, including the moisture in your skin. Dried out before you can put another log on the fire. What should you do? A humidifier is a brilliant option. Failing that, a big bowl of water in the room will help keep the air moist.
#2. You take hot, hot showers, and you stay in there for too long.
Brrr. It’s so cold. Just another 5 minutes. As lovely as a hot shower or bath is, you’re going to cause problems for your skin. Stripping your skin’s natural protective lipids and your capillaries will have a meltdown. You’ll end up with dry skin as well as red blotchy capillary damage. No amount of skincare is really going to help. So, turn down the heat just a little. Your skin will be much better, and you’ll be doing your bit for the environment.
#3. You continue with your usual routine of cleanser, moisturiser. Repeat.
That’s enough. No, not really. Opting for a heavier moisturiser is pointless if all you’re doing is the tried and true basics of cleansing and moisturising. I know, it’s what you know, your Mum did it. You figure it’s fine for you.
Well, sure, if it’s what you want, go ahead. But you’ve read this far, so maybe you want to do more.
So here’s the thing. Invest in quality serums, and you won’t need anywhere near the amount of moisturiser you are currently using. Your need for traditional moisturising creams will diminish even during the cold chill of winter.
If you’d like the essentials of a good skincare routine, you should check out my article on the 6 daily essentials for great skin at any age.
#4. Your sensitive skin gets worse.
This’s just how it is for you. You’ve accepted it. You buy skincare for sensitive skin, even though it doesn’t do much. But what choice do you have? Well, plenty. Do not define your skin as sensitive. In most cases, sensitivity is something you acquire from too many winters without proper care or skincare routines that are either inadequate or just plain ol’ wrong. You can change this. But, it’s going to take a bit of effort and the right products. Check out my Dry Skin Series if you want to know more.
#5. You’ll switch to a richer or thicker moisturiser?
It might be the answer, but if there’s no affinity with your skin type? Remember what I said earlier? If there’s one thing your skin needs, it’s affinity.
What do I mean?
Well, the ingredients contained in your skincare need to be recognised by the skin. They need to match the substances already being created by the skin. Nutrients your skin cells will accept. Now, that’s what I call natural.
Do not define your skin as sensitive. In most cases, sensitivity is something you acquire. You can do something about it.
You might also like this article: Finding the perfect moisturiser.
What people tell me about their skin.
I love it when you tell me how their skin has improved or changed for the better. In the real world, I have a client who I recently introduced to cosmeceutical skincare.
A recent comment from her pleased me very much. I love to hear skincare success stories. The skin responding and behaving as it should, with resilience.
“I’m not noticing the change in my skin as the season changes. As it’s getting colder and winter hits, my skin typically suffers from dryness and irritation. I’m just not noticing it as much…
What to do when your skin is dry all the time?
For some of us, winter skin can feel like a year-round event. And the problem goes beyond a change in the weather. If your skin is chronically dry, it will need specialised care to, first normalise and then rebuild the barrier function to maintain the lipids in the skin for environmental protection.
Of course, it’s never going to be one single product or switching to a new moisturiser.
A chronically dry skin first needs a proper skin diagnosis and a skincare routine that restores balance and normalises the skin while supporting it with essential nutrients and antioxidants to maintain the skin health and encourage a more resilient skin no matter what the weather is.
Environ Focus Care Moisture+
Environ Focus Care Moisture+ is a range of products to complement what you’re already doing at home. If you’ve got the fundamentals sorted; A perfectly balancing cleanser, a toner to hydrate and a moisturiser to support skin function, then you’ll find these products the perfect booster products to alleviate dry, parched skin.
And now you?
Do you keep reaching for richer, thicker moisturising creams to solve your winter skin? Feeling the stress of the change in seasons? Got a question? You can shoot me an email here. Or, you can book an online skin consultation with me.
Thanks for reading. I hope I’ve helped you today. And, if you found this article useful, why not share it on your socials.
See you next time,
