Cold weather is terrible for your skin and will usually mean you spend many months dealing with dryness and flakiness. This also makes your skin red and sore in places, which is horrible to deal with. Correcting these problems takes a lot longer than preventing them, so here are three simple ways to maintain healthy and nourished skin during cold weather periods.
Follow a daily skincare routine to stay moisturised
Believe it or not, your skincare routine doesn’t need to be overly complicated in the colder months. You only need a handful of skincare products and you’re mainly focusing on keeping your skin moisturised and hydrated. Here’s what you should do every morning and evening:
- Wash your face with a simple hydrating cleanser
- Apply a good hydrating toner
- (Optional) Use a hydrating serum
- Apply a thick moisturiser for dry skin
Follow this with some SPF if you’re going outside and you’ve given your skin all the nourishment and protection it needs to ward off dryness and stay in great condition. I’d also recommend bringing lip balm and a moisturiser with you whenever you go out just to top things off if your skin starts feeling a bit dry.
Protect your skin to stay warm
Keep your skin protected from the cold by covering it and wearing things to remain nice and warm. This includes getting a collection of womens thermal hats to protect your forehead and stop your face from getting cold, along with a nice scarf that you can wear over your mouth and nose if it’s very cold. Gloves will stop your hands from getting dry too and all of this clothing acts as a barrier against cold air.
You’ll be amazed at the difference this makes – even though it feels like it isn’t doing anything. Test it if you want; spend a day wrapped up while outside and then one without the protective clothing. Your skin will immediately feel different.
Turn the shower temperature down
It’s cold outside so your natural reaction is to have the hottest showers known to mankind. You turn the temperature up as it feels relaxing and warm – though this wreaks havoc on your skin. It’s scientifically proven that hot water makes your skin dry. The big irony of dry skin during cold weather is that many people’s problems stem from their shower routine rather than the weather itself!
You could be doing everything mentioned in this post already, yet still have dry skin throughout the winter. It’s likely because your showers are too hot and the hot water is stripping your skin of its natural oils. Turn the heat down a tad – your showers can still be warm they just shouldn’t be piping hot. If you find this impossible to do as your body naturally feels super cold, then shorten your showers. Aim to spend 5 minutes max in there and get out to minimise the effect of the hot water on your skin.
Et viola; you’ve now done everything you can to keep your skin healthy when it’s cold. It’s all about protecting it from drying out and ensuring it gets all the moisturising nourishment necessary!
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This is a contributed post.
