The winter can be brutal on your skin, especially here in New York! Temperatures are falling, and the cold can leave your poor skin chapped, cracked, flaky, dry, and bleeding. Unfortunately, being inside the house during the winter doesn’t help either. Even indoors the heat can dry out your skin. While wintertime dry skin can affect some worse than others, it is important to change your skincare routine with the seasons.
If you want to hydrate and nourish your skin this winter, check out these winter skin care tips to help keep your skin healthy and beautiful.
1. Watch what you eat. What you ingest will have a direct effect on your skin, so make sure you are eating whole, nutritious foods. Ingesting too much saturated fat can lead to inflammation. Instead, ingest fatty acids which can help protect the skin’s moisture barrier. Find beneficial fatty acids in fish, avocados, and fish.
2. Make sure you moisturize your skin a lot this winter with an oil-based moisturizer. Don’t use moisturizers that are water-based, instead, save these products for the summertime. This winter, invest in your skin by opting for a high-quality oil-based moisturizer, which is heavier and more protective than your summertime products.
3. Indoor heat is most certainly welcome during the winter. However, cranking up the heater can dry out your skin. Heaters can make your space feel warm and cozy, so make sure you balance out the drying effects by placing several humidifiers around your house. A humidifier can help put back the beneficial moisture into the air.
4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Make sure you hydrate! This aspect cannot be stressed enough, as adequate hydration is necessary for bodily function and can help keep your body and skin hydrated. Avoid sugary drinks, and avoid or at least limit your consumption of caffeine and alcohol. Just by drinking water you can give your skin a healthy looking glow, and can make pores and wrinkles less prominent.
5. While you may love having a hot shower during the winter, you should try your very best to avoid hot showers. Even though hot showers can feel wonderful, hot water can wreak havoc on your skin. Besides the hot water, harsh soaps can strip the moisture out of your skin. So instead of taking a long, hot shower take a shower using warm water and keep your showers short.
Frequently Asked Questions
Winter weather, especially cold temperatures and indoor heating, can dry out your skin, causing it to become chapped, cracked, flaky, and even bleed. The cold air outside and dry heat indoors both strip moisture from your skin, making it more vulnerable during the winter months.
During winter, it is best to use an oil-based moisturizer rather than a water-based one. Oil-based moisturizers are heavier and provide a more protective barrier against the harsh, drying effects of cold weather and indoor heating, helping to keep your skin hydrated and nourished.
Hydration is crucial because drinking enough water helps maintain your skin's moisture levels from the inside out. Proper hydration can give your skin a healthy glow and reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles. Avoiding sugary drinks, caffeine, and alcohol can also help keep your skin hydrated.
Indoor heating can dry out the air inside your home, which in turn dries out your skin. To counteract this, using humidifiers can add moisture back into the air, helping to maintain your skin’s hydration and prevent dryness caused by heated indoor environments.
Eating whole, nutritious foods rich in beneficial fatty acids, such as fish and avocados, can help protect your skin’s moisture barrier. Avoiding excessive saturated fats is important because they can cause inflammation, which negatively affects skin health during winter.
Hot showers can strip your skin of its natural oils, leading to increased dryness and irritation during winter. Instead, opt for warm water and keep showers short to preserve your skin’s moisture and prevent damage caused by hot water and harsh soaps.
