6 Tips for Your Winter Skincare Routine

Drink Lots of Water

A lot of people forget that the easiest way to moisturize your skin and make it look glowing is to keep your body hydrated from the inside. When you don’t drink enough water, your skin becomes dry and chapped quicker because it suffers both from your low water intake and from the chilly, windy outside air that strips it of moisture.

But Don’t Forget About Moisturizer

While drinking enough water does help to keep your skin hydrated, it is really important to moisturize it from the outside, too. You need to remember that a moisturizer that works during the warm season may not be adequate in winter. If you feel that your skin lacks hydration, switch to an oil-based moisturizer.

You can even use carrier oils (for example, coconut oil or rose hip oil) to take care of your skin if you’re not prone to clogged pores, breakouts, or oily complexion. If oils are not for you, consider adding serums to your skincare routine, especially if you have aging skin.

Drop the Harsh Products

People with oily and combination skin often use harsh cleansers in an attempt to deal with the greasy shine and prevent breakouts. However, you should remember that oily skin and hydrated skin are not the same thing. Harsh scrubs and alcohol-based cleansers contribute to dehydration, making even oily skin rough, chapped, and flaky. Regardless of your skin type, you should switch to mild products during winter. Remember that winter is not the best time for chemical peels or acne treatments with salicylic acid.

Use Sunscreen

Just because it’s winter, it doesn’t mean you should skip sunscreen. There are two types of UV radiation that affect our skin, UVA (long-wave) and UVB (medium-wave). While there is less UVB around in winter, UVA rays still penetrate the ozone layer and affect your skin. In fact, the sun is actually closer to earth in winter, so your skin really needs protection from UVA even on cloudy, dark days. The easiest way to protect your skin is to use a moisturizer with SPF.

Wash Your Face with Lukewarm Water

Hot water strips your skin of natural oils, leaving it feeling dry and tight. To prevent dehydration, wash your face with lukewarm water and use a mild foaming cleanser instead of soap. If you feel like you really need a hot shower, moisturize immediately afterwards to reduce the impact of hot water on your skin.

Keep On Exfoliating, but Don’t Exfoliate Too Much

Exfoliation is an important part of your skincare routine because it helps get rid of dead cells, makes the skin smooth, and lets it breathe. You shouldn’t stop exfoliating in winter because dead cells will accumulate and cause dull complexion and breakouts. However, you should be more careful while exfoliating. As we’ve already said above, you need to skip harsh scrubs and chemical peels in favor of mild exfoliants that don’t irritate or damage the skin.

You also may need to exfoliate less than you would normally. If you have normal, oily or combination skin which is fine with exfoliation, once a week is enough to keep your skin clean. If you have very dry or extremely sensitive skin, even once a week may be too much. In this case, you should only exfoliate when your skin is not feeling dehydrated at the moment.