These Tips can Help you Maintain Optimal Skin Health During a Harsh Winter

All Summer long, your skin may have felt plump and looked dewy with hydration. Now that we have traveled through Fall and are in Winter, you may be wondering what has happened to your skin. Naturally, the air becomes much drier as the temperature drops, even amidst rain and sleet and snow. When this happens, we reach for warmth. Usually, this means heavy sweaters, indoor heating, and hot showers to warm us from the outside in. In combination, the changes in Winter can do a number on the skin. They don’t have to.

Here, we offer details on how the Winter weather can affect your skin and how you can support moisture and renewal all year long.

Hot Baths and Showers

Just like the heated indoor air, the hot water of a steamy bath or shower depletes the skin of much-needed moisture. Remember, what is happening outside your home is dehydrating your skin and hair. What you do inside your home can offset this – or not. A long, hot shower may feel amazing, but it’s not good for your skin. If at all possible, cut it short. If a bath is on your Winter night to-do list, add a luxurious oil to the water along with a heaping spoon of honey and vitamin E. These additives help your skin absorb more moisture even with hotter water temperatures.

After all baths and showers, as well as at other times of day, experts recommend applying a generous amount of emollient lotion or cream and moisturizer to the entire body. Applying a thick, creamy lotion while the skin is still supple after a shower preserves the moisture in the skin.

Facial Cleanser and Moisturizer

If you are still using the same cleanser and moisturizer you did during the Summer, your skin is very likely begging for something new and improved. Gentle cleansers are usually formulated to preserve moisture and not strip away important oils that nourish the skin. Solvents such as sodium lauryl sulfate, for example, should be avoided, as should cleansers with a high concentration of any kind of acid, such as alpha hydroxy acid. The exception to this is hyaluronic acid, which may be found in certain products. The value of hyaluronic acid is that this ingredient naturally binds to water, holding it in the epidermis for better moisture.

Skin care is a broad topic that takes on new details as the season’s change. For the next several months, what your skin is likely demanding is hydration and exfoliation, making Winter a great time to schedule a professional chemical peel in our Teaneck, NJ office. Call 201.836.9696 for help maintaining your healthiest skin.