The harsh winter weather can be incredibly dehydrating for the skin, causing it to become dry and rough in texture while also leaving it more susceptible to irritation.
To keep the skin soft and well-hydrated during the cold winter, you must make several adjustments to your regular skincare routine.
Luckily, these changes are effortless to incorporate and will help restore much-needed moisture to your skin for a soft and radiant complexion.
Seven Helpful Tips to Keep Skin Hydrated and Plump During the Winter
1. Apply Thicker Moisturizing Creams, and Layer Up Before Bed
The best way to prevent your skin from drying out in the wintertime is to switch to thicker creams and balms formulated for extremely dry or irritated skin.
Look for moisturizers containing glycerin, cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl, and hyaluronic acid. These will best restore moisture to the skin and contribute to a baby-soft, plumper complexion.
Furthermore, you can layer up on your thickest moisturizer or use a richer product like a recovery mask formulated for dry skin at nighttime before bed, as this technique will be too heavy for daytime use/ use underneath makeup.
2. Use a Humidifier
While the air outside is dryer during the winter, so is the air indoors. This dry air is why we recommend keeping a humidifier nearby to help replenish the moisture in the air at home or wherever you spend much time indoors.
We recommend keeping indoor humidity levels at around 40-60% to offer a noticeable benefit to the skin.
3. Crank Down the Heat in the Shower
Although steamy-hot showers may be a guilty pleasure for many of us (especially when it’s cold outside), they are a common cause of dry and inflamed skin.
The reason for reducing water temperatures is that hot water is notorious for stripping the skin of its natural and moisturizing oils, fats and proteins, leaving it more prone to issues like drying out, itching, cracking and even peeling. So, trying to start taking cooler showers is in your skin’s best interest.
4. Avoid Body Washes That are Heavily Fragranced
While we hate to provide you bad news, your favourite scented body wash might also wreak havoc on your skin, stripping it of its natural hydrating lipids while damaging its healthy barrier.
Instead of using heavily fragranced or perfumed shower gels and creams containing harsh surfactants and drying alcohols, try switching to gentler, oil-based, and sulphate-free washes with no added fragrances.
These body wash products will help protect and hydrate your skin instead of irritating it – and we believe the trade-off is well worth it.
5. Moisturize Your Skin While it’s Still Damp
Following your (ideally cool/warm and not scorching hot) shower, it’s beneficial to hold off on drying yourself entirely and apply your body cream or lotion while your skin is still damp.
The water remaining on your body will help pull the moisturizing product into the skin for a more effective, deeper level of hydration.
Following that, you can use a secondary product containing emollient oils and humectants to lock in the moisture for optimally soft and hydrated skin.
6. Get a Facial That’s Designed to Hydrate
Winter is the perfect time to schedule an ultra-hydrating facial that will work to penetrate your skin with the intense moisture and nourishment it needs. So why not treat yourself?
For example, our skin health experts recommend the award-winning HydraFacial MD treatment conveniently offered at Skin6, which combines invigorating spa therapies with patented Vortex-Fusion® technology.
This facial provides unprecedented levels of hydration and cleanses and extracts impurities, resulting in an overall healthier, clear and radiant complexion that’s soft to the touch.
7. Don’t Forget About Your Hands and Lips, Too
The skin on our hands and lips tends to get especially dry in the winter months, so it’s essential to apply the same level of care and hydration to these areas, too.
Keep a convenient tube of fragrance-free hand cream in your bag, at your desk, or wherever you’ll need it throughout the day for easy access — and try to avoid washing your hands using water that’s too hot.
When it comes to the lips, you should also keep a hydrating lip ointment or balm on hand whenever your lips feel dry or chapped. Try your best to avoid habitually licking your lips, which will contribute to drying them out.
Achieve Your Ultimate Hydrated Skin Goals At Skin6
Is your skin thirsty? Then it might be time to treat yourself to a Hydrafacial MD treatment in Toronto.
Our expert cosmetic doctors and facialists are here to help you achieve your most hydrated skin yet, no matter how drying the winter weather may be.
To learn more about the Hydrafacial MD treatment offered at our clinic in Toronto or to schedule your appointment, call Skin6 at 416-362-6266 or contact us at info@skin6.com.
