Essential Skincare Products To Survive Harsh Winter

Harsh cold waves in winter can be harsh on your skin too. It can rob your skin of natural oils and moisture and leave your skin extra dry and rough. We need to put in added effort to keep our skin protected and healthy during this winter season.

Seasonal changes require changes in our choice of skincare products too, your holy grail from the warmer months may not suffice and cater to your skin needs during the colder months. Loss of water from your dermal layers paves the way for winter-specific skin issues like cracked feet, chapped lips, flakey and peeling skin, and accelerated skin aging (as a result of loss of moisture and dip in humidity).

Making a few skincare swaps during winter makes all the difference, swapping your normal body lotion with a Lotion for Dry Skin, swapping your harsh face washes to a natural face wash, and swapping your normal toner to a more hydrating one like a Calendula Toner may help you keep your skin healthy and happy during winter too.

Oats-Based Creams: Oats have been used classically as a skincare ingredient in many cultures including the Roman civilizations. It has multiple skin benefits starting from cleansing, and exfoliating to moisturization. It promotes skin microbiome and works as a probiotic for your skin.

Including colloidal oats cream as a lotion for dry skin helps retain and promote moisture in your dermal layer along with boosting the skin microbiome thus helping ensure skin soothing and repair for a healthier skin barrier.

Ceramides-Based Lotions: Ceramides are the naturally present intracellular lipids in the outermost layer of our skin, the stratum corneum. It makes up to a whopping 40% to 50% of our skin barrier. Topical application of ceramide creams helps in repairing and strengthening the skin barrier which is a necessity during the winter season as the harsh, cold, low humidity atmosphere takes a toll on our skin barrier health, paving the way for rough, and damaged skin. Ceramides make a great lotion for dry skin as they help replenish and restore the natural ceramides between our skin cells, bringing out smooth, plump, and moisturized skin.

Bath Emollients: Bathing during the winter season strips off the skin’s natural oils, making your skin drier. Including a bath emollient with skin-identical ingredients like ceramides, GLA, and cholesterol in your bath water helps prevent transepidermal water loss and retains water molecules in the skin thus maintaining a well-hydrated and moisturized skin.

Urea Creams For Cracked Feet In Winter: Cracked heels is one of the most common skin concerns during winter. It can be prevented and managed if you start including urea and glycolic acid-based creams prior to the onset of winter. Urea is known for its moisturizing properties, in higher concentrations it may also help with mild exfoliation that helps erode the dead skin layer, bringing out the fresh skin layer, the hydrating action of urea helps in smoothening and moisturizing the fresh layer of skin.

Gentle Conditioning Shampoo: We usually experience increased hair fall during winter due to the drop in humidity levels. Choosing a gentle, pH-balanced, and conditioning shampoo helps manage dryness and further prevents hair fall. Conditioning shampoos also prevent scalp dryness and prevents scalp flaking thereby promoting a healthier scalp environment for optimal hair growth.

Syndet Bar: Syndet Bars are proven to support hydration and may help reduce the eczematous severity. It is gentler on the skin, especially during winter. Unlike harsh soaps, syndet bars do not strip off the skin’s natural oil and helps maintain the hydration levels of the skin.

Quick Tips To Maintain Skin Health In Winter

Apart from the skincare products, certain skincare tips that may help you this winter are discussed below:

• It is advised to avoid the use of too hot or too cold water to shower in order to reduce post-shower dryness, choosing lukewarm water which is well tolerated by the skin dodges any chances of further dryness.
• While layering clothes, it is advised to keep the first layer of cotton in order to avoid any chances of skin irritation that otherwise rough fabrics like nylon or wool would cause.
• Curating a winter skincare routine regimen and following it consistently also helps maintain optimal skin health throughout the season.
• Applying lotion when the skin is still damp helps prevent TEWL and thus helps retain skin moisture.
• Massaging once a week with olive, coconut, or jojoba oil helps replenish the skin along with increasing blood circulation which in turn keeps skin rejuvenated and healthy.
• DIYs like using honey as a hydrating lip mask, oats mask and oats bath, or making your DIY Oats Cream for mild cleansing and hydration during the winter season are promoted and suggested by skincare experts.

Hopefully, this blog helped you gain the necessary insights for curating and choosing your winter skincare regimen and products. It’s important to acknowledge that our skin needs and concerns keep changing with the changing seasons and times, so it is advised to observe your skin’s needs and cater to them accordingly. Wish you a healthy and happy winter.