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How to Adjust Your Skincare Routine for Winter 2023
Winter is already here, and with it comes the coldest months of the year. With colder temperatures comes the dryness that can wreak havoc on your skin if you’re not ready for it! Especially if you’re in and out of dry, heated offices and homes - these rapid changes in temperature can kick-start blotchy skin and visible dry patches.
However, with the right tips and skincare products, your skin doesn’t have to feel (or get) all flaky and dry this winter! Here are our top suggestions on updating your skincare routine for winter.
1) Make Oil a Must-Have
What makes facial oils super-special is the fact that they work as occlusives and emollients. In wintertime, your skin is especially vulnerable to trans-epidermal water loss - that is, water evaporating through the uppermost layer of your skin, leaving it feeling dry, flaky, and dehydrated.
Facial oils - and body oils, for that matter - are going to be your secret weapon during the winter months! They’re not only excellent for locking in all the benefits of skincare ingredients like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, they also literally work as a shield between your skin and the drying outside environment to ensure your skin is radiant and moisturised, all winter long.
Facial oils are a great way to protect your skin this winter. Simply add a few drops to your moisturiser, or apply after moisturiser. Medik8 Calmwise Serum ($80) nurtures and moisturises skin thanks to an effective, potent formula. This oil-based serum relies on a jojoba oil base to deliver a powerful dose of Vitamin C to lighten dark spots.
This nurturing facial oil from Medik8 smooths and hydrates skin thanks to Jojoba Oil.
Don’t forget to add a body oil to your winter self-care routine, too! Dry skin becomes more obvious on the body during the winter, so a nourishing body oil is an easy fix.
We love this one from Dermalogica - it’s lightweight and fortified with Avocado Oil to lock in hydration and soften skin from head to toe. Dermalogica Phyto Replenish Body Oil ($89) can be used in place of your regular body moisturiser, or even after your body moisturiser for intense hydration.
Dermalogica Phyto Replenish Body Oil is a light and fragrant oil that deeply hydrates and nourishes the skin, leaving it feeling soft and supple.
2) Butter Yourself Up
Creamy moisturisers will be your new best friend during the wintertime. Swapping your gel moisturiser for something more creamy, especially overnight, will make a huge difference to ensuring that you wake up with glowing skin.
One of our favourite picks is the Inika Organic Phytofuse Renew™ Rich Night Cream ($99). This rich texture is ideal for locking moisture into skin overnight thanks to Shea Butter and Argan Oil in the formula.
This nurturing facial cream uses Shea Butter along with Glycerin, Argan Oil, Rosehip Oil and more intensely moisturise and hydrate skin, softening dry areas and infusing them with a hydrated glow.
Don’t neglect your skin from the neck down. Swapping out your body moisturiser for a heavier body butter or cream will go a long way to preventing that annoying winter itchy skin that’s so common during the colder months. Ingredients like Shea Butter are powerhouses for deeply moisturising and conditioning skin during the winter thanks to a unique makeup of fatty acids and antioxidants that deeply nourish your skin.
Another bonus of Shea Butter in the wintertime is that it’s great for literally everywhere on your body - dry cuticles? Shea butter. Dry heels? Shea butter. It’s an essential ingredient to reach for from top to toe to lock in moisture and banish dry skin all year long - but especially in the wintertime.
It’s a star ingredient in one of the best body butters out there: La Mer The Body Crème ($455). This ultra-opulent body cream has a rich texture that absorbs easily into the skin. Plus, the formula is fortified with La Mer’s iconic Miracle Broth to firm skin and ward off premature signs of ageing.
This rich body cream instantly comforts and renews by saturating skin with long-lasting, deep hydration. Dry skin feels cushioned and smoothed as it is enveloped in the therapeutic effects of the sea.
3) Don’t Take Super Hot Showers
I know - there’s nothing better than running a hot shower or running a steamy bath to warm up on a cold winter’s day. The truth is, taking too hot of a shower or bath could actually be making your skin even drier!
Very hot water can strip your skin of the natural oils that would normally condition it and lock in hydration. When you take those away with very hot water, your skin is left with nothing to defend itself against a dry winter environment - the perfect recipe for itchy, irritated skin.
The solution? Well, you don’t need to take cold showers like Wim Hof - just be mindful of the water temperature and don’t fall for the temptation of a super-hot shower.
Using a bath or shower oil will also make a huge difference to making sure that your skin stays moisturised this winter. Kiehl's Crème de Corps Smoothing Oil to Foam Body Cleanser is an effective, moisturising shower oil that cleanses skin without stripping it of moisture.
Using a body cleansing oil is ideal for those prone to dryness. The Kiehl’s shower oil is no exception! It leaves skin feeling softer and smoother, with less visible ashiness and skin flakes.
4) Apply Skincare While Your Skin Is Still Damp
This skincare tip is an absolute saviour for both face and body in the winter time! Applying skincare, especially hydrating and moisturising formulas to skin while it’s still damp is a life-changing tip - here’s why.
Almost all body and face moisturisers are formulated with a blend of 3 types of moisturising ingredients - humectants, emollients, and occlusives. The reason you want your skin to be a little bit damp before applying moisturising skin care is because of the first kind - humectants. These molecules attract water to themselves, and as they sink into the epidermis, they bring that water into your skin - plumping it up full of hydration.
When you apply a moisturiser over slightly damp skin, you basically make it’s job even easier at hydrating your skin - and during these dry winter months, keeping that hydration there is critical to avoiding itchy, scaly legs. Not that anyone might see them, but you’ll definitely feel them!
The Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Water Oil (from $96) is a hybrid serum facial oil that locks in hydration to skin.
This ultra-light facial oil isn’t ultra-light in the moisturisation department - use it after your moisturiser or add a few drops to your moisturiser for a dewy glow.
With these best skincare tips for winter, we hope we’ve helped you get your beauty affairs together this winter!
