A healthy winter skincare strategy is essential to protecting your skin from damage. Here are 6 tips to keep the cold from ruining your fun this winter.
When you’re out on the slopes, enjoying a bright winter day with the family, your skincare routine may be the last thing you consider. But if you pay attention to your skin now, you’ll avoid paying the price later.
Keeping your skin happy and healthy during the winter is a challenging task. Between heated indoor air and freezing outdoor conditions, it’s hard to maintain a balanced complexion.
In our experience, raw, chapped hands and blistered faces do not make the return trip enjoyable. We’ve got a few easy ways to keep your skin looking its best — especially when the mercury drops.
#1. Double Up on the Moisture
Winter dryness starts at your skin’s surface because the air isn’t typically as humid during the winter months. If you’re already layering on the cream and lotion, it’s time to take steps to really protect your skin this winter.
If your skin’s already feeling flaky and tight, try adding a heavy-duty moisturizer or a thicker balm to your skincare routine. Keeping a small tube of moisturizer or balm with you can help you remember to reapply as needed.
You won’t regret taking extra precautions by moisturizing before leaving the house — especially during colder months when indoor heating adds additional dryness to the inside air. If you’re looking for a way to increase the humidity inside your home, keep reading.
#2. Reduce the Time You Spend in a Piping Hot Shower
Limiting your showers to once a day and setting the hot water heater a few degrees cooler will conserve energy and water. Plus, it’s better for your health.
Both the length of shower time and water temperature play a part in winter skin woes. Of course, we don’t mean neglecting personal cleanliness.
Healthy skin has a natural balance of oil, “good” bacteria, and other microorganisms. Washing your skin with hot water and mild soap helps to remove dirt and keep this balance intact.
If you bathe too frequently or scrub too hard, you risk removing these helpful microorganisms—which can leave skin dry and cracked. This allows harmful bacteria to enter the body and could cause infections.
#3. Use a Moisturizer with High SPF Sunscreen Daily.
Did you know that SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor? Protecting all exposed skin from the sun’s harmful rays fights damage we can’t always see. It’s essential to continue using a moisturizing SPF daily — it’s an often neglected part of winter skincare.
Choose a moisturizing sunscreen formulated for dry skin. It’ll help lock in the moisture while providing protection from UV rays. Even if the sun’s not shining bright, UVA rays can still penetrate your skin and cause damage. To prevent dry skin plus sunburn, you’ve got to be diligent with the SPF all year round, even during winter.
If you’re looking for maximum moisture and sun protection, combat winter dryness by layering multiple skincare products. That means SPF should be the last layer of moisture on your skin.
It’s easy — here’s how layering moisturizer and sunscreen works:
❄️Apply your moisturizing product first. Good choices are simple: shea butter, jojoba oil, or your favorite natural oil, serum, balm, or cream moisturizer.
❄️Follow up with a lightweight SPF and/or moisturizing sunscreen to lock in the moisture.
#4. Bundle Up and Stay Active Even When It’s Cold Outside
From dry skin to chapped lips to dry and brittle hair, brutal winter weather can undoubtedly wreak havoc on our bodies. Exercise can be especially helpful in maintaining healthy skin during winter months.
When you exercise, your body increases blood flow to your muscles. This increased blood flow is beneficial even when you’re not exercising—it improves circulation throughout the rest of your body, including your skin.
Exercise may even prevent future skin problems because it helps boost your immune system by promoting healthy circulation throughout your body. Regular exercise improves the skin’s structure and ability to lock in moisture.
Increased circulation means your skin cells can start repairing and replacing skin cells. It’s incredible what improving your circulation can do for your body.
#5. Hydration Starts With What You Put In Your Body.
Our bodies need water to keep every system running smoothly. After all, your body is made of 60% water!
Water transports nutrients to cells and helps get rid of toxins. It keeps skin plump and moist with a healthy glow, which prevents dry, dehydrated skin.
We’re not saying you need to dramatically increase your fluid intake. Just get plenty of water — especially when you’re active.
Besides drinking more water, hydrating foods can help. Fruits and vegetables high in water content, such as watermelon, cantaloupe, spinach, lettuce, celery, and tomatoes, can help you meet your daily hydrating needs.
#6. Protect Your Skin From Dry Heat with a Humidifier Like a Simmer Pot.
Many people forget about the humidity in their homes. Still, studies have shown that low humidity levels lead to dry skin. While it’s essential to keep indoor air clean and allergen free, it’s also important to maintain moisture in the air.
Adding a humidifier to your home can keep your skin happy and healthy, and it’ll help you sleep better.
If you don’t have a humidifier, an old-fashioned simmer pot is a simple solution your grandparents may have kept bubbling on the stove.
You can create a yummy scent and humidify dry winter air all in one swoop with a simmer pot. It’s a customizable aromatherapy pot that bubbles on your stove all day.
Put the ingredients into a saucepan, cover it with water and let it simmer. A slow cooker is another easy way to keep a simmer pot without adding water to your pan on the stove all day.
The key to a good simmer pot is using what you have on hand, and don’t be afraid to get creative! Here are a few of our favorite simmer pot “add-ins” to make your home smell especially inviting:
Apple Pie
Add one apple, sliced, a few cinnamon sticks, and a handful of cloves to your simmer pot for a fall favorite.
Winter Dreams
Take the peel from a few oranges, fresh cranberries, apple slices, cinnamon sticks, clove, and a splash of vanilla for holiday vibes.
New Year’s Day Home Freshener
Slice a whole lemon, add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, and tuck in a cinnamon stick or two for a deodorizing fragrance that smells fresh enough to clear the air after company.
Keep It Simple for the Season
Winter is the perfect time to up your skincare game. If you’ve been neglecting your skin for the past few months, now is the time to make up for it.
During the winter, falling temperatures, wind chill, and lower sun angle in the sky all mean we should take a slightly different approach to skincare.
Even when the sun isn’t visible, the wind and cold conditions can cause painful, red windburn and sunburn.
Give Your Skin the Care It Needs to Stay Healthy and Happy
Our team uses Serenity’s Topical Balm religiously on faces and hands — and any exposed skin especially when we’re gliding down the ski slopes.
It works to lock in moisture before we add SPF so we can hit as many slopes as possible.
Then, that same topical balm works overtime as on-the-spot pain relief for general after-the-slopes muscle soreness to keep you moving the next day!
Remember, Serenity loves you. All of you. Regardless.
