Your winter skin survival kit

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Winter dry skin: Causes, treatment, and more

Dry skin is more common in the winter than in the warmer months. The changes in humidity and temperature at this time of the year can irritate the skin.

Dry skin can affect many people during the winter, and the severity of the symptoms can vary significantly. Various treatments can replenish the moisture of the skin and relieve the symptoms. People can also take certain steps to prevent the skin from becoming dry.

This article looks at dry winter skin in more detail, including its causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment.

Winter brings changes in humidity and temperature that create perfect conditions for causing dry skin, also known as xerosis.

The outermost layer of the skin is called the epidermis. The thin outer surface of the epidermis is the stratum corneum, also known as the skin barrier.

A combination of lipids and dying or dead skin cells makes up the skin barrier. The skin barrier forms a layer of protection that prevents harmful toxins from entering the body. When the skin barrier sustains damage, the skin appears dry or irritated.

Moisture is essential for the skin barrier to perform well. Research has shown that there is less moisture in the skin during winter than in the summer, as well as fewer lipids in the skin barrier. These differences contribute to dryness and irritation.

During the winter months, people often turn their indoor heating up high, which reduces humidity and affects how much moisture is available to the skin.

At the same time, the cold outdoor weather, harsh winds, and rain can strip the skin of its natural, moisturizing oils.

Taking hot baths or showers can also damage the surface of the skin, leading to dryness, according to the Baylor College of Medicine. Using harsh soaps and rubbing the skin vigorously when drying it can contribute to skin damage.

The level of moisture in the skin also varies with age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental factors. Other medical conditions can also contribute to dry skin.

Dryness that results from damage to the skin barrier during winter can lead to:

• flaking
• rough patches
• cracks
• redness, in lighter skin tones
• itching
• stinging
• a raw, sensitive-to-the-touch feeling

People may experience several of these symptoms at the same time. The right treatment should reduce their severity.

Dry and damaged skin needs moisture replenishment. It is best to keep a skin care regimen as simple as possible when treating dry skin. A simple regimen avoids overloading the skin with unnecessary products, such as toners, serums, and heavy makeup.

Using a moisturizer is the best way to rehydrate the epidermis and prevent water loss from the skin. Thick, greasy moisturizers without perfumes are generally the best option. Thinner gels, lotions, and creams can cause stinging when a person uses them on irritated skin.

Moisturizers containing emollients, which include linoleic, linolenic, and lauric acids, can help smooth the surface of the skin. They fill the spaces between skin cells where there has been a loss of moisture.

Humectants in moisturizers help attract moisture to the skin. Examples of humectants include:

• ceramides
• hyaluronic acid
• glycerin
• sorbitol

Other ingredients, such as lanolin, silicone, and mineral oil, help seal moisture into the skin. They also form a protective barrier to reduce damage from environmental factors.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, it is very important to apply moisturizer as soon as possible after patting the skin dry following a shower or bath. This approach will seal in as much moisture as possible.

When the seasons start to change, people can avoid getting dry winter skin by taking the following steps:

• Adjusting skin care regimens: Skin requires different treatment during colder weather, including the use of a more protective moisturizer. Cutting back on exfoliating scrubs, face masks, and steam treatments will also reduce damage to the skin barrier.
• Staying hydrated: Drinking plenty of water boosts skin hydration, which helps it stay smooth. Eating foods or taking supplements that contain omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids might also help.
• Using a humidifier: This device can introduce moisture back into the air, helping rehydrate the outer layer of skin. Alternatively, a person can place a bowl of water on top of a radiator so that as the heat rises, it carries water vapor along with it.
• Limiting exposure to heat: People can do this by taking a lukewarm bath or shower rather than a hot one and avoiding sitting in front of a fire or heater. Excessive heat can draw vital moisture away from the skin.
• Protecting the skin with clothing: Many people experience dry skin on the hands, particularly now that regular hand washing and sanitizing have become more commonplace. Wearing gloves in cold temperatures and when washing dishes will help prevent the skin from drying out.

The use of home remedies can improve most cases of dry skin. If they have no effect, a person can contact a healthcare professional, such as a pharmacist, doctor, or dermatologist. These professionals can prescribe the right products or recommend next steps.

Dry winter skin is not an inevitable consequence of the coldest season. Being conscious of the skin barrier and what it needs to stay healthy can help people take the necessary steps to prevent this uncomfortable condition.

top 7 rules of care – symptoms, diagnosis, treatment
In winter, the skin is under severe stress. Lack of heat, oxygen and sunlight, sudden changes in temperature and humidity, icy wind worsen her condition.

The causes of dry skin in the cold season are:

• decrease in sebum secretion – the natural lipid film that protects against external influences and inhibits the evaporation of moisture from the skin surface becomes thinner and cannot fully perform the barrier function;
• reduced fluid intake – skin cells are not sufficiently moisturized from the inside;
• deterioration of blood supply – the skin receives less nutrients;
• insufficient production of elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid – the ability of the skin to recover is deteriorating.

Under the influence of low temperatures, the scales of the epidermis quickly die off, form a dense stratum corneum, which interferes with skin respiration and serves as a favorable environment for the vital activity of bacteria. As a result, inflammation, irritation, itching, microcracks occur. To avoid this, in winter the skin needs special protection and care.

7 rules for skin care in winter

In winter, the skin needs four things:

• cleansing – cosmetics, dirt, dead skin cells must be removed in a timely manner
• moisturizing – both the skin and the air in the room should be moisturized
• nutrition – not only superficial nutrition (masks) is important, but also a balanced wholesome diet
• protection – products are needed to help the skin withstand frost and icy winds

The cold season dictates its own rules for skin care. In winter, cleansing should be gentle, moisturizing and nourishing – intensive, protection – enhanced. Follow the seven basic rules to maintain healthy skin.

1. Gentle cleansing

The main goal of cleansing the skin in winter is not to overdry it, try to preserve the natural lipid film. To remove cosmetics, you need to use alcohol-free lotion, tonic, special milk, cream-gel, balm, micellar water. Washing water should be at room temperature, instead of tap water, it is better to use mineral water. Detergents should be selected with a low alkali content and with vegetable oils or glycerin in the composition.

2. Gentle exfoliation

The upper layer of the dermis dies off constantly: exfoliating procedures must be carried out all year round. In winter, the process of cell death intensifies, the skin becomes less elastic and more sensitive to irritants. Aggressive peels and scrubs used in the warm season are not suitable for winter care. Instead, it is recommended to use gommages and exfoliating creams that dissolve impurities and dead cells.

3.

Proper nutrition

A special role in maintaining skin health is played by vitamins A, B, C, E and trace elements – zinc, selenium. They must be present in the diet. A positive effect on the skin in winter is provided by various masks using fruits, eggs, honey, fermented milk products, oily vitamin solutions, or ready-made products manufactured by cosmetic companies.

4. Enhanced Humidification

Creams used in spring and summer are usually water-based and have a light, fine texture. Winter moisturizer should be thicker, enriched with moisture-retaining ingredients: silicone, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, natural oils. Salon procedures have a more stable and visible effect: professional moisturizing masks and injections.

5. Problematic skin – special attention

Problematic skin in winter becomes even more vulnerable and sensitive to the usual procedures. Drying and matting masks against seborrhea and acne should be reduced to 2 times a week, exfoliation is recommended no more than once a week. For all skin types, products containing alcohol are contraindicated; when caring for oily skin in winter, creams containing paraffin and mineral oils should be avoided.

6. Daily protection

The choice of a daytime protective cream in winter depends on the type of skin. Dry – a fat cream enriched with vitamins is most suitable, oily and combined – a light oil-based cream. For sensitive skin, hypoallergenic products are preferred. Make-up using foundation, powder and other dense substances also provides good protection from the cold.

7. Beware of UV!

In winter, the skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation no less than in summer. Even in light cloudiness, the sun’s rays are reflected from the snow and, depending on the intensity, can cause sunburn and burns. If you plan to stay outdoors for a long time, you should definitely apply a cream with SPF in the composition to exposed skin.

What if you don’t take care of your skin

During the day, we expose our skin to temperature changes many times. There is an icy wind with snow outside, and warm air dried by radiators indoors. The contrast can be more than 20 degrees. The consequences of such changes are:

• dry and tight skin
• rosacea – enlargement of small vessels on the face
• cold allergy – when low temperatures become an allergen causing swelling, irritation, blisters on the skin
• exacerbations of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, herpes
• if the frost is severe, frostbite may occur

Lack of proper care leads to loss of skin elasticity, premature aging, and the appearance of age spots. Once acquired, rosacea will forever remain a cosmetic defect, which is quite difficult to deal with.

Winter Care Features

In the cold season, not only the skin of the face needs care: no less attention should be paid to the body, hands, lips, feet.

Body

Body care in winter consists of regular hygiene procedures using mild detergents with glycerin and vegetable oils in the composition. The water should not be very hot. After swimming or a refreshing shower, it is useful to apply a moisturizer to the skin of the body.

Hands

The skin of the hands has a weaker natural protection than the face or body, and is largely exposed to external factors. Hand skin care in winter consists, first of all, in its mechanical protection from the cold. Wearing mittens and gloves helps not only to keep warm, but also to protect the skin from hypothermia and frostbite. The skin of the hands also needs to be moisturized and protected by choosing the appropriate creams for this.

Lips

The skin of the lips is very vulnerable to exposure to low temperatures. In the cold, the lips quickly dry out and crack. Taking care of your lips in winter is to constantly moisturise them. For this purpose, hygienic lipstick or balm is suitable. These funds should be applied not only before going out, but also indoors.

Face

Facial skin is defenseless in winter without special care. It cannot be completely protected from frost and wind, and damage caused by exposure to cold air is very difficult to mask. Facial skin care in winter should be especially thorough, competent, consistent and regular. All care products should be selected taking into account the needs of this type of skin and the individual characteristics of the organism.

Winter care mistakes and how to avoid them

In winter, the skin requires special attention and delicate treatment. The most common care mistakes are associated with the use of rough products or cleansing methods. Skin in winter are contraindicated:

• scrubs with abrasive particles
• hot water
• “summer” cosmetics
• no UV protection
• towel drying “to warm up”
• dry make-up

In winter, you should follow a simple skin care rule: all cleansing, exfoliating procedures, as well as moisturizing, are best done in the evening, shortly before bedtime. Protective cream should be applied to exposed areas shortly (half an hour) before going outside.

When is the best time to see a dermatologist

Healthy skin has a healthy appearance and does not cause any discomfort. The reason to be wary should be symptoms that do not go away within a few hours or days:

• increased dryness
• itch
• peeling
• redness
• rashes
• edema
• pustules
• soreness
• weeping and blistering neoplasms

All these manifestations require the attention of a professional. Only a beautician in cooperation with a dermatologist can:

1. establish the true cause of the disease
2. prescribe adequate treatment
3. find the right skin repair products
4. give detailed advice on how to further care for your skin

In the NCC No. 2 (Central Clinical Hospital of the Russian Academy of Sciences), a dermatologist will help solve the problem much faster and more efficiently. In addition, in some cases, independent attempts to choose care for the skin can lead to a deterioration in its condition.

How to keep your skin beautiful and healthy in winter

How to keep your skin beautiful and healthy in winter

In our section on health, we have already talked about the fact that the skin is a kind of “mirror of health” of our body. And in order for it to conscientiously fulfill its many functions, it is necessary to pay special attention to it. Dermatologists of City Clinical Hospital No. 52 Igor Gennadyevich Maimasov and Nikolai Valentinovich Gorbachuk talk about the features of skin care in winter.

What problems await our skin in winter? Firstly, the air in the room dried up from heating devices. Secondly, frost and cold wind outside. Thirdly, a sharp temperature drop when you leave the house on the street. Not only open parts of the body suffer, but also those that are protected by clothing. Therefore, we will focus on all possible areas of the skin that require close attention in the winter season, and start with the skin of the face most exposed to environmental factors.

FACE

If we somehow protect and shelter all other parts of the body from frost and wind, then the face takes on all the blows of winter weather. Under the influence of low temperatures and wind, the skin becomes dry, more sensitive, wrinkles easily form on it. From low temperature, blood vessels constrict, and the skin of the face lacks the nutrients brought by the blood.

Thus, winter facial care should include additional moisturizing and nourishing the skin, as well as protection from frost and wind.

Moisturizing

After washing and cleansing your face, be sure to use a tonic or lotion – it forms a film that retains moisture in the skin.

Do not use moisturizing cream during windy winter weather and outdoor sports. In winter, it is recommended to apply such a cream on the face at night, and in the morning, before going outside, use a nourishing one, it will protect against frost. If you use two types of cream of the same brand – moisturizing and night, just swap them. By the way, in winter, a foundation cream made on a greasy basis protects well from the cold.

If you used to use moisturizing products for oily skin, switch to products for normal skin in winter. If the skin is normal, use moisturizers for dry skin. If the skin is dry, use your usual moisturizer, but 1.5-2 times more often than at other times of the year.

Nutrition

Nourishing cream applied in the morning should be thick and oily, and even in our middle lane should have UV protection – with a minimum SPF factor of 15. The cream is applied ten minutes before applying the foundation. If you’re going to ski slopes, your morning cream should be at least SPF 30, preferably SPF 50. The same goes for your lipstick.

Pay attention to the products of Russian manufacturers. Face care products from the Svoboda, Nevskaya Kosmetika, and Black Pearl factories take into account the specifics of the climate of the middle zone, which differs significantly from the European one. Also consider cosmetics produced in the countries of northern Europe (in Finland, Sweden), which takes into account climatic features, including our country, and combines components that provide protection and nutrition. Pay attention to the content of face cream, including eye cream, 100% natural oils, herbal extracts, vitamins A and E, which are the main active substances: nourish and soften the skin, activate metabolic processes in it, increase elasticity and elasticity. Creams containing emollients (squalane, rep and avocado phytosterols, macadamia, argan, jojoba oil), oligoelements (zinc and silicon), essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic) will be useful.

LIPS

The same rules apply to protecting lips in winter. Frost and wind, and especially the habit of breathing in the cold through the mouth, cause peeling of the lips. Therefore, at this time of the year, hygienic lipstick or a special moisturizing balm should always be on the lips. Pay attention to the composition of your winter lipstick: it should be based on beeswax and fat and contain an SPF of at least 20.

If your lips are flaky, use a special lip scrub. At home, it is useful to lubricate the lips with honey or cucumber juice. Remarkable nutrition for the lips are vegetable oils – castor, olive, applied for 10 minutes daily. You can add a few drops of lemon to the oil if you like.

BODY

In winter, however strange it may seem, you should not take a hot shower – only a warm one. Hot water increases heat and water transfer, and the skin dries faster. prolonged exposure to hot water will completely strip the skin of its protective fatty layer, leading to increased dryness. Absolutely deny yourself the pleasure of soaking in the bath is not worth it, but you need to remember the duration of pleasure – no more than 15 minutes, and the water temperature should not exceed 40 ° C. In winter, do not use ordinary soap, prefer moisturizing cream-soap, shower gel containing cream. Once a week, you can also use a body scrub instead of shower gel or before it to remove dead cells from the surface layer of the skin. After a shower, use body milk, applying it to the entire surface evenly, massaging movements.

HANDS

The skin of the hands is very delicate, it instantly reacts to lack of care, becoming dry, tight and cracked. The “winter” rule is that you should always wear mittens or gloves on the street. You need to stop using antibacterial hand cleaners – they lead to dry skin. Try to wash dishes and clean the house only with gloves.

Thick creams are suitable for hand care. At night, it is good to make special masks: apply a thick layer of cream on the hands, put on cotton gloves and do nothing for at least 2 hours (you can go to bed).

FEET

In winter, you need to take care of your feet even more than in summer. Due to constant contact with woolen fabrics and dense synthetics (socks and tights), insufficient air exchange due to wearing closed shoes, the skin of the feet becomes drier than usual. Hyperkeratosis occurs – a thickening of the upper layer of the epidermis and, unfortunately, the usual pedicure does not help in such cases. It is necessary to use daily creams and other cosmetics that contain keratolytics – active substances that soften and remove dead skin (they include salicylic and lactic acid, urea), as well as foot scrubs (they contain coarser exfoliating components than scrubs for body).

To soften rough skin on the feet, oil wraps help: warm oil (olive, peach or coconut) is applied to the feet, woolen socks are put on the feet. After 30 minutes, the oil is washed off with warm water. At night, you need to use a nourishing foot cream, more oily than in summer. Before going to bed, it is also advisable to do a foot massage – it relieves fatigue and stimulates metabolic processes in the body.
In the morning after a shower, before putting on tights and socks, it is useful to use fast-absorbing moisturizers with a deodorizing effect to prevent dryness and eliminate unpleasant odors throughout the day. And take it as an obligatory rule: in order for your legs to “breathe”, change your shoes indoors, change winter shoes for lighter replacement ones.

MOISTURIZING FROM WITHIN

You also need to take care of moisturizing the skin from the inside, for which you should drink more fluids. It can be plain water, juice, compote. Tea and coffee, on the contrary, contribute to a more rapid removal of moisture from the body – they should not be abused. The average amount of fluid taken per day in winter should be at least 2 liters.

INDOOR CLIMATE

Winter skin care is not only masks, tonics and creams. This is also the observance of adequate temperature and humidity conditions in the apartment and at work.

To reduce the degree of dehydration and drying of the skin (caused by central heating radiators and air conditioning), it is necessary to maintain the room temperature at the level of 18-20 ° C, if possible, and be sure to use air humidifiers (steam humidifiers or ultrasonic water sprayers), especially at night. If it is not possible to use special appliances, you can simply pour water into wide containers and place them on window sills or cabinets – water, evaporating at room temperature, will create an optimal level of humidity.