The rapidly falling temperatures in winters are extremely stressful not just for you, but your skin too. While the cold and dry winter air often makes your skin itchy, irritated and red, the indoor heat wipes off the essential moisture from your skin. In fact, prolonged exposure to cold waves can lead to broken capillaries, tiny twisted veins, and severe skin problems like Dermatitis. That’s why, in winters, your skin needs an extra helping hand and you need to take proper care of your skin to prevent it from becoming an easy target for seasonal skin crisis.
Some minor tweaks in your everyday skin care routine can do wonders and can help you keep your skin looking youthful and soft all winters long. Here are 10 effective winter skin care tips that you need to follow to keep your skin healthy and glowing:
1. Moisturize, moisturize, and moisturize!
The best way you can make your skin brave harsh winters is by keeping it well moisturized. Invest in a good, oil-based moisturizer that can seal water inside your skin and prevent it from drying. Try to use hypoallergenic lotions that are skin friendly and do not carry any strong perfumes, glitters, or abrasives in them.
2. Keep your skin well hydrated
A well hydrated skin is fresh, soft, and supple. While it’s always important to keep your body hydrated, in winters it becomes even more important as your skin continuously loses its moisture and can become dry, flaky, and chapped. So, try to drink at least 6-8 glasses on water on daily basis to keep yourself properly hydrated.
3. Limit your shower time and its temperature
While steamy showers are a tempting option to keep winter chills at bay, prolonged exposure to higher temperatures of water can strip your skin off its essential moisture, leaving it red, dry, and irritated. Therefore, always choose lukewarm water over hot showers and limit your bathing time to not more than 15 minutes.
4. Humidify your home
A humidifier works wonders in your home, especially in winters when heating systems try to steal moisture out of the air. So, invest in a good humidifier that adds moisture back to dry winter air and helps keep your skin hydrated and soft.
5. Modify your facial skin care regime
Your facial skin is most prone to harsh winters and undergoes constant wear and tear due to dry air. Therefore, in order to prevent winter skin problems, choose a winter-friendly skin care routine:
- Use fragrance-free, moisturizing cleansers or gels to wash your face
- Limit lathering soap to only necessary areas, like hands, armpits, genitals, and feet
- Apply toners and astringents sparingly
- Use a rich moisturizer cream at night
- Apply a moisturizing balm on your lips to prevent them from getting chapped
- Always consult a dermatologist if your skin is too dry and itchy
Whether the sun is shining or not, never forget to wear your sunscreen before you step out of the house. Always choose a sunscreen with SPF 15 and above. Sunscreens are especially important during snowfall as snow can reflect sun’s glare and double its effect.
7. Wear comfortable, non-irritating clothes
Wool is a potential allergen and a quick aggravator of various skin problems like eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis. So, if you have sensitive skin or any skin disorder, it’s best to avoid irritating fabrics and chemical-laden detergents that can lead to potential skin problems.
8. Eat right
It’s easy to go over boarded with unhealthy food choices in winters. But to maintain a healthy, glowing skin, you must always choose your food wisely. Eat seasonal food that are high in water content and can help you stay well hydrated. Opt for water-laden fruits and veggies like orange, cantaloupe, apple, kiwi, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and carrots, and eat fish and flaxseeds to give your skin a proper mix of essential nutrients that can make it smooth and supple.
9. Never ignore a skin trouble
Is your skin too dry or too flaky? Does it itch all the time? Have you developed cracks on your skin that sometimes bleed too? Well, winter is the time for some potential skin problems like dermatitis and psoriasis. Ignoring a skin problem can make room for bigger infections and sever health issues. Therefore, if you are struggling with dry, flaky skin that itches all the time, it’s best to seek expert medical advice.
Your dermatologist can perform a thorough skin analysis and diagnostic tests to identify the root cause of the problem and can treat it medically.
10. Schedule regular visits to your dermatologist
Staying in regular touch with your dermatologist or primary care physician can help you easily score any upcoming disease or skin problem that may aggravate during winters. Your doctor can also help you effectively treat various skin issues like damaged, dry, itchy, and flaky skin to help you enjoy a skin that’s healthy inside-out.
In case you are looking for an expert dermatological service in your area, we can be your partner in effective health care. At Epic Health, we have an entire team of certified dermatologists, nutritionists, pharmacists, counselors, and health care physicians who work together to take care of different aspects of your health and ensure that you enjoy a healthy body and sound mind. Our doctors guide, council, and treat you for effective disease protection and superior health outcomes.
Committed to providing you superior, comprehensive care, EPIC Health team can offer you some effective winter skin care tips and tricks to help you keep all skin related issues at bay. So come, schedule an appointment with our dermatologist today and gift yourself a healthy, nourished skin that glows from outside and radiates from within.