Winter Beauty Reboot

By Ivette Manners

When outside temperatures drop and indoor heat zaps moisture from the air it’s time to protect your skin. The chilly winter months can irritate your skin’s barrier—the lipid-rich surface that’s sensitive to changes in temperature, climate, and humidity—not only causing uncomfortably dry, itchy, and flaky skin, but also the acceleration of cells’ aging process. Fret not, we’ve rounded up what you need to know to help you bring back a glow to your cheeks and maintain healthy skin overall.

1. Switch Cleaners
What you might use to cleanse your skin during the spring and summer may overdry in the winter. Ditch the harsh soaps and use a more gentle cleanser instead. “Soaps tend to disrupt the acidic pH that the skin needs to function best, as well as strip skin of crucial lipids,” says Sherry N. Ingraham, M.D., of Advanced Dermatology & Skin Care in Houston, Texas. Look for liquid-based cleansers like SkinCeuticals Gentle Cleanser ($34, skinceuticals.com), which is a mild, soap-free cleanser that removes impurities without drying and contains orange oil to soothe.

2. Scale back on the scrubbing
Over washing, scrubbing, or overusing toner can dry out your skin. “Cleanse to remove dirt, oil, and makeup, but not so much that you leave your skin feeling tight after cleansing and depleted of the lipids that keep it soft and supple,” says Dr. Ingraham. “You want to maintain a healthy skin barrier, so that your skin can retain its ideal moisture level and perform normal cellular turnover.”

3. But do exfoliate... gently
“Gentle exfoliation helps remove dry patches, improves the appearance of your skin, and allows your skincare products, like serums and moisturizers, to penetrate better,” says Alexandra Georgescu, an esthetician at Adam Broderick Salon & Spa in Ridgefield, CT. “But over exfoliating can dry and irritate skin further. Lightly exfoliate skin with a gentle scrub, such as June Jacobs Perfect Pumpkin Enzyme Polish ($58, junejacobs.com), which contains pumpkin enzymes and fruit extracts to dissolve dead cells and detoxify skin.

4. Step up the Moisture
“Trade in your lotions for cream-based products during the long winter months, as they’re designed for more heavy duty hydration and naturally lock in moisture,” says Dr. Ingraham. Look for moisturizers that help replenish lipids, such as Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream ($27.50, kiehls.com), which contains botanicals similar to skin’s natural lipids, so it’s easily absorbed and helps reestablish moisture balance.

5. Treat the rest of your skin
It’s not just your face that experiences the effect of cold winter weather. Switch your bath soap to a cream- or oil-based gel, and use cooler temperature water in the shower, which doesn’t dry skin out as much as too-hot water does. After showering, apply an emollient body cream like Eucerin Skin Calming Daily Moisturizing Creme ($7, target.com) on slightly damp skin, so that it penetrates better and lasts longer.

6. Make moisturizing a habit
Keep a moisturizing cream next to your sink, so that any time you wash your hands you’ll remember to reapply; and also keep cream beside your bed, so that you can moisturize before you go to sleep to help heal cracked hands and feet. “This can be the key to avoiding painful dermatitis in the wintertime,” says Dr. Ingraham.

7. Add moisture back in the air
Use a cool-air humidifier whenever possible to help replace some of the moisture lost from indoor heat. Place one on your nightstand and consider getting a mini one for your desk that can be plugged into your computer.

8. Maintain lipids on the inside
Keep up your intake of essential omega-3 fatty acids in the wintertime by eating salmon, walnuts, and avocados—all of which help restore essential lipids in your body and promote healthy skin, says Dr. Ingraham.

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