More than half of Americans are affected by “winter skin syndrome.”
This syndrome refers to the phenomenon of dry skin on the face in cold weather, which usually occurs during the winter months. But that doesn’t mean it’s not preventable!
With a few critical tips on adjusting your skin care routine during cold weather, your dry skin can still feel well-hydrated, plump, and radiant. So keep reading to learn more! Afterward, you’ll be ready to perfect your men’s skincare game for the winter.
Effects of Cold Weather on Skin
The skin’s moisture barrier is the outermost skin layer. It helps the skin retain water and protect against pollutants such as environmental debris, bacteria, and more. By doing so, the skin maintains its elasticity, hydration levels, and a whole other host of skin care benefits.
But dry skin on the face in cold weather is very common. Cold weather is often accompanied by dry weather. Lack of moisture means decreases skin hydration.
Inadequate hydration causes irritation, breakouts, and even rashes for particularly eczemated skin. Exposure to the cold also causes the blood vessels in the face to constrict. This limits blood circulation, which would otherwise provide necessary nutrients and circulate more water to the face.
Clearly, the combination of dryness and coldness can wreak havoc on people’s skin. That’s why it’s critical to soothe and moisturize your dry face from dry weather.
Skin Care Tips for Dry Skin in Winter
To address dry, flaky skin on the face in cold weather, focusing on soothing and moisturization is key. Most of the pointers below will exemplify the benefits of both and how to achieve them.
1. Incorporate Soothing and Hydrating Ingredients
Of course, to address soothing and moisturizing needs, it’s important to incorporate soothing and moisturizing ingredients into your routine. Some particularly useful ingredients include:
- Hyaluronic acid (hydrating), is especially useful due to its unique ability to draw from surrounding moisture, potentially helping users better hydrate their skin
- Aloe vera (hydrating, soothing), is an ingredient known for treating burns and dryness and alleviating acne
- Panthenol (hydrating), decreases the amount of water the skin loses
- Glycerin (hydrating), pulling water from the air and delivering it to the skin for deep hydration
- Facial oils (hydrating), provides incredible emollience that fortifies skin care formulas to be ultra-moisturizing
2. Consider Exfoliation and Retinol But Not Too Much!
Cold weather and skin care go hand in hand. But people don’t often think of exfoliation and retinol, skincare techniques often viewed as drying and irritating, as conducive to winter skin care.
Though we don’t recommend incorporating both at once, exfoliation and retinol are hugely beneficial for dry skin. If you’re a retinol/exfoliation newbie, it’s important to carefully introduce these ingredients into your routine to minimize irritation and dryness. For many, modifying the rest of their routine for better hydration and soothing benefits could also counteract any potential side effects.
By sloughing away dead skin, exfoliation and retinol remove texture and dry patches. These dry patches would otherwise pull water from the skin. Both types of ingredients also improve blood circulation, helping the skin absorb necessary nutrients for a radiant complexion.
3. Take Extra Precautions
Don’t just worry about dry skin on the face in cold weather. Most likely, you’ll benefit from adding products such as lip balm and hand cream to your routine as well. Even if you already use these products, you might need to increase how often you reapply.
Hydrating mists also replenish your facial skin’s moisture levels without heavy moisturizer application. By taking these extra protective steps, you could prevent every inch of your skin from cracking and bleeding in the cold.
4. Free Routine of Unnecessary Irritants
Dry skin and sensitive skin in cold weather have very similar, overlapping skin care concerns. Replace products with unnecessary irritants in your routine.
These irritants may include fragrance, rubbing alcohol, and more. They’re already irritating enough without cold weather’s numbing, drying influence. But the effects can be especially rough during the transition to winter.
5. Try Slugging
Slugging is a skin care trend popularized in Korea. It refers to the practice of using a petroleum-based product during the last step of a skin care routine.
As long as your face and fingers are clean during application (to minimize bacteria trapped under product), slugging can prevent your face’s natural moisture and hydration from evaporating from the skin, and also increase the potency of any actives used.
6. Never Forget SPF
In general, daily SPF application is necessary regardless of your unique skin care concerns (and whether you’re indoors or not). UV overexposure can, at the very least, accelerate signs of aging.
It can even cause melanoma if you frequently experience sunburns. For long-term skin barrier and cancer prevention, use an adequate daily layer of SPF. Experts also recommend reapplying sunscreen throughout the day. SPF inevitably breaks down within hours after application, so reapplying ensures day-long sun protection.
7. Use Warm Water
As mentioned before, cold temperatures can negatively impact circulation, which affects skin health. For that reason, it’s integral to use warm water during your skin care routine. Not only can it improve your skin’s hydration and nourishment, but it can also open up pores and make it easier to cleanse off pollutants.
Other Winter Skin Treatment Tips
Winter essentials in skin care isn’t confined to your sink and vanity. As well as boosting your skin care routine, you can:
- Modify diet, eating nonprocessed whole foods, healthy fats, drinking more water, consuming more protein, and more
- Make lifestyle changes, avoiding direct sun exposure, covering more of your face while going on a walk, or even exercising to improve blood circulation, raising your HVAC temperature, and more
- Employ stress relief methods, whether that includes breathing exercises, lighting candles, and more
Dry Skin on the Face In Cold Weather?
If you’re suffering from dry skin on the face in cold weather, look no further than West 34th particularly their newly debuted Anti-Aging Recovery Cream! With this cream, your skin will be both revitalized, moisturized, and soothed. Incorporating this product into your daily routine will effectively combat and renew dry skin.
Curious to learn more? Check out our Anti-Aging Recovery Cream!
For a comprehensive guide guide to fighting wrinkles and improving overall skin health, check out our anti aging skincare guide for men here.