I have never been a fan of winter. In my ideal world, I would vacation away and skip all the colder months. But alas, that is not my portion, and I find myself living in a province with the worst winter weather on earth- but seriously we were the coldest place on earth at one point last year.
Anyways, I digress. Let’s get into it! Around mid September, I start making changes to my skincare. As we approach the colder, harsher weather its important to make changes to our skincare products to better protect our skin and leave it glowy.
During the summer, our skin thrives- summer brings natural hydration and humidity. During the winter our skin tends to get drier and itchier.I realize that if you have oily skin you may think having the drying effect would be great. Unfortunately, it actually has the opposite effect. Your skin will try to compensate by creating more oils.
Making these skincare changes doesn’t have to break the bank. Below you will find some product recommendations that I love and use. I have given options ranging from drugstore products all the way to medical grade products.
1.Cleanser
Switch out your cleanser to something that is going to be moisturizing to maintain the oils that your skin produces. First please ditch those make- up wipes. They are not getting your skin clean and can be very harsh and irritating on your skin. Instead try something like double cleansing:
If you don’t know what double cleaning is, it’s using an oil based cleanser like a cleaning balm, cleansing lotion, or cleansing cream, then I move onto a gentle cleanser. The first step of the cleanse serves to break up all the makeup sunscreen, and helps to lift dirt without stripping away at my skin.
TIP: Make sure you use your first step on DRY SKIN , DO NOT add water to it before, and rinse with lukewarm water
Then go in with a hydrating cleanser, Like the ones listed below. If you do have oily skin even during the colder months, you can still do an oil specific cleanser which are foaming or gel cleansers- but try to do it every other day to prevent over-drying.
2 – Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a humectant it helps to hold on to water. Hyaluronic acid is actually found in our bodies with 50% found in our skin, but as we age our HA levels redistribute in our bodies- thankfully we have serums to help replenish. Hyaluronic acid will help to plump up your skin, help with fine lines. And most importantly it’s a humectant, and will help your skin to hold on to moisture
How to use it:
After cleansing your skin, apply HA to DAMP skin. Your hyaluronic acid will not work if applied on dry skin. Make sure to SEAL your HA with moisturizer. If you do not seal the HA in, it will have the opposite effect and draw moisture out of your skin. If you are using HA with other actives, you can use it at the end of your skincare to help your products penetrate better.
TIP: keep a humidifier close to help the hyaluronic acids to draw moisture into your skin from your environment ( this is especially helpful for those living in super dry climates.
BONUS: if you want to use the hyaluronic acid to soley hydrate your skin do the following steps:
Step 1 Start with damp skin
Step 2 Add hyaluronic acid
Step 3 Seal with a moisturizer
3.Moisturizer
Although the last step in our skincare, moisturizing may be the most important item to swap out. – okay lets back that up obviously sunscreen is the last step and A MUST even in the fall months but if you are going to make one product change this fall let it be your moisturizer. When the temperatures drop our skin produces less oil. Its important that we find something to bring that hydration back into the skin.
A great moisturizer will have the following 3 ingredients:
- ceramides
- fatty acids
- cholesterol
TIP : Use La Roche Posay cicaplast balm if you have had severe wind burn or damage from being outside – its occlusive , and has cintalica for would healing. You can also use it on patches of eczema.
4 SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN SUNSCREEN
We all know the importance of sunscreen in summer, fall and winter is no exception. UV radiation does not stop just because its an overcast or cold day.
5.Retinoids
I love my retinols, and do not stop using them during the winter months.Retinoids have such great benefits – antiaging, anti blemish, brightening, cell turn over. Retinoids can be irritating to the skin, and if your skin is already feeling dry and irritated, they can really aggravate that even more. Here are some tip to maintain the benefits of retinoid without causing irriration :
You can apply a moisturizer prior to applying your retinoid. Don’t worry You will still get the benefits of the retinoid.
Think about using niacinamide prior to your retinoid. Niacinamide like the one from the ordinary or la roche posay have been known to increase ceramide production, which may help reduce the irritation..
Thirdly, you can decrease the strength of the retinoid you are using.
However if the retinol is continuing to irritate your skin, it may be worth looking into putting it on hold for the colder months, or looking into if your other actives my be aggravating your skin.
Transitioning your skincare doesn’t have to break the bank, But in my opinion its a great step to make in helping your skin thrive this fall and winter. I’d love to know do you transition your skincare with the change in seasons? What are your favourite products to incorporate? Let me know below in the comments.
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