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Warm clothes protect our body from the cold, but such an option is not provided for the face. Not surprisingly, in winter, the skin is stressed and reacts to frost and icy wind with redness and peeling. Proper care will help prevent trouble.
How does your skin feel in winter?
Why does skin look less fresh and healthy in winter? There are several reasons.
Low temperatures, in accordance with the laws of physics, cause blood vessels to constrict, making it difficult for normal blood flow. And this slows down the metabolism and worsens the nutrition of the skin.
A sharp wind on the street, as well as overdried by heating and air conditioning, the air in the premises leads to an accelerated loss of moisture.
A constant temperature difference in the “street-house” mode is a stress factor for the skin.
In the cold season, we drink less water and more hot drinks, including tea and coffee, which are diuretics, which means they contribute to the removal of fluid from the body, which it already lacks.
The result is dehydrated cells and lipid deficiency. Simply put, the protective reactions of the skin and its ability to recover are weakened. It becomes dry, sensitive, pale, prone to redness. Possible overreaction to low temperatures.
These troubles are easy to avoid if you provide the skin with the right care at home.
It is a mistake to assume that nutrition is the main thing for the epidermis in winter, in cold weather skin of any type needs much more moisture and protection.
Features of winter skin care
Below is a list of rules that should be observed when switching to winter time.
A constant temperature drop in the “street-house” mode injures the skin and causes it to lose moisture.
Soft cleansing: no “how to rub your face”, no feeling “to squeak”. Use only gentle sponges, delicate gels and mousses.
Alcohol-free physiological tonic: there is not enough force to correct the acid-base balance in dehydrated tissues, so the skin will have to be helped to restore the pH after washing.
Moisturizing cream: apply it an hour before leaving the house. Then the product of any texture will have time to be absorbed, and only a light film will remain on the face, which will insure the skin’s own hydrolipidic mantle.
Powdering: the tandem “foundation + loose powder” will soften the “traumatic” effect of temperature changes.
Night care: for all skin types, a moisturizing cream with hyaluronic acid, algae and aloe extracts, peptides is ideal.
In severe frost shown refusal of deep invasive salon manipulations (peeling, laser correction, dermabrasion). When damaged, the skin secretes ichor – a greasy protective cream cannot always be applied after the procedure, and without it it is undesirable to go out into the cold.
Basic winter care products
Foam, milk, micellar water – for cleansing.
Alcohol free tonic.
Moisturizing cream.
Protective nourishing cream. At moderately low temperatures (down to -10 degrees Celsius), use a dry skin cream with oils and a small amount of moisturizers.
Cold cream or protective balm is also useful, but only for a short time in severe frost.
Care steps
Purification
Cheat sheet for different skin types:
- owners of problematic, oily and combination skin are shown gentle foams and gels;
- for those who have dry skin, milk or micellar water is suitable, and all this should be washed off with water – mineral or bottled.
After washing, do not forget to treat your face with tonic.
humidification
Useful cream with panthenol, allantoin or bisabolol. It is good if it contains lipid-replenishing components – they form a thin film that will create a reliable protective barrier of the epidermis.
Food
Products with a thick nourishing texture for all skin types are best applied in the evening. Look for hyaluronic acid, algae extract, aloe juice in the composition.
Mature skin is shown to continue care with the usual night cream – it contains enough hydrofixators.
Nourishing cream with natural oils in winter is good for dry skin, the rest will only need it if you spend a lot of time in the cold.
Protection
Apply a foundation, preferably with SPF, on top of a moisturizing morning cream – it will additionally protect the skin.
And a special dense cream on an anhydrous basis with the function of barrier protection – with a significant content of natural oils – is needed only for the time spent in the cold. Wash it off at home.
Moisturizing different skin types in winter
Guided by the advice of cosmetologists to choose a cream in accordance with the type of skin, we give recommendations for moisturizing.
Oily, problematic
- Twice a day, use a fluid with moisturizing and sebum-regulating ingredients.
- Make masks with a moisturizing and soothing effect three times a week.
Dry
Use formulas with hydro fixatives and lipid-replenishing components (vegetable oils, ceramides).
Combined
- Apply classic moisturizers with oils to dry U-zone.
- For an oily T-zone, light hydrating gels and fluids are more suitable.
Moisturizing the skin of the body in winter
On this score, we also saved a couple of valuable recommendations.
- Avoid antibacterial soap and hot water.
- Try to make water procedures contrasting.
- Replace regular shower gels with moisturizing ones.
- Choose creams and body balms with hydro-fixators – they retain moisture in the intercellular space at the level of the deep layers of the skin.
Overview of Moisturizers
Purification
Milk for dry and sensitive skin Gentle Cleanser, SkinCeuticals
The formula with orange oil and allantoin gently cleanses, softens and hydrates the skin. Apply to the face, massage lightly, remove the rest of the texture with a damp cloth.
Micellar water, Garnier
The formula, enriched with glycerin and P-anisic acid, is suitable for all skin types. It removes impurities and make-up well, moisturizes and soothes the skin.
Care
Rich cream Aqualia Thermal, Vichy
Based on hyaluronic acid and thermal water, suitable for dry skin. Refreshes, provides a feeling of comfort.
Moisturizing gel for normal and combination skin Aquasource, Biotherm
Like all products in the Aquasource line, it is enriched with hydro-lockers, “seals” moisture in the skin, giving it radiance.
Moisturizing, mattifying, sebum-regulating emulsion Effaclar Mat, La Roche-Posay
Due to the component called Sebulyse, in addition to moisturizing, it mattifies the skin for 8 hours and helps to narrow the pores.
And I would also like to remind you that it is best to store cosmetics in a closed cabinet in a room at a temperature not exceeding +30˚С.
Composition of winter moisturizers
Moisturizing winter cream should have a formula that combines the two main types of hydrating agents.
The tandem “foundation + loose powder” will soften the thermal shock during temperature drops.
Attract water:
- hyaluronic acid or peptides;
- glycerol;
- algae extracts;
- aloe vera.
Seal in moisture:
- squalane;
- antioxidants (green tea and grape seed extracts, vitamin E, licorice root);
- shea butter, shea butter, almond;
- silicones (only in morning cream!).
In protective and nourishing creams, the following are welcome:
- natural oils (not mineral!);
- silicones;
- panthenol, allantoin or bisabolol.
As for wax and lanolin, they are best avoided.