Dry skin can occur at any time of year but it becomes a very common issue in the autumn and winter. There are a number of factors that can impact your skin’s health when the seasons take a cooler turn but thankfully there are steps you can take to rejuvenate and protect your skin in cold weather.
Dry Skin Symptoms
There are many different symptoms of dry skin, other than your skin simply feeling dry. Identifying which symptoms you’re suffering from can help you determine the appropriate steps to protect it.
Common symptoms of dry skin include:
- Irritated and tight feeling skin
- Itchy skin
- Redness and inflammation (particularly on your cheeks)
- Rough textured, flaking and/or peeling skin
- Gray, ashy skin
- Fine pores and skin fold
- A dehydrated skin barrier
- Insufficient sebum secretion
- Dehydrated stratum corneum
If your skin is red and peeling in certain areas (skin folds such as the nasolabial fold, eye brows, hairline and around the nose and mouth), but is oily in other parts, you may have Seborrheic Dermatitis and should follow the treatment of seborrheic skin.
Why Is my Skin so Dry in Autumn and Winter?
Before identifying the steps you need to take to soothe your skin in cold weather, it helps to understand the different seasonal factors that could be causing your dry skin.
- A change in climate: Cold temperatures, harsh rain or snow and brisk winds can zap the moisture out of your skin, causing new areas to become dry or making already dry skin worse. If you don’t take the correct steps to replenish the moisture in your skin, it will become increasingly dryer over time.
- Indoor heating: As the weather gets colder, most of us in Northern Europe and America will be turning our heating on. However, that can adversely dry your skin, as indoor central heating reduces the humidity in the air.
- Hotter showers: Likewise with the urge to turn the heating on, you may also find yourself taking hotter showers in the colder months. However, washing with hot water can remove natural oils from the skin, leaving it without its natural antidotes and defenses to dry skin.
- Lack of sunlight: Our ability to get the correct levels of vitamin D decreases significantly due to the lack of sunlight in autumn and winter. Vitamin D is essential to our skin health, as well as our immune systems, hormones, mental health, heart and thyroid glands – all of which can also impact our skin.
- Skincare with synthetic or chemically modified substances: Many skincare products contain substances that the skin does not recognise as natural and therefore they remain on the skin surface. This artificial layer may lead you to believe that your skin is well nourished, but the exact opposite is true. The skin cannot breathe correctly and once these substances are washed off, the skin is dryer than before.
- Excessive rubbing during cleansing: Rubbing your skin every day during your cleansing ritual can damage the hydrolipidic film and make your skin vulnerable to outside aggressions such as harsh climates and colder weather. Sitting down and caressing your skin while cleansing is one of the most overlooked skincare rituals to counteract dry skin. Rituals such as the Antiaging Face Cleansing technique are a game changer when it comes to fighting to skin with dryness.
- Other skin conditions: The cold weather can leave our skin feeling vulnerable and less resistant to other existing or dormant skin conditions. There are many skin conditions that can cause dry skin such as couperose, rosacea, eczema and more. That’s why it’s more important than ever to treat and protect your skin in cold weather with an effective skincare routine.
How to Treat and Prevent Dry Skin in Cold Weather
Based on your symptoms and new knowledge of the factors that may be causing your dry skin, you can determine the appropriate actions and skincare items for treatment. However, there are some preventative measures that everyone can take to help soothe dry skin in the colder months.
To protect your skin from cold weather, you should:
- Use lukewarm water to retain your skin’s natural oils.
- Use natural and organic skincare that replenishes your skin, rather than one with drying soap agents and chemicals.
- Invest in a gentle cleanser without soap agents to remove harmful dirt, makeup and pollutants whilst maintaining your skin’s natural protective barrier.
- Aim to include extra doses of balanced fatty acids through your diet and skincare items such as the Opuntia cactus fruit seed oil, avocado oil, shea butter and cocoa butter.
- Consider adding plants that naturally contain vitamin C to your skincare routine to restore and maintain your skin’s hydration and elasticity.
- Pay extra attention to the areas that are exposed to the colder elements most often, such as your hands, face and lips.
- However, don’t forget to care for the rest of your body as dry body skin can also affect the skin on your face. Try to use very little soap when washing your body in order to protect your skin’s protective barrier and aid rehydration at night with deep hydration oils.
Whilst dry skin in cold weather is inevitable for many people, these methods should help to soothe any pains and keep your skin as hydrated and healthy as possible. For more advice on protecting your skin in cold weather, read our autumn skincare tips.
