3 Product-Free Tips for Thriving Skin In Cold Weather

A few weeks ago, I did a post on some key ingredients to look for within your products to help keep your skin comfortable, soothed, smooth, and hydrated in the colder months ahead. More and more, however, I am finding ways to help my skin maintain its balance that are completely outside the realm of any product or topical treatment. Here are three non product-focused measures I will be adopting this season to help my skin beat the winter blues.

Do Less Overall: Overall, during winter our environment is harsher with the cold outside and--worse-- dry indoor heating--, our oil production decreases, and our skin's ability to absorb and retain moisture also goes down. This means that our skin is often at its most sensitive and sensitized state this time of year and may be both in less need of and also be less tolerant of things like deep exfoliation, lots of clarifying masks, or strong retinols or other anti-aging measures. Now, I am not suggesting you necessarily need to eliminate all such things from your life during winter, but maybe consider doing them less frequently. For example, if you exfoliate every other day, maybe consider going every three days instead. If you use a deep cleansing mask regularly once a week, maybe go every two if your skin starts to feel a bit dry or gets a little windburn. Also, if you ever wanted to experiment with skipping your morning cleanse. I would say winter is a great time to try it out so as to skip ahead to the more hydrating aspects of the skincare routine right away before sun protection and makeup as you choose.

Sleep With a Humidifier: To help pack in extra doses of moisture and hydration into the skin, try sleeping with a humidifier on at least a few nights a week. While the body rests, skin is also not only in its own process of renewal but is also the most receptive to treatment, and this includes adding extra hydration. The humidifier will provide a cocoon of moisture for your skin to soak in while you are asleep with no extra effort. If you don't have access to a humidifier, sliding a warm damp towel rolled up underneath your bedroom door is a good substitute. Bonus: the moister air will also keep your sinuses from drying out at night, helping to prevent any sniffles or come or at least help you recover more quickly from them.

Avoid Going Outside With Damp Skin: This tip does not just apply to faces, but also our whole bodies. Damp skin is more prone to a phenomenon called transepidermal water loss in which any water left beading on the surface of the skin pulls water molecules held inside our skin to the outside. This leads to not only more dehydrating but also creates an uncomfortable itchy feeling. Nowhere is this more true, I find, than on our hands, especially since we often take more care to wash our hands in winter to help prevent illness. It is always important to dry the hands thoroughly after washing just as it is important to dry off well after a shower before heading out of the house. Also, as comforting as they may be, many dermatologists also recommend avoiding long hot showers and baths if you are struggling with wintertime itchiness. Drier skin is more prone to cracking and does even more so when exposed to hot water. To mitigate this if you are going to make use of hot water, opt for a quicker shower instead of a longer bath and follow up with a good body moisturizer and put on soft but breathable clothes once you get out. This will help keep the skin soft and not have anything irritating rubbing against it as your pores close back down after being opened up by the hot water.

For skin both looks good and feels good all winter long, it is sometimes not just the products we use but also our habits of routine that can be the biggest help. For more product-free skincare tips, checkout my article here.