Keep Your Skin Healthy All Winter Long

Everyone finds that the harsh weather of winter takes a toll on their skin, but some of us suffer more than others. I have been cursed with the skin of a reptile, so I have to pay extra special attention to my skin so that it doesn’t flake off and leave a path wherever I go.

If you too are having a hard time combating the harsh effects of winter cold and wind, here are some winter skin tips from Renée Rouleau — a trusted skin-care expert whose products and facial treatments have been helping both women & men attain healthy, glowing, beautiful skin for more than 20 years.

Renée Rouleau’s Top 5 Winter Skin Tips

1. Instead of over-moisturizing, increase your exfoliation. When the heat is on in the house and the air is cold outside, your skin will be depleted of its natural moisture, leaving your skin feeling tight and dry. People tend to load on the extra moisturizer to compensate for the dryness. This will not always solve the problem of dry skin. If your skin is dry, tight and flakey, it means that you have dry skin cell build-up on the surface of the skin. So rather than putting on extra cream to re-hydrate dead, dry skin cells (it doesn’t make sense!) try increasing your exfoliation with a gentle facial scrub to remove the dry skin cells so that when your cream goes on, it hydrates the new cells rather than the dry cells.

I am totally living proof of this! I had never exfoliated regularly until last fall, when age and neglect finally caught up with me, and my face suddenly started looking flaky and dry no matter how much I moisturized. I was complaining to my mom one day, and she asked me if I exfoliate. Long story short, I started exfoliating religiously at least twice a week, and my skin has been improving ever since. And now with my Clarisonic (which I still love, by the way!), my skin is noticeably softer even if I don’t exfoliate as often. SCORE!

2. Avoid greasy hand creams if you’re prone to breakouts. You may suffer from a condition we call ‘hand cream acne’ if you sleep with your hands on your face at night! We are more likely to use hand cream during the dry winter months than during the summer which leads us to using heavy hand cream to alleviate the dryness. Most often, this cream is applied right before you go to bed. If you sleep on your side with your hands on your face, the cream may be getting into the skin and clogging the pores. If you find that this may be happening to you, sleep with cotton gloves or change over your hand lotion.

Interesting! I never thought of that. Of course right now I’m using the same stuff on my face as I do on my hands, so I guess it’s a moot point. I’m still loving Softress for keeping my face and hands moisturized in the harsh winter weather this year.

3. Change up your routine. Your skin acts differently from summer to winter, and the best strategy for healthy, beautiful, problem-free skin is to adjust your home care routine to suit your skin’s needs each season. In winter, the skin produces less oil, so for many skin types, oil must be added back into the skin to maintain its balance. Look for moisturizers containing Safflower Oil, Avocado Oil and Shea Butter. Switch from a gel cleanser to a cream-based cleanser, and eye creams are a must in the winter. Spring and summer products will likely expire or reduce their effectiveness for the following year, so it’s a good time to purge your products.

Ooooh, I’m totally guilty of keeping my products too long. Next month we’re going to have a clean out your bathroom cabinet day on Chic Critique, so stay tuned for that!

4. Don’t neglect your neck. The friction caused from turtle necks and wool fibers can rub on the neck causing it to be dry and irritated. Use a hydrating cream mask on your neck once a week to replenish essential moisture. Make sure to exfoliate in upward motions with a mild facial scrub.

WHOOOPS! She got me again. I know this is counter-intuitive, but one of the main reasons I don’t cleanse and moisturize my neck is that I don’t want to “waste” product. It takes so much more product and I’m usually trying to make my potions and lotions last as long as possible because most of them aren’t cheap to replace. But I know that’s totally illogical. If I’ll spend the money on my face, why not my neck? I will certainly regret my neglect when I’m 65 and my neck looks like a turkey gobbler while my face is still youthful and vibrant (crossing my fingers for the latter part of that statement.)

5. Properly care for your skin at the gym. After working out at the gym, make sure to wash your face, use an alcohol-free toner and a nourishing moisturizer. At the end of the work out, the salts created from perspiration can have a drying effect on the skin, combined with the cold, dry air outside and the heat in your car. So removing the salts and locking moisture back in the skin will greatly reduce dry skin.

So yeah, IF I wasn’t a slug and actually went to the gym, I might have some commentary on #5. But my days as a gym rat are on hold for the moment, so for now I don’t have to worry about that one. But hopefully it will help someone out there who is more ambitious and self-disciplined than I.

And there you have it, five practical tips for keeping your skin healthy all winter long. Do you have anything you’d like to add? We’d love to hear it!