Each year, winter arrives in all its glory with idyllic frosty settings and crisp blue skies. However, despite its many blessings, it can have a rather negative impact on the skin. Learning how to care for your skin in winter will help to combat the obstacles that the harsh temperatures and cold weather create in our journey to supple, hydrated skin. At ESPA, we don’t believe that our skin should be jeoporadised during this beautiful time of year. With the right skincare regime, there’s no reason why we should accept all of the skin woes associated with winter. For this reason, we’ve shared some of our expert advice on how to avoid dullness, dryness, flakes and irritation, and maintain luscious, radiant skin all year round.
Keep reading for ESPA's guide on how to care for your skin in winter.
How winter affects your skin
To begin, let's take a look at how winter affects your skin. You might find that for the remainder of the year, your skin is relatively unproblematic. However, when the temperatures drop, so too do your skin's hydration and radiance levels. We know by now that how winter affects your skin can be mostly down to cold weather conditions. The low humidity in the air can draw moisture from our skin. However, there are a few more factors that play a part in how winter affects your skin.
Aside from bitter temperatures, the toasty radiators we huddle around as we get out of the cold create another environment with a severe lack of moisture in the air. Along with the piping-hot showers on dark, nippy mornings, these are the perfect conditions to strip the skin of its hydration.How to hydrate skin in the winter
The first step to care for your skin in winter is knowing how to hydrate the skin in the winter. While we often associate skin hydration with a simple moisturizer, pairing the moisturizer with brightening and hydrating serums will instantly enhance your regime to achieve idyllic winter skin.
A piece of advice to hydrate in the winter is to apply a moisturizing serum, such as the Optimal Skin ProSerum, onto the skin while it is still damp. This will not only provide an extra layer of intense moisture but seal the hydration into your skin. With their thin formulas, serums can penetrate deep into the skin to hydrate it in winter. For example, ESPA’s Optimal Skin Pro-Serum contains the following nourishing ingredients:
- Sunflower Concentrate to nourish and support the skin’s lipid barrier,
- A blend of Balloon Vine, Blackcurrant Seed Oil, and Sea Fennel to soothe and support the skins barrier function for a vibrant, healthy-looking complexion, and
- Turmeric, high in vitamin C to even out the appearance of skin tone.
To further hydrate the skin in the winter and lock in all of the ingredients of the serum, follow up with a richly hydrating face cream to leave the skin feeling replenished and soft. ESPA’s Supple Day and Night Duo will bring you a radiant glow, protection from the winter sun’s harmful rays, and a boost of nightly renewal with around-the-clock moisture in two succulent formulas.
These two formulas combined make the ultimate hydration and nourishing package to care for your skin in the winter.
How to get glowing skin in the winter
The summertime is known to naturally provide us with a lit-from-within glow thanks to that healthy radiance that comes hand-in-hand with the sun. During the season that has more darkness than it does light, how to get glowing skin in the winter is more of a task.
Exfoliate and Hydrate
The first step is to exfoliate. However, it’s important to be careful when it comes to skin exfoliation during the winter. Over-exfoliating with harsh ingredients can remove our natural, dewy oils and compromise our skin’s microbiome. What’s more, physical exfoliants can create micro-tears on the skin’s surface, which can add to inflammation, especially for those with sensitive skin.
Having said this, a gentle exfoliating regime will help to get glowing skin in the winter by removing the outer layer of dead skin cells for a smoother and clearer surface that reflects light to provide that healthy sheen. Chemical exfoliators break apart the bonds that hold dead skin in place to lightly clear it away. What’s more, by increasing cell turnover, you will encourage the creation of new collagen for glowing skin in the winter and beyond. Within the Optimal Skin Pro-Cleanser is Pumpkin Enzymes and Jojoba Spheres to gently remove dull skin cells to reveal a radiant complexion and an enhanced glow.
Once the skin is exfoliated and hydrated, it can reflect light, making it instantly appear more glowing.
Focus on the inside out
The final piece of advice on how to get glowing skin in the winter is to focus on the inside out. Drinking enough water, having a balanced diet, and treating yourself to that well-deserved rest are at the core of that enviably radiant complexion.
To conclude, the effects that winter can have on our skin are certainly a hindrance, but something that is widely relatable. As the festive season approaches, try some of ESPA's advice on how to care for your skin in the winter and notice a transformation in your skin’s resilience during those cold, dark months.
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