A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare | SK truderma

Skincare Clinic in Bangalore | SK truderma

The cold weather isn’t favourable for your skin, especially when we are faced with dry skin. Owing to the harsh winds and cold temperatures, it becomes even more difficult to handle your skin. To make it worse, we, oftentimes do our skin harm by practising poor winter skin habits. Just think of how much consideration you give to your skin —do you keep track of the long hours you spend in showers? do you change your moisturizer to one that’s capable of fighting against the winter elements? No, right? Which means it is time to pay attention to those details, however minor they may seem. Here we are providing you with the best winter skincare tips recommended by a notable dermatologist, Dr Kavitha GV at SK Truderma Skincare Clinic. She believes that just a few minor changes to your routine can help in delivering skin that’s soft and smooth all winter long.

Tip #1: Use The Right Cleanser

Use the Right Cleanser | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare 

It must be obvious to you by now that the basis of a healthy skincare routine begins with regular cleansing. The ritual of cleansing is necessary to get rid of all the skin dirt, makeup, excess oil, and other impurities. But that doesn’t mean all the cleansers have the same purpose and function. Some cleansers have the ability to strip your skin of hydration which will make your dry winter skin even worse. Therefore, go for the hydrating ones. Dr Kavitha recommends “It is crucial to use proper cleansers during the wintertime. The regular soaps have an alkaline pH which can disrupt your skin’s natural barrier. However, the latest type of cleansers can actually provide hydration benefits due to the usage of mild ingredients” Dr Kavitha says.

Tip #2: Take Shorter Showers

Normally, you would wish for a nice, long, hot shower to escape from the bitter cold. But your longing for a long shower may have other side effects on your skin. “Showers should be short like 10 minutes or less,” suggests Dr Kavitha. Similarly, when it comes to water temperature, stick onto lukewarm. “Unnecessary exposure to hot water can strip your skin of the essential oils present in the skin glands,” she says. “Keep the temperature of the shower to approximately 84°F.”

Tip #3: Moisturize Often

Moisturize Often | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

You must be already aware of this tip. Every type of skin needs hydration irrespective of the season, especially in winter as it gives to dry skin. Moisturize your skin persistently. It includes moisturizing in between your morning and evening skincare routines. Moreover, if you’re spending continuous hours outdoors in the cold and windy conditions, then moisturize your skin upon coming back indoors. Immediately after cleansing, exfoliating or showering, apply your favourite body lotion and facial cream to your skin while the skin is still somewhat damp. According to Dr Kavitha, every minute counts. She suggests moisturizing the skin within five minutes of returning from the shower to lock in hydration.

Unnecessary exposure to hot water can strip your skin of the essential oils present in the skin glands,” she says. “Keep the temperature of the shower to approximately 84°F.

Tip #4: SPF Is Still Key

Apply Sunscrean | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

Just because the temperatures plummeted, it doesn’t mean that your days of slathering on sunscreen are over. Regardless of the season, you should be applying a sunscreen or moisturizer formulated with SPF 30 or higher on a daily basis. Even during the colder months, UV rays have the strength to damage your skin. “The low levels of UV exposure add up. Even five minutes every day is a significant amount of exposure over many years,” says Dr Kavitha. Therefore, to ensure skin protection from harsh UV rays, you need to apply a water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreen every day. 

Tip #5: Exfoliate Your Skin

Exfoliating a sloughing away dead skin cells is all the time important. Whereas, in the winter, it is must skincare. As mentioned earlier, the cold weather can impact your skin in a number of ways. “Due to the cold climate and low humidity, your skin tends to become drier in the winter than in the summers,” explains Dr Kavitha. “As for how often you should exfoliate, once in a week is enough for most skin types” she adds. 

Tip #6: Don’t Neglect Your Lips

Don't Neglect Your Lips | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

Another dilemma faced in the winter is the perpetually dry lips. Anyone’s first instinct would be to lick them. Unfortunately, that could actually cause your lips to dry out even more. The reason being that licking your lips makes the saliva to evaporate quickly. Hence, you only find a temporary relief doing so. An efficient solution to this problem is exfoliating away dead skin cells with a lip scrub once every week. Following, apply a hydrating lip balm as required. Carry a lip conditioner in your purse and your desk so that you can apply liberally throughout the day, thereby allowing to keep excess dryness at bay. 

Tip #7: Reduce the Appearance of Flushed Skin 

Your skin is undoubtedly going to suffer the consequences of the harsh winter winds hitting around every now and then. Specifically, the ones with sensitive skin types are about to look a bit flushed after being out and about in the harsh cold weather. Reach for a soothing face mask to address the unwanted redness on your face. 

Tip #9: Address Cracked Skin on Your Hands, Feet, and Elbows

Treat Cracked skin | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

Another thing that you’ll be experiencing during an extremely cold winter is the appearance of cracked skin on your hands, elbows and feet. Cracked skin arises due to the plunging temperatures and the lack of moisture in the atmosphere. Try including a lotion into your skincare regimen to help you manage with the cracked skin problem easily. 

Tip #10: Stay Hydrated

Stay Hydrated | A Dermatologist’s Guide to Winter Skincare

Your lifestyle habits play a major role on your skin; how it appears, how healthy it is etc. We’d like to remind that dry or dehydrated skin can be more prone to skin problems during wintertime. Therefore, it’s essential, apart from using moisturizing skincare products, to drink adequate amounts of water daily.