Looking after your skin is a constant challenge, dictated by the seasons, your age and your environment. I’ve been talking to Sarah Young at the Independent about how the cold weather can impact your skin and along with other contributors we look at how you can combat the cold!
“Icy cold temperatures have affected many parts of the UK in recent weeks, while the US has suffered at the hands of a polar vortex with temperatures reaching minus 40F (-40C).
A significant cold snap such as this comes with a sundry of complications, from school closures to ongoing travel disruptions, but for the beauty obsessed among us, the most concerning of them all is the emergence of dry, scaly skin and itchiness.
In these wintry conditions, your skin’s wellbeing might not be top of the priority list but neglecting to take proper care of your complexion can have dire consequences.
“Cold weather can dry the skin leading to dehydration, redness, dermatitis, inflammation, itchiness, and cracking, and can exacerbate skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne,” Dr Anil, a nationally recognised anti-ageing specialist, tells The Independent.
Explaining why our skin reacts this way, Anil adds that the change in temperature can disrupt the skin’s natural protective barrier and cause dehydration.
This leads to a compromise of the skin’s barrier and allows irritants to affect the skin, thus causing inflammation and sensitivity and a release of irritants in the skin, like histamine amongst other chemicals”
Solutions to hand…
1 – use a cleanser such as Cetaphil, avoid soap based cleansers as these will simply dry your skin out even more
2 – Use a hyaluronic acid and vitamin C 20 per cent serum in the morning and evening. Great moisturisers when you need it most
3 – Ensure your toner isn’t too harsh and prone to drying your skin, consider rotating between hydrating varieties and your exfoliating option.
4 – Use an SPF – yes even in winter and especially if you are hitting the slopes!
5 – Probiotics – anything that is good for your gut is good for your skin.
