How To Prevent & Take Care of Dry Skin in Winter

Cooling temperatures and dry winter air can do a number on your skin. Itchy skin, redness and irritation, and a less-than-vibrant complexion are common problems associated with dry skin. But there are ways to protect your skin from drying out in the winter and to remedy the effects of the changing seasons, let’s take a look.
Protect Your Skin
The best way to prevent dry skin effects in winter is to protect your skin before any damage is done. A few simple tips include the following:
- Avoid hot showers and baths. Very hot water only dries out your skin even more in those cold months.
- Moisturize after you’ve dried off from a shower, and again throughout the day if your skin is feeling extra dry. Don’t forget your hands, which are at the frontlines of the elements come winter.
- Keep yourself hydrated. Drink plenty of water even when it’s cooler out, as keeping your body hydrated will boost your skin’s hydration and give you more of a healthy glow.
- If the air seems dry at home, consider using a humidifier to add some moisture back to your space.
- Exfoliation is fine as long as your skin isn’t too dry. For most, exfoliating allows for your skin’s natural regenerative processes to start. But if your skin is dehydrated, take a break from exfoliating until you’ve spent a few days hydrating and moisturizing.
- Don’t forget the sunscreen. Sun exposure doesn’t disappear in the winter months, particularly in places like San Diego. Wear sunscreen whenever you head outdoors, no matter the season.
- Take care of your body. Eat well and exercise. The way your skin behaves, looks, and feels is often a direct result of how well you take care of the rest of your body.
What if your skin needs a makeover? If your skin is already suffering the effects of that winter air, there are ways to reverse the process and treat dry, tight skin.
Hydrating Skincare Products
Your skin is likely feeling tighter and drier than usual. Choose skincare products that nurture your skin and provide it with hydrating essentials to combat the effects of the season. Serums like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, or organic oils paired with a rich moisturizer are among our favorite ways to fight the effects winter has on your skin.
The SkinMedica line includes products that moisturize your skin and support your skin’s ability to retain moisture the natural way, improving its overall appearance over time. Seek out gentler products that will promote healing in your skin rather than drying it out further. Consider using a different skincare line during the dry, winter months than you would in the hotter summer months, as your skincare needs likely change with the seasons.
HydraFacials
Winter skin dryness makes any existing issues with your skin even most obvious, with sunspots, clogged pores, and fine lines and wrinkles on full display. A cosmetic treatment that targets those underlying causes of a dull complexion will leave your skin looking and feeling its best. HydraFacials work by cleansing the skin, peeling away dead skin cells, and extracting any impurities clogging your skin’s pores and causing blemishes.
Added benefits of a HydraFacial treatment include a round of hydration that follows, returning the skin to a moisturized state to prepare for a finishing serum that stimulates new skin cell growth. The result of a HydraFacial for dry skin is a healthy glow, without any evidence of dry skin in winter.
Chemical Peels
In a city like San Diego, where your skin is exposed to the sun on top of dry winter months, sun damage and brown sunspots that can occur as a result can be difficult to contend with. A chemical peel is a way to leave the surface of your skin smoother and more radiant, improving a dull appearance that may happen in the changing seasons.
Additional chemical peel benefits include a more even skin tone, reducing acne scarring, and speeding up your skin’s natural processes of shedding skin cells that may have been affected by the elements.
Improve Collagen Production
Improving your skin’s ability to produce collagen, a naturally-occurring protein in the body, has several benefits. Collagen allows a certain amount of elasticity in the skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and scarring, smoothing out uneven skin textures, and generally promoting a youthful appearance. As we age, though, the body’s ability to produce collagen on its own is diminished, leaving dry, tight skin that only worsens in the winter months. This is where a minimally-invasive cosmetic treatment can come into the picture and improve your skin’s luster and elasticity.
Collagen induction therapy, often topping the best facial treatment list for aging skin, uses microneedling to coax the body into creating additional collagen. Those tiny punctures in the skin cause superficial skin damage, allowing your body to begin a healing process that results in fresh collagen and skin that has a healthier appearance.
If you’re unsure where to begin to improve your skin’s appearance this winter, contact us at SDBotox. Consultations are free, and we’re here to answer any questions you may have about the right treatment for you and your skincare needs.