6 winter skin care tips

Makaela Lampinen

Aesthetician

If winter weather is making your skin dry and itchy, you’re not alone. Most people experience some skin dryness as soon as the temperatures drop and the indoor heaters come on. Aesthetician Makaela Lampinen offered six winter skin care tips to help you keep your skin soft and supple during the colder winter months.

• Moisturize more: If the moisturizer you typically use isn’t working as well, consider changing it. Adding a hyaluronic acid with your moisturizer will help attract moisture and lock it in.

• Give your hands a hand: The skin on your hands is thinner than the skin on most other parts of the body and has fewer oil glands, making it more difficult to keep your hands moist, especially in cold, dry weather. Washing your hands and using hand sanitizer to keep winter germs away can also lead to itchiness and cracking. Try using a thick hand cream and be sure to wear gloves when you’re outside.

• Hook up the humidifier: Central heating systems (as well as space heaters) blast hot, dry air throughout our homes and offices. Humidifiers add more moisture into the air, which helps prevent your skin from drying out.

• Hydrate for your health, not for your skin: You may have heard drinking water helps your skin stay young looking, but it’s a myth. The average person’s skin is not affected by the amount of water they drink, but hydration is extremely important for your overall health, so make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.

• Pause the peels: Avoid using harsh peels, masks and alcohol-based toners or astringents during the winter. These can strip oil from your skin. Instead, find a cleansing milk or mild foaming cleanser, a toner with no alcohol, or masks that are “deeply hydrating” rather than clay based.

• Skip hot showers and baths: It’s tempting to lounge in a hot shower or bath on a cold day, but it can break down the lipid barriers in the skin, leading to a loss of moisture. You’re better off using warm water and staying in the water a shorter amount of time. A lukewarm bath with oatmeal or baking soda can help relieve skin that is so dry it has become itchy.

If you try these winter skin care tips but you’re still suffering with dry, itchy or cracking skin, reach out to your doctor.