Expert’s Guide to Winterproofing Your Skin
During winter months, taking extra care with your skincare regime is a must. Dr Matthew Moore, the Medical Director and Skin Specialist behind new premium skincare range CJ Skinhealth, shares his expert knowledge on keeping your skin happy and protecting it from the weather.
Dry, Chapped Skin
Although we may think of Autumn/Winter as being a wet and cold season, it is actually very dry as there is less air humidity. This is especially prominent in exposed areas such as the face, neck and hands, which can cause a ‘weather-beaten’ look, and also those most at risk of developing skin cancer. Moving your exercise regime indoors to the gym can also cause your skin to become dry with increased exposure to central heating or air conditioning systems. Solution: Use a high quality moisturiser that is enriched with ingredients that can protect and repair your skin against weathering. Solution: Moisturise with Enhance & Protect, which forms a protective layer against external damage.
Blocked Pores
The cold environment experienced by our skin during outdoor activities tightens the skin, restricting the ability of the pores to breathe properly. This inhibits their natural function, clogging them and therefore reducing the release of the naturally-produced protective oils. This can make the skin susceptible to drying and infection (spots and blackheads). Eczema sufferers will identify with their skin worsening as the weather changes. Solution: Use a cleanser that will go deep into the pores to cleanse any impurities. An exfoliator will also help remove any excess dirt. Solution: Try Active Cleanse to lift away ingrained impurities, pollutants, surplus oils and dead skin cells.
Broken Veins and Increased Redness
Capillary blood vessels in the skin act to regulate skin temperature: when warm they will dilate and enlarge to lose heat, and when cold they will constrict and narrow to conserve heat. When entering a warm building from the cold outside (or vice versa), the sudden change in the size of the capillaries as they respond to the temperature differences, can cause broken veins and increased redness to the skin. You may also be tempted to indulge in a hotter bath or shower than usual, however the heat from the water melts away the skin’s natural protective oil, and along with the drying action of most soaps, will cause cracked rough skin. We have all got into a hot bath when our feet are cold, giving the sensation of scolding pain. This is our body warning us that this is not right. Solution: It is more sensible to start in a warm bath and add hot water slowly to raise the temperature.
Lack of Hydration
During the summer we all know that it is advised to drink more water. However, this advice seems to die down during the colder months, as we are no longer losing water through sweating. During the winter it is equally as important to maintain hydrated for your skin, as a result of the drying effects from the weather. Solution: continue maintaining the recommended two litres of water per day and continue to aide the skin’s moisture by incorporating a good skin care regime to lock in moisture such as CJ Skinhealth’s Enhance and Protect.
