How to Make Your Skin Glow in the Dead of Winter

You know what we’re talking about. You walk down the street on a blisteringly cold winter morning. You pass a display window with some gorgeous handbags tantalizingly displayed inside of it. As you drool, you see someone staring back at you, grey-skinned...or maybe a bit ashy? You look behind you and back into the reflection a few times before you realize that that dry visage belongs to you.

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You’ve got WINTER FACE. Winter is that time of year where everything seems to glow except your skin. Warm, twinkly lights? Check. Glowing embers in a fire? Check, check. Dry, grey, ashy, listless skin? Checkity check check. The good news is that last winter can be the last winter that this has ever happened to you. Starting this cold-weather season, the following tips can help you combat dry, listless skin and replace it with glowing, dewy skin. 

Why is Skin So Dry in Winter?

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It doesn’t take a Phd in Biology to understand why our skin can look absolutely horrible in the winter months. That glowing, seemingly natural dewy skin that seemed to need nothing more than a few products in the spring and summer seems like a figment of our imaginations as we watch our skins’ hydration and moisturization get sucked away as the mercury goes down. The reasons this injustice happens to us include the following.

• Dry, winter air is devoid of humidity, nature’s glorious moisturizer. This means that if your skin doesn’t have back-up moisturization and hydration in place, not only is moisture not being delivered to your skin, but it’s also being sucked out of your skin, leaving it rough and dry.
  
  
• Certain skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis are exacerbated by the cold air, flaring up and causing scaly, dehydrated skin
  
  
• The dry, warm home and office that you retreat to for warmth during the cold season could also be the reason that your skin resembles a gorgeous raisin during winter. Hot, arid weather with no humidity plus grape equals raisin. Hot, dry room with no humidity plus your face equals face raisin.

What Can I Do To Give My Skin That Glow Again?

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Just because winter can be a jerk doesn’t mean that you have to suffer the consequences of its actions. With a few simple preemptive and preventive moves, your skin can look healthy and glow as much as those annoying buy gorgeous incandescent lights that you see everywhere.
 

1. Drink Water

Drinking water is single-handedly one of the most important things you can do for your skin. Water ensures that your skin stays moisturized, making it more elastic and feel more supple. It can also help plump your skin, making it look more youthful.

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2. Drink Less Alcohol

Alcohol isn’t water, so you can’t use it to fulfill the “drink water” rule above. While fresh, delicious water will hydrate your skin, alcohol is a diuretic, and it will suck the moisture out. Add in the fact that the holiday season is office party season, potluck season, holiday party season, Thanksgiving, etc, etc, and you can see why you could find yourself with dehydrated skin. If you must imbibe, drink a full glass of water before each drink so that you replenish the water the alcohol takes away.

3. Use a Humidifier

Remember we spoke about dry air? A humidifier adds moisture to the air in your home, bringing relief to dry, arid spaces. The humidity in the air can help keep both your hair and skin hydrated.

4. Take Fewer Hot Showers

We know, we know...there’s nothing more delicious than slipping into a hot shower after coming in out of the cold after a long day. While that’s great sometimes, doing it too often can suck the moisture and oils right out of your skin, leaving a desert behind. Take lukewarm showers as much as you can.

5. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize

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It goes without saying that moisturizers in the form of creams, butters and oils can save your skin. Don’t just throw any moisturizer on, however. The moisturizer you need in winter may be different than the one you use in summer. 

• If you have combination skin, a moisturizer that blends a gentle exfoliant with a hydrating moisturizer can combat those dry and oily patches.
  
  
• If you have oily skin, you may think you can get lax when it comes to moisturizing: no. You have to make sure that you hydrate your skin or else it could overcompensate and go into oil-production overload. Add in the dry patches that come from lack of hydration and you’re looking at mega breakouts and clogged pores. A lightweight, oil-free moisturizer can help keep your skin supple without making it greasy.
  
  
• If you’ve got dry skin, you have to go into overdrive to make sure that you don’t suffer through the season with sandpaper skin. Use creams and butters instead of lotion.Creams and butters that contain ingredients like shea, hyaluronic acid and ceramides will help build up the skin’s barrier and help it keep moisture in.

Winter sucks when it sucks the moisture out of your skin, but it doesn’t have to win the yearly battle. Follow the tips above to allow your skin to light up, glow and thrive this winter.