We’re Banishing Dry Skin This Winter With A Moisturising Routine Perfect For The Colder Months
Say bye-bye to a dry and lacklustre complexion, and hello to a season of healthy radiance! With the cold weather in full force, your skin can take the hit with its natural moisture getting stripped away. If you’re skin battles with dehydration and dullness during winter and you want to keep that glowing complexion, we treat you to a scientist’s top tips to revive your inner glow and a range of hydrating products to keep your skin glowing this month and every month!
Dermoi’s Chief Scientific Officer, Eve – MSc Pharmaceutical Formulation, gives her 5 top tips on how to revive a stressed complexion for a quick glow.
1. Fight Inflammation with Active Ingredients
Stress, poor sleep, poor diets, cigarettes, UV radiation, pollution, allergy, and weather changes can all cause inflammatory reactions within the skin, and this tends to develop into excess redness and blotchiness. Adopting powerful anti-inflammatory active ingredients that can calm inflammation at a cellular level to instantly soothe the skin.
2. Repair Skin Barrier with Occlusive Agents
The skin barrier is composed of dead skin cells surrounded by a lipid matrix. With harsh weather, alcohol, stress, cigarettes, and/or poor diets, it is very easy to disturb this barrier. This not only leads to inflammation but also causes increases in transepidermal water loss leading to dullness and dryness. Moisturisers containing effective occlusive agents that will form a water-resistant layer over the skin can repair skin barrier function. This will restore suppleness and glow.
3. Exfoliate… but not too much.
Even if the skin is in optimal health, an accumulation of dead skin cells on the surface can give a rough, flaky, dull finish. Exfoliation will remove dead cells to reveal smoother, younger-looking skin, however, exfoliating too frequently or with aggressive exfoliants will have the opposite effect. It will dehydrate and thin the skin barrier. Try exfoliating only once per week with enzymatic or chemical exfoliators to see how skin reacts. Products containing lactic acid at a concentration of 10% or less can be helpful as that is also a natural moisturizing factor in the skin. Always balance exfoliation with occlusive moisturizers.
4. Add Water Back into Skin with Humectants
The skin is naturally structured to bind and store water molecules; however, depending on skin health, this water can easily be lost through the thin, outer layer of the skin. Humectants are ingredients that bind water and draw them into the complexion. For example, hyaluronic acid, sodium PCA or glycerin will work. The trick is to always combine humectants with occlusive agents to lock in hydration.
5. Supplement Antioxidants Topically and Orally
We are constantly exposed to damaging pollution & UV radiation. While our body naturally produces protective antioxidants, it’s easy for our natural defences to become overwhelmed during the holiday season. Daily supplementation, topical use of stable antioxidant serums, and investing in antioxidant-rich facial treatments, will support our bodies’ defence mechanisms, preventing dullness and premature ageing.
Here are some products that are set to keep your skin looking radiant all year round!
Keep your skin balanced, clean and clear with the Sweet Cheeks balancing and cleansing facial wash from Angela Langford. This £18 gentle face wash is made for congested, combination or oily skin types and the non-foaming formula won’t disturb your natural oils.
The Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel is the perfect exfoliator to add to your routine during the cold months. The milk-protein, vitamin E and marine algae formula will moisturise, repair and protect the skin without scrubbing away natural oils thanks to its creamy substance. You can shop this must-have product for £35.
Give your skin an extra boost with the Bright & Glow C15 Serum With B3, Black tea & Mallow from House of Purple Rose. Not only will this serum leave you looking radiant, hydrated and luminous but due to its retinoid-like mechanism ingredient, it will also minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Priced at £27, this is set to become your skincare staple!
SPF is still a must even during winter but you can still use it to make your skin glow with the Paula’s Choice Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 30. This £30 light-weight cream is formulated with a mix of plant and vitamin powered antioxidants to protect, brighten and hydrate the face for an illuminating complexion. So the Christmas tree won’t be the only thing glowing this winter!
Designed to restore vitality to your skin, the Olverum Facial Oil is packed with natural retinol alternatives to brighten and reduce the appearance of pores, blemishes and fine lines. Removing the stress of identifying your skin type, this oil is suitable for all complexion types and retails for £60. What’s more, the product is completely vegan and cruelty-free!
Nourish your skin while you sleep with the Revolution Skincare Glycolic Acid Glow Overnight Cream. The 7% glycolic acid formula will gently exfoliate the surface layer of dead skin cells leaving you free from dullness, congestion and uneven skin texture, along with other added ingredients that will hydrate and soothe. Enjoy all the benefits of this product for just £12!
Infused with 13 natural oils and priced at only £16, the Pixi Glow Mist will revitalise your skin before makeup application or set makeup for a dewy finish. The mist contains aloe vera and fruit extracts to soothe and promote radiance with the addition of argan oil for a long-lasting glow.
Maintaining hydration in the winter can be difficult especially when trying to protect your skin against the harsh elements. Beauty expert and founder of Beau Boutique Salon, Charmaine Harding, shares a top ingredient to help with this: “Winter is a great time to add Hyaluronic acid into your skincare routine which will help with hydration in deeper layers of the skin.”
With that in mind, here are two more products featuring hyaluronic acid so you can achieve maximum hydration.
The best-selling eye cream from Derma E is going to deeply hydrate, firm and tone skin around the eyes. The added hyaluronic acid makes the cream ultra-hydrating which in turn, provides a plump, younger-looking appearance. For extra benefits, the eye cream is formulated with green tea extracts and vitamins A, C and E. Shop this for £18.
Everyone loves a sheet mask and the hyaluronic acid one by Neutrogena is just £7.95. To be used after cleansing, the 100% hydrogel mask will quench dry skin leaving it smooth and supple without any clogged pores. A perfect addition to your winter skin routine.