Winter can wreak havoc on your skin, leaving it dry and irritated, but you can combat the cold and the irritation with a few daily tweaks. From barrier repair to the best products for hydration, here is an affordable skincare routine and tips on surviving winter while sporting a skin glow. Editor Trudi Brewer shares her advice.
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Make Seasonal Changes
A few tweaks to your daily skincare routine can combat dryness, like swapping foaming cleansers for creamy cleaners with nourishing ingredients. Adding a hyaluronic acid serum before moisturiser gives skin an extra hydrating boost. Also, press pause on using active ingredients like retinol or over-exfoliating until your skin adjusts to the cold snap.
Boots Hyaluronic Acid Serum, $13.
This clever hydration boost owes its effectiveness to a plant-derived hyaluronic acid, which enhances every other product in your skincare routine. It works for all skin types, leaving skin brighter-looking and smoother. Boots Beauty is available exclusively at Life Pharmacy.
Sukin Rosehip Cream Cleanser, $18.
At first, the gorgeous scent of rosehip and borage oils got us addicted. Then, it’s how easily to erase makeup and oil with hydrating Quandong extract, Shea butter, evening primrose, and camelia oils. It’s a brilliant beauty buy.
Barrier-repairing ingredients are game-changing
Your skin's barrier is responsible for your complexion. To keep it resilient, look for skincare with these components: humectants to draw moisture in (like hyaluronic acid), emollients to soften the skin (like shea butter and plant oils), and occlusives to lock in moisture (like beeswax and squalane).
These are the ingredients that prevent dryness, irritation, and sensitivities.
CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion AM SPF15, $28.
Backed by dermatologists, for its ‘multivesicular emulsion technology,’ this multi-phase, oil-in-water emulsion is time-released throughout the day to help your skin retain moisture. With an SPF and three nourishing ceramides, this hard-working moisturiser can go anywhere in any weather.
The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support SerUM,$36.
Famous for its affordable, efficacious skincare, this serum targets irritated skin by helping to strengthen and repair it while boosting hydration. It has plant-based active ingredients, including vitamin B12, soothing gallic acid, bisabolol, plant ceramides, niacinamide, and gotu kola.
Never skip SPF even in winter
Sunscreen is just as important in winter as it is in summer. Crisp, sunny mornings intensify UV exposure. A good SPF can also double as your moisturiser and, if tinted, a foundation, to keep your skin protected and glowing even in winter. Think of sunscreen as an investment in your skin.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Mineral Tinted Ultra Light Face Sunscreen Fluid SPF 50, $38.
This French pharmacy brand is popular with anyone who wants a tinted screen for sensitive skin, thanks to its mineral titanium dioxide base. It’s lightweight, absorbs quickly, doubles as your foundation thanks to the universally flattering tint, and has a cocktail of antioxidants, including vitamin E, to protect and hydrate.
Avène Sunscreen Emulsion Face SPF50+, $36.
We are super fans of Avène, which manages to create exceptional sunscreen. This dry-to-touch, matte finish SPF has a unique "SunSitive" protection (a formula made with minimal chemical ingredients). It also offers broad-spectrum protection, is photostable, and contains vitamin E, in a base of thermal spring water.
Lips and hands need love, too
Lips and hands often get overlooked but need just as much care during winter. A lip balm is a winter essential worn under lipstick or gloss to help lock in moisture. For hands, cuticle oil and a nourishing hand cream work wonders.
Boots Everyday Hand Cream Shea Butter, $4.
Found in almost every high-end beauty brand, Shea butter is a hero for rescuing dry skin. This creamy (but not sticky) hand healer also contains vitamin E to create a moisture barrier that protects and nourishes the skin for hours. At this price, keep one at work on your desk and one in the car to travel with you.
Burt's Bees Lip Balm Vanilla Bean, $10.
No lip balm is on offer as pure as Burt’s Bees - it's 100 per cent natural. The famous beeswax formula is boosted with shea butter and soothing vitamin E. This newbie is also spiked with the milky flavour of vanilla bean, which is ultra comforting for winter. This is a stand-out, affordable and addictive lip salve
Don’t overlook your body
While hot baths beat the chills and are super relaxing, if you have dry skin, they can exacerbate the issue. Always slather on body oil or rich moisturiser or oil while your skin is damp after a hot bath or shower to lock in hydration.
Weleda Skin Food Body Butter, $29.
Fans of this beautiful natural brand will appreciate the fragrant whipped butter texture, which leaves the lingering scent of sweet orange, aromatic lavender, and warm vanilla. Meanwhile, plant botanicals like pansy, calendula, and chamomile melt instantly on dry skin. This body butter is ultra-hydrating.
Boots Vitamin C Brightening Body Serum, $12.
There is nothing better for brightening skin than vitamin C. This affordable body serum sinks in fast, thanks to the yuzu extract. It helps moisturise for hours, making the travel-friendly tube a holiday favourite. The glow-giving ingredients in this body hero will benefit any skin type.
Load up on antioxidants.
Finally, one of the biggest winter skin challenges is the constant temperature change, from the central heating that zaps the air of moisture to the chill of being outdoors. Antioxidant ingredients such as vitamins C, E, niacinamide, and plant botanicals help defend the skin against micro toxins caused by recycled air, pollution, UV, and blue light damage.
A fabulous beauty find.