Professional Picks for Winter Skincare
We know this expression has been overused, but…winter is coming! Cold weather and the constant in-and-out from heated and unheated places truly does a number on your skin. The biggest effect is that skin dries out, which in turn leads to flakiness, tightness, and more pronounced wrinkles and fine lines. Skin also generally looks more tired and dull.
If you want to keep a glow year-round, you have to be proactive about hydration, and we make it easy with these four professional picks for winter skincare.
Our Top Skincare Tips for Winter
Is it important to change your skincare routine in winter?
If you’re wondering if you really need a winter skincare routine, the answer is likely yes. This season triggers a drop in mercury and humidity. Although dampness doesn’t feel necessarily comfortable, a certain level of humidity does leave skin feeling soft and looking dewy.
When humidity is replaced with cold winds slapping you in the face, your skin’s moisture barrier, the uppermost layer responsible for preventing water evaporation, becomes more vulnerable. Once the moisture barrier is compromised, a host of issues rise up. Dryness, tightness, flaking, sensitivity, and redness are typically the first symptoms. To tackle this head on, invest in skincare products specifically formulated to tackle dryness and dehydration.
One standout product is the VITAL C Hydrating Face Oil. A radiance-reviving oil that blends argan oil, sea buckthorn oil, and grapeseed oil to help moisturize skin, VITAL C Hydrating Face Oil is great for dry and dehydrated skin. Face oils in general are great for dry skin because they sit on top of the skin and prevent moisture from vaporizing. This is obviously important in winter, in particular, because cold weather strips moisture from skin as do heated areas and hot showers. Turning up the heat at home feels wonderful, but it’s not so good for your skin so make sure you are moisturizing even if you are not necessarily leaving the house during the winter months. So no matter what your skincare regimen looks like, veil on a layer of this antioxidant-rich face oil to help shield yourself from the harshest environment to come.
How do you change your skincare routine for the winter?
During the winter season, the focus should be to add hydration and moisture.
One recommendation is to add a rich mask to your nightly routine. Our VITAL C Hydrating Overnight Masque helps give a big boost of hydration while you sleep, when skin tends to be at its most dry. Research has shown that even one night of poor sleep can make wrinkles more pronounced, generally making you look older. This hydrating overnight mask can potentially help minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines by keeping skin well moisturized. During the winter months, if you sleep with a heater on, you might find that you wake up with dry skin. The VITAL C hydrating overnight mask can help combat this effect so you wake up fresh and radiant.
Another product you might want to consider is the VITAL C Hydrating Repair Crème. If you use a lightweight moisturizer in lotion form, consider swapping it out for a richer, thicker formula like this luxurious cream, which helps quench parched skin that has taken a beating from the elements. Featuring vitamins A and C, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides, this is a great cream to use regularly to help keep skin deeply hydrated (a.k.a. happy and healthy!). Vitamins A and C are key ingredients that also help refine texture and support elasticity. Vitamin C and vitamin A both help boost the appearance of collagen-deprived skin and help increase cell turnover. Bottom line: This cream will keep you hydrated while also helping to improve skin’s appearance overall.
What skincare ingredients should you look for in the winter?
Remember we mentioned you need to focus on hydration and moisture? It’s important to note there’s a difference between the two. In general, hydration is water, and moisture is oil, such as the natural lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids that make up your moisture barrier. You need both in order to enjoy smooth, supple, bouncy, and healthy-looking skin.
One of the best ingredients for hydration is hyaluronic acid (or HA for short), which is a substance best known to attract water. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “a quarter-teaspoon of hyaluronic acid holds about one and a half gallons of water.” That’s remarkable!
To quench your skin’s thirst, consider our AGELESS total pure hyaluronic 6 filler, which contains a customized HA complex featuring six forms of low and high molecular weight hyaluronic acid to help lock in hydration and plump skin's appearance. This topical hydration filler helps to smooth and soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Time-released and cross-linked hyaluronic acid have water-binding properties, so they act like a magnet to draw hydration to the skin and help plump its appearance from within. The silky formula sinks in quickly, giving a rapid hydration recharge and youthful-, healthy-looking glow.
Don’t forget your eyes also need hydration! Every morning and evening, apply VITAL C Hydrating Eye Recovery Gel. Some people may be under the impression that eye cream is not necessary, but the truth is that the skin around our eyes is thinner and more fragile than the skin elsewhere on our face, particularly because it is considerably less oily than the rest of your face. You might even notice fine lines forming along your eye area before they appear along your forehead or cheeks. The VITAL C Hydrating Eye Recovery Gel is a cooling gel that soothes as it uses key ingredients like hyaluronic acid to help minimize the appearance of fine lines by plumping them up. This eye gel also contains vitamin C, which has been shown in studies to boost the look of collagen-deprived skin.
To replenish moisture, one of the best ingredients to look for are ceramides. Try our VITAL C hydrating repair crème, which features both hyaluronic acid and ceramides, a natural component of skin. This soothing cream provides ultra-nourishment while revitalizing texture and supporting elasticity and firmness. A blend of hyaluronic acid and ceramides helps to lock in moisture and soothe sensitivity.
Remember the most important thing you can do in winter is keep your skin thoroughly hydrated, and face oils, hydrating overnight masks, and moisturizers can all help you achieve that. But also remember not to skimp on sunscreen (the winter sun is still dehydrating and damaging). Moisturize every day and night, and follow up morning moisturization with sunscreen application, and you’ll be good to go!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/
https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/9/1355/2453883
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699641/
