One of the first posts I wrote on Holistically Haute? was about the need to Winterize Your Regimen?meaning changing up your skin care products and ingredients to accommodate the needs of your skin as it changes with the temperature outside. I still recommend most of what I wrote in the original post, but there are some additions as well.
Why does the skin change with the seasons?
Skin is a living organ that expands and contracts just as wood does. Think about a wood door, for example. In cooler, drier weather, wood doors usually open and close very easily, just like they are supposed to. However, when the weather gets warmer and more humid, the wood expands and causes the door to ?stick?, making it more difficult to open and close. My skin, for example, is normally moist, supple, and oily in the warmer, more humid weather. But as soon as the weather turns colder and drier (in addition to the very dry, warm air in our home from our central forced air heating system), my skin becomes tighter and drier, and absorbs products like a sponge. If I used the same routine on my ?winter? skin as I do on my ?summer? skin, chances are I would dry out my and irritate my skin which could cause damage.
What do I do differently now?
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| Papain comes from papayas |
In my original post, I mentioned that I used a salicylic acid cleanser during the summer, and then switched to a water-based lotion cleanser in the winter. This has changed. My skin became sensitive to the daily use of the salicylic acid even in the summer. Even though my skin is oilier in the summer, I felt the salicylic acid stripped away too much of my natural lipid barrier, causing a tight, dry feeling which was quickly replaced by extreme oiliness between washings. This also made my skin more sensitive and my acne product at the time started stinging at every application. I knew this was not a good sign so this past spring and summer, I decided to replace the salicylic acid cleanser with a gentler enzyme cleanser containing low concentrations of papain (papaya enzyme) and bromelain (pineapple enzyme). These enzymes do not over-exfoliate the skin or strip the barrier?they simply help dissolve any dead skin cells that are about to fall off anyway, as well as the daily gunk from toxins and makeup. After washing, the skin feels clean and refreshed, but not tight, dry, or irritated.
For some thicker, oilier, and non-sensitive skin types, these types of enzyme cleansers may be gentle enough for cold weather use. I am going to try to keep using it, but if my skin starts feeling dry, tight, or sensitive from it I will switch back to the lotion cleanser.
At the time of the original post I was using a glycolic (one of the strongest AHAs) and salicylic acid-based daily acne gel treatment, which my skin became sensitive to over time. The product also started to not work anymore, which is common with AHAs because I started breaking out again. I have since made dietary changes that reduce candida, and have been using a retinaldehyde-based acne serum, which also uses anti-inflammatory willow herb, niacinamide, 1,3 beta glucan, chlorella vulgaris , mandelic acid (one of the gentlest AHAs), and other soothing and anti-inflammatory botanical extracts. It?s been about eight months and my acne is well under control now. Plus, my current serum does not sting or burn my skin.
In the cold winter months, I still think it is necessary for most skin types to add an extra level of moisture to the skin with an emollient like jojoba, to help avoid trans-epidermal fluid loss (TEWL), prevent evaporation of water-based product ingredients, and prevent dehydration like I mentioned in the original post. I also now really like argan oil for this purpose (among others), and no longer condone the use of mineral oil or petroleum jelly for any reason at all. Since the original post, I have learned that these products, as well as other petrochemical ingredients, can pose serious health risks as well as suffocate the skin. So ix-nay on the etrochemicals-pay. Stick with non-comedogenic (non-pore-clogging) natural emollients like jojoba or argan.
It is very helpful to use these emollients as eye makeup removers as well, since they remove even the stickiest mascara and eyeliners, plus they moisturize, nourish, and soothe the delicate eye area without clogging or suffocating the skin.
Check your lip balm and lip gloss ingredients especially for petrolatum or mineral oil, or even paraffin wax. Natural waxes like beeswax or vegetable wax, and emollients like shea butter, pomegranate oil, coconut oil (but don’t use it anywhere but the lips if you have clog-prone or acne-prone skin), or illipe butter are much better moisturizers, have firming and elastic properties, last longer, and actually hydrate and benefit the skin.
And don’t forget?
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| Don’t forget sunscreen before sledding! |
?to protect your skin from the sun and harsh elements on a daily basis regardless of the weather. In the winter, protective clothing is a must, but sunscreen/sunblock should also be worn even on overcast days. I always hear ?but the sun?s not out??well guess what. If it?s daytime, the sun is out. Furthermore, the sun?s harmful UV radiation can reflect off snow and cause sunburn on exposed skin, so be sure to protect yourself and your children when skiing, shoveling the driveway or playing in the snow.
Ten to 15 minutes of unprotected exposure to sunlight a few times a week is usually beneficial to get your Vitamin D. However, I think that if there is snow it might be best to just supplement instead, because the reflection of the radiation could cause sunburn on unprotected skin very quickly.
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| Enjoy nice warm, but not hot baths |
In addition to regularly moisturizing the body with a natural emollient moisturizer, I highly recommend regularly dry brushing the body. This will keep the circulation going, which will help warm the body; help the moisturizers do their jobs better, and prevent dehydration by keeping the oil and sweat glands unblocked and functioning optimally. I know hot baths and showers feel really great on cold days, but they also cause the skin to dry out really easily; so go for a warm bath or shower instead.
So those are my updated tips on how to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy and beautiful as the weather gets colder. Tell me, how do YOU change up your regimen to prepare for the cold, dry winter?
*Betty Boop image from Blingee.
