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Yes its that time of year again – cool weather equals drier skin. The question that has been most asked is “what can I do about my dry skin?”. As always I like to give you a complete answer so I will outline below internal and lifestyle solutions as well as the topical products you can use to improve skin dryness and dehydration.

Firstly a short explaination about why your skin is feel dry and tight. Basically, with the cooler weather the humidity decreases and moisture evaporates out of your skin. This reduces the skin’s ability to protect from the external environment and so it reacts more readily to wind, cold weather and topical irritants. You may find that as well as feeling dry, your skin is also more sensitive during winter. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce moisture evaporation and increase skin protection and resiliance.

Environmental Factors

Sun, wind, cold air and hot water all increase water loss. You can reduce evaporation by making a few changes to your routine:

• Have short showers – long hot showers and swimming in heated pools opens up the pores and increases water loss from your skin.
• If you are in airconditioning, make sure you keep hydrated. To increase the fluid uptake into your cells add a squeeze of lemon or orange juice to your water bottle.
• When out in the wind or cold apply a lip balm to help minimise moisture loss from your lips.
• If you know you are going to be exposed to the elements, wear a richer moisturiser or a thicker sunscreen to help avoid sun and wind damage.

Editor's Pick for cream cleansers

Topical Solutions

• Synthetic foaming agents such as sodium or ammonium laurel sulphate are a significant cause of acid mantle disruption and coupled with cooler weather can lead to issues such as dehydration, roughness, infection, redness and irritation. Switch to a cream cleanser over winter. You can go back to a gel or foaming cleanser as soon as the weather starts to get warmer again. Our cream cleanser picks include:
  • For very dry, dehydrated or sensitive skin choose the Haven Scent Coconut Cream Cleanser. This is almost like using a cold cream to remove make up as it is very rich and creamy. You can use a moist flannel to wipe the cleanser off.
  • For combination skin, where congestion and dryness occur choose the AUM Brightening Cream Cleanser instead. This includes enzymes to help clear congestion but is gentle on skin at the same time.
  • For normal skin types, the Mukti Cleansing Lotion is ideal.
• Use an oil serum at night to help improve the moisture holding capacity of the skin cells. You can apply the serum under your moisturiser (only use half a pump) or instead of a night cream. Any serum you use should sink into the skin completely within 5 minutes. Our product picks are:
  • Remedica Regenerate Visage or VitaleVisage – either of these lovely serums will nourish the skin deeply and more than that, help improve the skin cell health. (Ed note: I love Vitale Visage and it is the key product that got me through the onset of the dry weather).
• Choose a richer moisturiser. This may seem like a simple solution but it is a very effective way of preventing moisture loss from the skin. You don’t have to jump from a light lotion up to a rich cream, just choose the next moisturiser up from your current one. eg. I have gone from Devita Solar Protect which is quite light up to Devita Rx Ultrahydrate. Alternatively, try using your night cream during the day. If it sinks in without a greasy feel, then it is suitable for day use. Our picks include:
  • Devita Rx Ultrahydrate - a rich cream with hyaluronic acid to increase skin moisture holding capacity
  • AUM Regenerating Night Cream – great for moisture depleted skin
  • Mukti Nourishing Cream – a lighter lotion that has a lovely moisturising effect.

Nutritional Help

• Drink enough water as adequate water intake is required to maintain cellular fluid.
• Essential fatty acids from good fats help maintain the fatty membrane surrounding the cell, holding in moisture and nutrition. Good fat sources include deep sea fish, olive oil, nuts & seeds, avocado and flax seeds.
• If your skin is really dry, try the Lemon Detox drink for 7 days. The difference this will make is truly astounding.

If you have any additional winter skin tips, please write in and let me know. I would love to hear about them.

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