Winter Skincare Routine

Winter Skincare Routine – A Deep Study

It may not come as a surprise that with changing weather, your wardrobe is not the only thing that is going to be switched. Winters bring with them the harsh, dry, and cold winds making it essential for the skincare routine to be adjusted according to it.

Our skin is an adaptable but complex organ that shows a response to the effects of the world around us and our internal health. The appearance and texture of the skin changes with the difference in weather causing dryness, irritation, itching, or even many skin diseases. Anticipating the changes due to weather and making arrangements to prevent it by being aware of our surroundings and environment can help us with winter skincare. But before talking about the winter skincare routine, it is important to have an understanding of how the skin gets affected internally and externally with changing weather.

What is Skin?

Skin is the largest organ of our body that acts as a shell, wrapping us up and protecting us from all the external factors like water, sun, bugs, or whatever comes in contact with skin. It tells us when it is too cold or too hot and conserves water in the body.

The skin may look like from the outside that it is made up of a flat layer of tissues but in actuality, it is formed of three-layer. The first layer is known as the “Epidermis” which itself is made up of four very tiny layers. The layer at the surface is the stratum corneum, and underneath it is stratum granulosum. The third tiny layer is the stratum spinosum and at the bottom stratum basale. The uppermost layer of the epidermis, which is the stratum corneum acts as a barrier between the internal structures of our body and the outside world. Stratum corneum controls the amount of water passing into the air through the skin, prevents the entry of harmful substances into our body, and also protects us from the harmful radiation of the sun.

The epidermis does not contain any blood vessels and there are very few free nerves in it. Below the epidermis, the second layer of skin is known as “Dermis”. It is also referred to as the “Engine house of the skin” because this layer contains blood vessels that provide vital nutrition to the epidermis and help in maintaining a stable temperature in the body. Dermis also have nerves that communicate different sensations like when the temperature outside becomes too hot or too cold. The layer also has follicles for hair production, ducts for sebaceous gland secretions, and sweat glands.

The last layer of the skin is known as “Hypodermis”, also called sometimes subcutis or subcutaneous fat. This layer mainly consists of fat cells, connective tissues, blood vessels, and a few nerves. The presence of fat cells acts as insulation conserving the body heat when required. Hypodermis also offers a cushion to the surrounding vital organs in your body by acting as a shock absorber. This layer is responsible for the attachment of your skin to the tissues and muscles below it.

The Sebum

The sebaceous glands present in the dermis are responsible for the production of a natural oily substance known as “Sebum”. Several fats such as wax esters, triglycerides, cholesterol, squalene, and dead cell material are the components of sebum.

The production of sebum is through a programmed cell death process known as holocrine secretion in which specialized cells are known as sebocytes dissolve and sebum is released from the sebaceous glands. Through the follicular ducts connecting sebaceous glands and hair follicles, sebum travels to the surface of the skin.

The production of sebum fluctuates mainly due to change in hormonal levels. The testosterone hormone plays an important role in its regulation. The production of sebum differs in response to fluctuations in hormones at different levels of age. Also, lifestyle choices and certain medications can have an influence as well. When sebum is produced in excess quantities, it leads to oily skin. Not only the over-production of sebum is a problem, but under-production also becomes a cause of many problems. If your skin is dry, itchy, and flaky, it is due to the under-production of sebum.

Why climate change affects our skin?

The happiest of the skin can show the effects of winter in form of redness, dryness, and becoming cracked. The cold of the winters, winds, and heating all dry out our skin. Not only this, but the impact of winters also extends to our consumption of food because dark and long winters encourage comforting and warming foods and snacks affecting the nutrient balance in our skin.

Winter does not pose problems to individuals with dry skin only but also creates problems for people with oily skin. The dry and cold wind with low levels of humidity promotes increase sebum production, making already oil skin oilier. The stratum corneum present in the epidermis is mainly responsible for the water control in the skin and its proper function also requires water.

A normal stratum corneum that is soft and supple is believed to contain 25 to 30% of water content. If the percentage of water is more or less than it, it affects its ability to act as a barrier. When problems arise in the skin barrier, it can lead to itch, dryness, irritation, and stinging feeling and can also become a cause of skin conditions, for example, eczema.

An important process in the stratum corneum that depends on the water is desquamation. In this process, old cells from the skin surface are constantly sloughed to give place to new cells. This keeps the skin barrier in good condition and effective. The stem cells present in the stratum basale forms the new skin cells that migrate to the upper layer of the epidermis. As soon as these new cells reach the upper layer of the epidermis, desmosomes that form the link between cells in the old layer of stratum corneum are broken down by water-dependent enzymes and the old cells are removed.

When the level of water is low in the stratum corneum, the enzymes are not able to function properly resulting in the accumulation of keratinocytes (a type of cell found in the epidermis) on the surface of the skin producing scaling. Similarly, there is also an important role of the acid mantle in maintaining the integrity of the skin barrier. The pH at the surface of the skin is higher in those individuals who tend to skin irritation and eczema for both unaffected and affected skin when compared with individuals who have healthy skin. This suggests disruption in the pH of the skin surface is a part of the progression of the disease.

How Climate Change Affects Your Skin

Effect of Low Humidity on the Skin in Winters

With the start of winters, our heating system is cranked up that dry out the air present in our surroundings. When dermal mass cells come in contact with a dry environment suddenly, they release histamines. Also, the concentration of other inflammatory mediators is increasingly affecting the skin barrier. The water content from the stratum corneum also reduces making the skin dry, rough, itchy, and inflamed. Another effect of dry air is on desmosomes links present between the cells in the upper layer of the epidermis. These links become hard to break due to loss of water in dry air, resulting in decreased desquamation and building up of scale. More moisture is retained in warm than cold air.

When the air inside the houses is warmed, its ability to retain moisture increases and the relative humidity decreases. Since 60 to 90% of our time is spent indoors, our skin is greatly affected by the dry air.

Skin dryness and irritation can be improved by increasing the relative humidity. The use of an appropriate winter skincare routine for dry skin can help to avoid damage to the skin barrier, dryness, itching, and roughness. As there is a close link between temperature and humidity, room humidity can be increased by lowering the heating by a few degrees or keeping a humidifier in the room where you spend the most time. Reducing exposure to dry by spending some time outdoors can decrease the chances of water loss from the skin.

Replenishing your body with water intake also helps to maintain water in the skin. The low humidity does not only pose problems for people with dry skin, it is also a cause of complications for people with oily skin. The dryness of the environment triggers the sebaceous gland to secrete excessive sebum to protect skin from tightness, flaking, irritation, and itching. Winter skincare routine for oily skin should contain products that maintain the texture of their skin. It is always better to use natural skincare products.

Effect of Low Temperatures on the Skin in Winters

Small temperature changes can be sensed by human beings. In architectural literature, temperature changes have been described as determining factors for defining comfort in a space. The effect of the temperature of our surrounding environment is directly on our skin through convection. This effect triggers the responses from blood vessels and nerves in the skin as well. With an increase or decrease in the environmental temperature, the itching sensation can become intense.

When the temperature is high, the blood flow through the skin is greater to promote sweating to cool the skin. As the air gets colder in winter, there is no need to cool the skin by sweating thereby reducing blood flow to conserve the heat in the body. Although, water loss decreases in this way in winters the amount of water in the epidermis is less at colder temperatures (15). This can have detrimental effects on the integrity of the skin barrier. The decreased amount of water in the epidermis and the dry indoor air can even cause the skin to start bleeding.

What other factors can affect our skin?

There are other factors other than the weather that can contribute towards a negative impact on our skin. Some of those factors are as follow:

• Environmental pollutants: If you have exposure to a dusty environment, due to your work or any other reason, you will notice how the pollutants in the air can clog your pores and damage your skin. One reason why you are having trouble with acne.
• Unhealthy Diet: This does not come as a surprise as what you put in your body is also what it shows. Your food choices have an immense impact on your skin. Eating healthy such as, fruits and vegetables, can help you get rid of free radicals and clear your skin. Eating unhealthy will only contribute to acne.
• Bad quality of sleep: Remember that if you do not sleep on time and with the required amount of hours, you will eventually become sleep-deprived. This will not only flare up acne but also make your skin look dull. You will get under your eyes bags, making you feel and look older than you ought to be.
• Hormonal Changes: Sometimes, it is just the natural reaction of the body towards your skin due to hormonal fluctuations. Females usually get acne breakouts during their mensuration cycle or menopause.

It is important to remember that with a proper winter skin care routine, we can tackle these external factors as well.

What are different skin types and their problems?

Interestingly, there are a few criteria that are used to classify a skin type. These can include the color of skin and how it reacts to sun exposure. Other factors can include sebaceous secretion, hydration, and skin sensitivity. Every type of skin is measured by its genetics and can be affected by weather, time, and other external factors.

Dry Skin

People who have dry skin are due to less production of sebum. The skin dries off because of external factors and is unable to protect itself or retain any moisture in the skin. The dryness can occur due to age, environmental pollutants, or, weather change. The skin can get tight, rough, and can cause wrinkles and lines as well. As the skin is unable to retain water, they become dry and loses its softness.

Dry skin can lead to acne or in extreme cases, rashes, redness, cracks, and sometimes, bleeding. It is important to look after your skin before it becomes worse.

Recommended Handmade Soaps for Dry Skin

Oily Skin

Oily skin is well known for its bright appearance. This happens when the sebaceous glands produce more than the required fat, which is known as seborrhea. The skin produces excess fat when you go through some genetic or hormonal changes. This can cause acne among adolescents or people under 30.

Oily skin can make your pores more visible on your face and can flare up acne on your face. Acne on oily skin usually comes on the T-Zone, where it shines the most. In extreme cases, the skin becomes red and inflamed.

Let’s get to work and talk about the winter skincare routine to help you deal with your skin types and their problems.

Recommended Handmade Soaps for Oily Skin

How to treat your skin?

Winters can be a great pain for our skin with their environmental stressors and cold air. But to protect your skin from all of these factors, we will introduce some winter skincare routines for dry and oily skin. We also plan on providing a skincare for kids and for aging skin as well.

Winter Skincare Routine for Dry skin

Let’s talk about how you can heal your skin by having a proper winter skincare routine for dry skin.

Morning Routine

• Wash your face with a non-foaming cleanser. This will keep your face fresh and clean. Look for a cleanser that has hydrating ingredients. It can help you eradicate dirt and oil from your face without harming the outer layer of the skin.
• After cleansing, use a moisturizer which helps retaining water for a longer time. We also recommend adding serums along with your moisture with vitamin C and hyaluronic acid for an extra moisturizer.
• Use SPF: to protect your skin from sun rays, use SPF 30+. This will create a protective seal over your skin that will keep your skin hydrated and protected from free radicals.

Nigh Time Routine

• Wash your face with a hydrating cleanser that does not disrupt or harm the outer skin layer.
• Use an alcohol-free toner for your skin to help you regenerate or repair your skin pH.
• Use victim C or hyaluronic acid serums to help you with your skin issues, especially dryness. You can also add other serums for eyebags or age miracle serums.
• Nourish your skin with a moisturizer. Use a non-comedogenic moisturizer so it can retain the water in your skin.

You can easily carry sunblock with SPF 30+ and moisture in your bag. at any moment, you feel your skin drying up and going red, you can apply the moisturizer and then also apply SPF to help you lock in hydration and also prevent environmental pollutants to damage your skin further. We all easily can google winter skincare routine for dry skin but will not take any action on it. It is significant that you take care of your dry skin like your own baby. Treating it with utmost importance and priority.

Winter Skincare Routine for Oily Skin

We also have a few tips on how to keep your skin fresh through our winter skin care routine for oily skin.

Morning Routine

• Use a cleanser. Washing your face twice a day is a must-have in your skincare regime, especially when you have oily skin. The oil-based cleanser will help you keep your skin balanced.
• Exfoliate your face to clean the dead skin. It is important to note that overdoing it can lead to harming your skin layer by striping it off. Add exfoliation in your morning routine 1 to 3 times per week. Too much of it can damage the skin.
• Use a toner to hydrate your skin. To minimize the visibility of pores, use a natural toner that can also hydrate your skin. Use non-alcoholic toners as alcohol toners will dry your skin excessively.
• Add serum to your skincare. Applying serum can help you balance your skin tone and texture. Use serums that use tea tree oil, witch hazel, and hyaluronic acid as their ingredients.
• Apply moisturizer even if you have oily skin. Applying moisturizer will help the skin know that it is hydrated and will not produce excess oil. Use water-based moisturizers with aloe or hyaluronic acid as their main ingredients.
• Apply Eye Cream: Since the eyes do not have oily glands around them, use an eye cream to keep the skin around the eyes hydrated. Eye creams can also address dark circles, wrinkles, and fine lines.
• Apply sunblock to prevent the sun rays to penetrate your skin. Sun rays or UV rays can accelerate the signs of aging and can also harm the skin. Use mineral or natural sunscreens to keep it from getting absorbed in the skin and protect you from harmful rays.

Nighttime Routine

• Cleanse your face at the day’s end as you have been exposed to external factors such as environmental pollutants, makeup, or sweating all day. Cleaning it off with a proper cleanser will not let these stressors get clogged in your skin and also reduce the production of oil.
• Apply a detox mask. To get rid of all the dirt and oil, use a detox mask one to three times per week.
• Apply toner again. This will eliminate and cleanse the environmental stressors that you were exposed to all day.
• Retinol serum and cream should be applied at night. They can help remove or minimize wrinkles and fine lines. It is not recommended to use it on the skin while being exposed to the sun so using it at night time is the best time to use it.
• Applying moisturizer is a must, even if you have oily skin. This will repair and replenish your skin’s nutrients.
• And lastly, again with eye cream. After taking off your makeup, and giving it a gentle cleanse, apply eye cream.

It is important to cleanse and moisturize your face during the day and at night when you have oily skin. That way your pores will stay clean and hydrated, preventing oily glands from producing excessive oil. Keep a mineral SPF and a moisturizer in your bag. Every time you feel your face is getting oily, wash it with fresh water and apply moisturizer. The most important thing about this winter skincare routine for oily skin is being regular and committed, without it, you might damage your skin to the harsh environment out there.

Skincare for Kids

The easiest way to keep your child’s skin smooth and fresh is by applying these 4 simple skincare for kids:

Skincare Routine

• Cleansing will help take out all the dirt and bacteria from a child’s skin. Use products that are best for sensitive and acne-prone skin. The cleanser is good for removing dirt but always use moisturizer to keep the natural oils in.
• Give your child a spot treatment for its acne breakout. Use salicylic acid as it fights off acne.
• Moisturizer is a must to keep the child’s skin hydrated and young.
• Apply Sunscreen to avoid damaging their skin due to UV rays.

Sunscreen will help in slowing down the signs of aging. Not to mention, kids like to spend a lot of time outside playing, applying proper moisturizer and sunblock will keep the impurities away from their skin. This skincare for kids will prove to be easily applicable and effective for their skin.

Skincare for Aging Skin

In case you are in your middle age, or older than 50, and feel like your skin is deteriorating. We have just the skincare for aging skin to make the skin look fresh and supple.

Skincare Routine

• Wash your face gently with a cleanser to keep it hydrated and remove impurities.
• Add any anti-oxidant serum to your skincare regime.
• Use eye cream for your under eyes wrinkles and fine lines. With a hydrating formula eye cream, it will not only minimize the dark circles but also the visibility of wrinkles and lines.
• Use a moisturizer with sunscreen. During the day, try to apply the moisture before applying the sunscreen to avoid harmful rays damaging your skin. This will protect your skin from aging drastically.

You can keep rose water, sunblock, and a moisturizer in your bag in case you stay out too long or you need to wash your face again. Reapply all these to protect your skin from harmful environmental stressors. This skincare for aging skin will make you look young and supple in no time. Make sure that you are regularly following this skincare regime.

How can you choose the right type of skincare?

The best advice is to know your skin type before you go ahead and make a purchase. Do not give in to the hyped product, always check their ingredients first if they are suitable for your skin type or not. If your looking to hydrate your skin then glycerin is the best option. Other agents such as hyaluronic acid can also be proved to be useful in looking the water in. For collagen production, choose vitamin c or l-ascorbic serums. For a good nighttime routine, use retinol for a nice turnover of cells and collagen production. Niacinamide is also popular for balancing your skin tone.

The major concern of winter skincare for dry skin is looking up the moisture. Natural soap for dry skin containing Tamanu Oil helps to form the barrier preventing the escape of water from the outer layer of skin. The high-fat content of Tamanu oil makes it an ideal component of natural soap for dry skin.

For oily skin, the winters bring excessive sebum production to counter the dryness. When moisturizing is provided externally, the sebaceous glands need not produce extra sebum. Natural soap for oil skin containing Mowrah Butter provides the benefit of moisturizing because of its excellent emollient properties. It also helps to rejuvenate skin by reducing wrinkles and fine lines as it slows down the process of skin regeneration.

Natural handmade soaps are often infused with herbs or essential oils. These ingredients not only provide texture, color, and aroma to the soaps but also provide support to the health of the skin. Tulsi deep cleanses the skin by not only removing the dirt and impurities from the skin but excessive oil. The essential oil of lemongrass detoxifies skin and gives the soap a pleasant odor. Its anti-inflammatory properties act as a soothing agent for irritated skin due to winters. Cedarwood oil has anti-bacterial activity and it also helps to look the lock the moisture as do the Frankincense essential oil.

REFERENCES

The skin in the cold
Skin Care for Cold Weather
Sebaceous gland lipids

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