Prepping For Winter Skin

The winter season is just around the corner, and as temperatures drop and chilly winds start to pick up, the colder weather can exacerbate the symptoms of dry skin. Redness, dryness and flakiness can become worse as the skin stripped of its' natural hydration.

Here are five tips to help you upkeep healthy skin, even in the winter:

1. Stop using cleansers that strip the skin of its natural hydration.

Many cleansers can be too stripping for the skin during the colder seasons. Ingredients that are present in many cleansers, such as salicylic acid, can be great for the skin during the hot summer months, but this is the opposite for the winter season. Believe it or not, ridding your skin of all it's natural oils can be counterintuitive as your skin tends to overproduce more oil in order to compensate. Instead, choose a cleanser with soothing and hydrating properties that won't dry out your skin and cause further irritation like ZO's Hydrating Cleanser, which provides a dual-action formulation that cleanses the skin while hydrating it to minimize dryness and soothe irritation in sensitized skin. This optimal cleanser for those with dry, sensitive skin types is winter skincare essential!

2. Don't skip out on gentle exfoliators.

Exfoliation is a skincare essential for both summer and winter. Dead skin cells can still build up during the winter as cool winds cause our skin to dry out. This can lead to skin looking dull and uneven during the wintertime. To reveal a softer, more even tone, choose a gentle exfoliator to buff away dead skin cells 2 to 3 times a week. Removing dead skin cells can also improve the effectiveness of other topicals, including your hydrators. A ZO® best-seller, Exfoliating Polish contains ultra-fine magnesium oxide crystals that gently polish the skin to instantly restore a smoother skin texture and healthy glow in time for any holiday event.

3. Protect your skin's defenses with a daily dose of antioxidants.

Did you know that a weak and damaged skin barrier is unable to lock in moisture, leaving skin dehydrated and allowing irritants and bacteria to penetrate the skin? Maintain hydration in your skin by protecting your skin's barrier against environmental factors, like free radicals, that can weaken it.

Get your daily dose of antioxidants by replenishing your diet with fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants, like blueberries, broccoli, spinach and nuts. Additionally, incorporate a daily antioxidant serum into your daily, winter skincare regimen. For examples, ZO's Daily Power Defense, contains enzymatic and antioxidant properties (vitamin E and A) that help protect the skin from free radical damage and improve the skin’s natural repair process.

4. Plump up your skin with soothing, nighttime hydration.

Not only can cold winds dry out your skin, but indoor heating can also be to blame if you're constantly blasting hot air in your home, office or car. Your nightly routine can benefit from a heavier, luxurious hydrator to help the skin heal overnight and seal in the hydration from other skin soothing products you may apply.

Conventional moisturizers can usually do more harm than good as they usually do not provide long-term hydration or any other long-term benefits. This winter choose a functional hydrator that can reduce the severity of skin reactions, such as dryness, redness and itching, while accelerating hydration from within. Those with sensitized skin and increased skin reactions this winter season, may enjoy the immediate relief provided by Hydrating Crème, a lightweight, non-retinol hydrator. If anti-aging is your goal, Recovery Crème's retinol-based formulation promotes cellular renewal while providing your skin with rich, emollient hydration. For more oily skin types, Renewal Crème restores hydration and soothes skin to minimize visible redness.

5. Apply and re-apply SPF

With beach days behind us, and cloudier days ahead—that does not mean you should skip out on sunscreen! While UVB rays are less prominent during the winter season, UVA rays can still be experienced at a significant level. If you're taking part in any in-office procedures this holiday season, such as peels or other ablative procedures, these can leave your skin compromised to harmful UV rays. Make sure to apply a sunscreen with SPF 30 or more to not only protect your skin, but your in-office results as well! ZO® Skin Health offers a wide variety of sunscreen options, tinted and non-tinted, with physical and chemical options. To find the right sunscreen for your skin, visit our Regimen Finder here.