How to Adapt Your Beauty Regimen for Colder Weather
Shift key.
You’ve put away your summer sandals and frocks, and dusted off the boots and sweaters. But it’s not just your wardrobe that needs a tweak as the weather gets colder. “Our skin is constantly interacting with the environment, so changes in temperature and humidity can have a real impact,” says Vancouver dermatologist Dr. Katie Beleznay. “As the weather gets colder, and air becomes drier, our skin can lose water more easily, and the skin barrier is more easily compromised. This can lead to dryness, flaking, irritation, and increased sensitivity.” And it’s not just skin that can feel the impact of a new season. “Hair may feel rougher, become more prone to static or tangling, or seem more brittle and susceptible to breakage,” Beleznay says.
Issues can be worse if you already have dry, sensitive skin, conditions like eczema, or are older, since as we age, our skin tends to produce less oil. We also might behave differently—take hotter showers and baths and set our heating higher, which can exacerbate dryness. Beleznay says people in regions with very cold, dry weather, such as the Prairies, can be worst affected.
If you’re experiencing skin and hair changes as a result of the shift in the weather, do you need to completely overhaul your bathroom cabinet? Not really. Beleznay says you might need a richer moisturizer—look for ingredients like ceramides, glycerine, and squalane that will support the moisture barrier. If you have particularly dry skin, you might need a petrolatum-based product such as Vaseline. “Consider switching to a gentle, hydrating cleanser and avoiding very hot water,” she adds.
You might also want to reduce how often you apply active ingredients like retinoids and acids if you’re finding that your skin is more sensitive. Conversely, fall and winter can also be a good time to try more active ingredients and even in-clinic procedures such as laser, since UV exposure is lower. Regardless, sunscreen is a must all year round.
For hair, it’s the same principle: maybe a richer shampoo and conditioner and moisturizing leave-in conditioner or hair oil, and reduced heat styling, but you don’t need to buy a whole new set of products.
If you want to make those simple switches, here are 10 products to try, from cleansers and shampoos to masks and oils.
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Aestura Atobarrier Capsule Toner
Add an extra layer of hydration to your skin-care routine with this toner, which has hyaluronic acid for instant moisture and ceramide capsules to strengthen the moisture barrier. Polyhydroxy acids (PHAs) provide gentle exfoliation that will help skin better absorb the next products you apply.
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Use this nightly as your moisturizer or in addition to a cream if your skin is inclined to be extra dry. It hydrates and soothes and is suitable for even extremely sensitive skin or conditions like eczema. It can also be used on the body and even on hair to tame flyaways. A little goes a long way, and since it’s an oil, it will be greasy, so your pillowcase may suffer as your skin improves.
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Designed for extremely dry, chapped, or cracked skin, this petrolatum-based ointment contains ceramides, hyaluronic acid, dimethicone, and panthenol. Apply to dry and flaky patches, including eczema, on the lips, or even on deep cracks. Fragrance-free and baby-safe, it can also be used to prevent chafing.
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DesignMe Fab.Me Multivitamin Leave-In Treatment
Strengthen, moisturize, and nourish hair to prevent breakage, improve manageability, and enhance shine with a complex of vitamins B3 (niacinamide), B5, B6, C, and E. Use as a leave-in conditioner on damp hair, or apply to dry hair for extra smoothing and as a heat protection spray.
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First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration
Rich and creamy but not greasy, this has colloidal oatmeal to soothe itching and irritation, shea butter and glycerin to moisturize, and ceramides for barrier repair. Use head to toe for moisture, morning and night.
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A rich, creamy conditioner with hyaluronic acid, shea butter, and coconut oil, this is suitable even for fine hair. Massage it into the scalp for instant soothing from dryness and irritation.
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Naturium Multi-Calm Cream Cleanser
This no-foam cleanser, approved by the National Eczema Association in the U.S., will gently cleanse without stripping skin. It has colloidal oatmeal (oat kernel flour), glycerine, and plant-derived squalane to support the moisture barrier, and it is fragrance free.
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OLAPLEX °7 Shine Serum Oil Mist
A combination of reparative serum that has an amino acid complex and bis-aminopropyl (Olaplex’s bond-building ingredient), this also contains weightless oils that reduce frizz and make the hair look shiny. Shake the bottle, then mist the serum onto hair. It can be used before styling as a heat protectant or after as a final smoothing step.
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SkinCeuticals P-Tiox Anti-Wrinkle Cream
This is a light cream with heavy ingredients: peptides and a patent-pending active called Myrixin for addressing even deep wrinkles, lipohydroxy acid for exfoliation, niacinamide for evening-out skin appearance, and zinc for regulating sebum production. The brand recommends this as an adjunct to neuromodulator injections like Botox and Dysport, since it says the cream and complementary serum can address surface concerns and deep wrinkles that in-office treatments can’t.
Vaseline Lip Therapy Original Moisturizing Lip Balm
The 100 percent Vaseline petroleum jelly is packaged in a handy little tube with a slanted tip for easy application. Apply to dry and chapped lips as needed, or as part of your regular nighttime skin-care regime
