Winter Skin Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:47 Written by Charlotta Woodward

With temperatures dropping outside, air cons blasting out hot dry air and reduced humidity levels indoors are stripping our skin of its moisture. Shanghai winter means dry, irritated and some times itchy skin for most of us.

The skin is made up of several layers of cells and thousands of oil glands. The oil that the glands produce keeps the skin from losing moisture and makes it supple and soft. However our skin is constantly losing moisture into the air and every time you wash your skin, you strip away much of the oil, letting more moisture evaporate and drying the skin. In humid conditions, the skin can replenish itself by soaking up moisture from the air. But when humidity drops, the skin loses an opportunity to moisturize itself. This is why it is so important to seal moisture into the skin to prevent dryness and irritation during the winter months.

During the winter all skin types will need more moisture then usually needed. Even though Shanghai is quite damp and does not get as cold and dry as for example Beijing, most of us will still experience a change in our skin. Especially if you have a skin type that is normal towards dry, then you might suddenly experience dry patches where you usually do not have them. If you have combined skin with oilier skin in your T-zone you might experience that your cheeks, your eye area and your neck gets dryer than normal and your T-zone stays less oily.

So what can we do to keep skin hydrated?...

Let a humidifier improve your indoor climate. Apart from this, it is a perfect time to adjust your skin care and moisturizing routine! Get into the habit of a good daily skin regimen. Caring for your skin is a process you should repeat every day, no matter what, but it is even more important during the cold season.

Facial care

• Do not use harsh soaps to cleanse, as they will strip your skin of its natural oils. Instead, use a non-soap creamy cleanser.
• Cleanse with warmish water, instead of hot. Hot water can have a drying effect on your skin.
• Use an alcohol-free facial toner as they are far gentler on your skin. (Alcohol-based toners have a drying effect on the skin).
• In winter the skin will need more protection and moisture, the more oil a moisturizer contains the more effectively it protects against moisture loss. Moisturizing emollients are ingredients like Plant oil, Mineral oil, Shea butter, Cocoa butter, Petrolatum, Cholesterol and Animal oils.
• If your skin is very dry you might find that using the same moisturizer day and night might not be enough. If you do not already use a night cream, now will be the perfect time to start.
• Always apply moisturizer on clean, slightly damp skin.
• Make sure your skin is not cold when applying. Warm skin will absorb ingredients in your products better.
• The skin around your eyes is particularly vulnerable and sensitive to dryness.  During the winter this can accentuate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, investing in a good eye cream will lessen the appearance of these.
• Get into the habit of using a hydrating mask at least every couple of weeks.
• If you have flaky, itchy, dull and lifeless looking skin, a mild exfoliation removes the dry top layer of skin so it looks smoother, especially around the mouth and eyes. Removal of dead skin cells will allow enhanced penetration of moisturizers for optimizing their benefits.
• Be careful not to exfoliate or scrub too often, once every two weeks is enough. Always use together with a moisturizer for best result.  

Hand care

• Make sure to always have a nutrient-rich hand cream in your handbag, to apply immediately after washing your hands to seal in moisture.
• If your hands are extremely dry, apply a thick cream on hands before going to bed and wear thin cotton gloves on your creamed hands during the night.
• Use gloves if it is cold outside.

Lip care

• Look for lip products that have emollient ingredients like Lanolin, Shea or Cocoa butter. These are excellent to help prevent chapped lips.
• To deal with already flaky dry lips: before you go to bed try gently brushing your lips with a soft  toothbrush or a dry washcloth to remove flakes, and then apply Elisabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream to your lips – you will notice a significant difference by morning.  

Body care

• It is essential to apply an emollient moisturizer at least once a day.
• Use mild soaps and try to avoid deodorant soaps as they can have a drying effect on the skin.
• To get rid of dry skin use a gentle body-scrub to exfoliate in the shower, shower oil will further soften the skin after exfoliation.
• It is much more effective to apply moisturizer to damp skin after bathing or showering than to put it on totally dry skin. This will seal in hydration by trapping a little water in the skin.
• If you take a bath, add bath oil to your water.
• Dry elbows and knees should be exfoliated at least once a week and moisturized daily.
• For dry and dark elbows – cut a lemon in half and rest one elbow in each half for 10 minutes. Lemon juice has a softening and whitening effect.

Makeup on dry skin

It proves to be a bit more difficult to achieve radiant looking skin during winter months. By following the steps above your will have better hydrated skin and stand a much better chance achieving beautiful long lasting makeup.

Remember that finding you perfect foundation is the number one, most important thing for natural flawless looking skin. Your foundation should be so perfectly matched to your skin tone and texture that it disappears when applied on your skin.

But even with the perfect foundation we can encounter problems if the skin is looking dry, because unfortunately dryness will be more visible with makeup. Try applying your makeup on slightly moist skin and it will look much better. After you have cleansed and moisturized your skin and before applying foundation, mist your face with water and pat with a tissue. You want the skin to be slightly damp, not drenched.

For a quick fix; squirts of mineral water will refresh your face after a long day, light squirts will help you set your makeup and if you have applied to much powder a mist of water will re-moister and dilute the makeup base.  

And please remember to hydrate your body from within by drinking water too, which is easily forgotten when the temperatures drop.

Charlotta Woodward has been working in the world of beauty for over 15 years since her training at London’s top fashion makeup school. Over the years she has worked with numerous photographers, international clients, fashion magazines, celebrities, models and TV production companies in many different countries. For more information check her website www.formaimageasia.com.