What’s more irritating than this winter’s polar vortex? The resulting dry skin. Colder temperatures mean we’re turning up the heat in our homes, which causes dry, patchy, irritating skin.
Aside from moving to California, how do you get rid of dry skin? Dr. Lee shares her advice on how to relieve our winter skin woes.
1. Can drinking water actually improve the appearance of your skin?
Of course, staying well hydrated is important for overall health and well-being—and the skin is the body’s largest organ!
In dehydrated states, the skin can lose its elasticity and look sallow. However, drinking an abundance of water doesn’t directly lead to more hydrated skin. The body is quite good at maintaining water balance, so excessive amounts of water intake will probably just get excreted in healthy people.
Staying well moisturized, however, is key to a more “glowing” appearance.
2. Is it possible to use a retinol on your skin in the winter without the dry and flakey consequences?
“Retinoids” (Vitamin A derivative medications) have many benefits on the skin, including helping to control acne and stimulating collagen production. The prescription creams and the over-the-counter retinols also help with exfoliating and anti-aging.
However, as many people know, they can cause peeling and dryness, which often worsens in the wintertime. There are a few tricks to help minimize the dryness and irritation:
- If you’re using a prescription-strength Retinoid cream, consider decreasing to a lower strength during winter.
- If you’re using the Retinoid cream every night, try every other night.
- If that is still too irritating, try over-the-counter retinol creams at night.
- Try mixing the Retinoid cream with a little bit of your nighttime moisturizer before applying it, to add moisture back in.
- Don’t forget to use a morning moisturizer with SPF 30. This can help minimize irritation from the sun.
- Always stay well moisturized, and try to shield yourself from the cold and wind.
- Try to avoid exfoliating too aggressively in the wintertime.
* Note to remember: Retinoids shouldn’t be used in women who are pregnant.
3. What are key ingredients to look for in moisturizer?
If you are looking for a product with an emphasis on moisturizing, the latest effort has been to add “ceramides” and “hyaluronic acid” in moisturizing creams. These are naturally occurring components in the skin that help accelerate the moisturizing.
4. What do you use on your own skin?
In the morning, I use NeoCutis Gentle Cleanser, along with the Clarisonic on my face at night. But when traveling, I tuck a mini Cetaphil Gentle Face Wash in my toiletry bag. I also use a moisturizer with SPF 30 each day (even in the winter time, and I prefer ones that are slightly tinted!), and occasionally an anti-oxidant serum.
In the evening, I use Tretinoin (Retin-A) cream and NeoCutis Biocream moisturizer, as well as Lumiere Eye cream.
If my face has been breaking out, or if I’m fighting sun damage in the summer, I also try to do a chemical peel. I like the SkinMedica Vitalize peel.
For the body, I like Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion. It’s not too sticky and thick. I also enjoy Cerave moisturizing cream in the winter.
5. Which drugstore brands will work for winter-weary dry skin?
A key tip in the winter is to switch to a more gentle soap, like Dove for sensitive skin or an Olay body wash instead of bar soap. Tip: Try to avoid long hot showers. They can dry out the skin.
Many of the drugstore brands can be effective for moisturizing the body. The most important thing to remember is to get in the routine of moisturizing regularly immediately after you shower. Brands I recommend for the body are Aveeno, Eucerin, Curel, Cetaphil, and even Palmer’s Cocoa butter moisturizer—it’s an oldie but a goodie! My advice is to find a body moisturizer that feels good for you, that you like—and then use it consistently.
Drugstore brands I recommend for the face are Aveeno, Olay, and L’Oreal. These companies all make excellent products for moisturizing dry skin.
6. Why is dryness and acne still prevalent in some older men and women?
Skin is more prone to dryness as we all age, and this is heightened in the wintertime due to environmental factors like dry, windy climates and indoor heated air.
If you’re still having acne issues in your 40s, this tends to be hormonally related – especially if your breakouts mostly occur around the chin/jawline area.
These two processes are not mutually exclusive. Both can be controlled with a good skin regimen: combining prescription creams or oral medications with careful attention to skin care routine.
Avoid over-treating the acne with drying products. This will worsen the dry patches, sometimes even leading to rashes, or dermatitis.