As the crisp, cold days of winter return, so too can waking up with super dry, flaky and cracked skin. If you’re keen to keep your sensitive or allergy-prone skin in tip-top condition in the winter, here are some essential winter skin care tips.

1. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise

You’re probably well aware of the need to moisturise your skin, but it becomes even more important during the winter. So a great winter skin care tip is to increase the number of times you moisturise your skin during the colder months.

Choose a moisturiser such as AproDerm^®, that is specifically designed to protect, moisturise and soothe eczema and other dry skin conditions. If you have dry hands or feet, pop on some cotton gloves or socks before you go to bed. This will help keep the moisture in and prevent you scratching during the night.

2. Humidify your home

When it gets cold outside, the temperature inside our homes and workplaces is typically turned up. Whilst it’s lovely coming inside to a warm environment, sadly it’s not so skin-friendly.

The sudden change of environment and impact of heat from the central heating can result in drying your skin out. Whilst it might not be easy to do much about it at work (unless it is seriously affecting your ability to do your job), when you’re at home you can implement practical ways to combat this.

A good winter skin care tip for this is use a humidifier. They help to introduce more moisture into the air, which you need for your skin. If your skin is particular dry and troublesome, try and place several small humidifiers around your home to evenly distribute moisture. For example, in rooms you frequent a lot, such as your bedroom and living room.

3. Eat more omega-3 fatty acids

What you eat can have an impact on the state of your skin too. You may find it worthwhile to add more omega-3 fatty acids to your diet during the winter months. This healthy oil can help to decrease the amount of dryness in your skin. Choose foods such as tuna and salmon, walnuts or flaxseed, or opt to take supplements. That’s another tip to add to your list of winter skin care tips.

Plus, if you’re aware of any foods or drinks that trigger your skin condition, then it’s important to try and avoid them where possible.

 

4. Take short warm showers and baths

Getting into a nice hot bath after time spent outside in the cold may seem like the perfect idea. However, this is not good for your skin.

When you have the bath or shower water too hot, it can break down the lipid barriers in your skin, this results in it losing more moisture. After you’ve gone to the trouble of moisturising your skin regularly, you really don’t want this to happen.

Opt for warm showers and baths and try not to soak for too long – 10 minutes should be optimum time.