Cold weather skincare tips and products for women over 50
Cold weather skincare tips and products for women over 50.
Winter is the time when the humidity drops, and the air becomes drier. And as a result, moisture gets sucked right out of your skin, leaving it vulnerable to dryness, irritation, peeling, and symptoms of sensitivity.
If you, like many of us women over 50, already have rosacea, dry, and sensitive skin it can get even dryer during the winter month.
In this blog post, I will share with you tips and fantastic skin care products that will help you with your dry and sensitive skin during winter cold weather.
The best thing you can do on a cold day is light a scented candle and snuggle cozily in your bed with some good books and a hot cup of your favorite tea while the snow falls outside your window, creating the most beautiful scenery.
This is the ideal picture of a winter’s day which includes all its features, but omits some of its bad sides, like the fact that you can’t spend all daydreaming in your bed and that eventually, you’ll have to go out of your house and face the harsh cold.
Even though winter is a rough season, and you will find a way to enjoy it, you must prepare yourself. You can resist the cold with warm layers of clothes, but don’t forget to protect your skin, which is very sensitive during this period.
Read on to find out how.
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Less Frequent Cleansing
If you wash your face and body twice a day, consider of washing them just once a day. Wash your face at night and in the morning just apply moisturizer and sunscreen and you are done. Just think about it, why would you want to remove protective lipids in the morning?
If need to use a cleanser, I would recommend Aveeno Calm Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser. It has milky, creamy consistency to gently lift away dirt and impurities without stripping a skin barrier.
Moisturizing, Moisturizing and, Again, Moisturizing
Dry and cold weather air, wind, and snow may dry and harm your skin, so you need to protect it more than usual. You may already assume that the most important part of a skincare routine during the winter season is hydration.
So, instead of using a lightweight moisturizer, opt for one that complements your skin type, and preferably has all of these components: humectants, hyaluronic acid, collagen, vitamins, and SPF.
The last one – SPF – is extremely important considering one simple fact that many people usually forget – the sun shines in winter the same as it does in summer. Just because it doesn’t shine as brightly, it doesn’t mean that it can’t harm your skin, so you should apply sunscreen daily.
Also, don’t forget to use a heavy night face cream – not so necessary during summer, but crucial for maintaining the level of hydration during cold days.
Dermatologist Recommended Best Skin Care Products for Cold Weather:
COSRX Advances Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence as a skin prep step makes my skin so plump and hydrated. This essence is formulated with 96% of snail mucin, so you are getting a lot. For dry winter days, this one is amazing.
La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair with SPF 30 – if you are living in an area with a wind chill and your skin gets red, flaky, and irritated. I love this one because of the zinc. Zinc really works to comfort the skin, calm the redness, and soothe it. Feels a bit heavy on my face but it gives such deep hydration.
Avene Cicalfate+ restorative cream – it has magnesium stearate in it with the healing of ulcers and sores. It also has zinc oxide and crystal wax. It’s more of an occlusive balm but comfortable to wear on the face.
Avene tolerance control soothing skin recovery balm is a more lightweight balm especially good if you are dealing with eyelid dermatitis. It has shea butter in it, also arginine that helps with skin barrier recovery and it has postbiotic D. Sensinose that will help with itch and discomfort due to irritation. It also has squalene as emollient. It comes in airless packaging to prevent oxidation and allows the formula to be preservative-free. Also, it’s a balm it has more of a cream consistency and can be applied to eyelids according to Dr. Dray.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 50+ Sensitive Skin Lotion – this one is my favorite. This is so lightweight and gives my skin a beautiful glow. Also, it doesn’t leave white marks on the winter jacket collar.
A Gentle Touch
Moisturizing is not only important for your face, but also for your body, so, after taking a shower (that shouldn’t last more than 15 minutes) don’t rub your skin with a towel but use the towel to gently absorb the water from your skin’s surface and then apply the body moisturizer while the skin is still slightly wet. Instead of a lotion, choose a body cream specialized for dry skin, enhanced with humectants (that bind into water), emollients (that soften dry skin cells), and occlusive ingredients (that sill transepidermal water loss).
TIP: Also consider of taking a break from a body wash in the wintertime. In winter our skin is not exposed to dirt or other environmental pollutants as in the summer. Being in the shower will be enough to clean your body. I just use soap to wash inside the skin folds only.
The skin on your hands is the second most exposed part of skin during winter – the skin on your face is the first.
Your skin dries off after each washing and, considering that hands don’t have many oil glands, they can’t recover by themselves, so you’ll need to pay extra attention to them. Moisturize them after every wash with a quality cream.
Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Hand Cream – This cream is soothing to the skin without feeling greasy and absorbs quickly. Your cracked skin will be healed in 3 days.
L’Occitane Shea Butter Body Lotion – oats reduce inflammation plus honey for soothing and softening the skin. Non-greasy and absorbs really quickly into the skin.
Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Lotion or Vaseline Extremely Dry Skin Rescue – non-greasy, unscented moisturizer. You may have to apply this one every few hours for maximum effect.
A Gentle Step
Even though your feet are protected from the cold, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t provide them with the same moisturizing care. After every bath, apply a body moisturizer on your feet and surprise them with a massage. This way you’ll boost your circulation and relax at the same time.
Once a week prepare a warm bath and treatment for your feet and – yourself!
Cetaphil healing ointment has petrolatum and microcrystal of wax making it more aesthetically pleasing. It’s NOT greasy or sticky. This also has shea butter in it that helps with the reduction of transepidermal water loss. It also has Vitamin E in it which will help with healing.
Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment – for extremely dry, cracked, chafed, or damaged skin. Very greasy and fills like Vaseline. This is an effective ointment to use as a nighttime cream. Otherwise, it’s likely to leave greasy marks on everything you touch.
A Smooth Kiss
Winter is the season of holidays, family reunions, romance, and love. So, prepare yourself for lots of kisses, especially if you have grandkids coming over for Christmas. Use a lip balm to protect and soften your lips and lipstick with an additional moisturizing effect to keep the balance.
Vaseline Petrolatum it’s a great ointment for your lips especially if you have chapped lips that are not gaiting better. It’s also really good for healing cuts and scrapes because it provides a protective layer.
CeraVe healing ointment is a good cream. It not only has a petrolatum in it it also has ceramides that facilitate skin barrier recovery and it has a hyaluronic acid that can pull water to the outer layers of your skin improving hydration. It’s great to put on your lips or/and in the corners of your mouse to help with irritation.
Get a Humidifier
Consider getting a humidifier for your bedroom to run at night to increase humidity. When we sleep at nighttime our skin barrier goes through a recovery process or healing and, we lose more water at night as we sleep. Humidifiers will help with protection from water loss, it makes a huge difference from head to toe.