Winter Beauty Tips

Changing temperatures mean a change of routine in all parts of the world, even in a country like India that is almost in the tropics.

Understanding what your skin goes through in winter can help you tweak a few habits to get a glowing complexion and healthy skin in winter. Here are a few tips to help you get it right!

Get the blood flowing

• Exercise is crucial to staying healthy through the winter months. A daily routine of aerobics and cardio exercises can loosen up your muscles and joints and keep you limber throughout the day—and the winter.
• Start your day with a hot shower. This will compensate for getting out of bed early.
• Before you get out of the shower, switch to cold water for about 15 sec and back to hot for 15 sec. Repeat this for 2–3 cycles or for about 2 min. This simple hydrotherapy technique revitalizes the skin by stimulating blood flow throughout the body.

Skin care in winter

• It is time to get out the heavy-duty moisturizers. A highly protective day-care cream with appropriate SPF is an essential barrier to protect your skin against the elements
• Creamy, water-in-oil emulsions are best as they hydrate your skin while also protecting them from loss of moisture in the cold winds.
• Chapped lips are most noticeable in winter. Use a moisturizing lip balm with vitamin E in it if you want to avoid looking like you have some dreadful, peeling skin disorder.Keep reapplying the balm with a chap-stick throughout the day.
• Exfoliate! Dead Cells tend to pile up in winter and prevent the moisturizer from getting to the healthy skin. The oils in the skin are being produced at a lesser rate than in summer and due to this, skin tends to lose water that would otherwise have been retained in the lower dermis of the skin.
• Dry skin can cause premature aging and fine lines can begin to appear in improperly cared for skin.
• Detoxify your system with plenty of water. If you feel it difficult to gulp down room temperature water, heat your water and take it with a twist of lemon—a sort of watered-down version of lemon tea.
• Everyone loves to cuddle up and sleep, burrowing under a pile of warm and toasty blankets while the temperature outside keeps dropping. Ensure you get your beauty sleep—7 h is decent if you cannot manage the full 8 or the luxurious 9 h in winter nights.
• Sun protection is essential now as the outdoor weather conditions are such that moisture is invariably lost from the skin. Natural sunscreens featuring moisturizing ingredients such as aloe vera, cocoa butter and herbal oils can further protect your skin.
• Moisturize as frequently as possible. Indoor and outdoor conditions are drier in winter and alternating a heavier emollient with a lighter emollient can have your skin feeling cared for while not having to deal with the greasy feeling.
• Creams and lotions with Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), such as glycolic or lactic acid,can be effective in reversing dry skin and lines at deeper levels.
• Alternate different products every few days, for example, once a week, so that your body is exposed to differing levels of support and does not settle into a fixed routine that may not be very beneficial in the longer term.
• Dual-purpose moisturizers act by moisturizing and providing sun protection. Most of them also contain antioxidant ingredients which counter the free-radical damage caused by the winter sun.
• It would be best to avoid clay-based masks in winter as they tend to dry skin further in winter. Opting for masks that are specially designed for winter or for dry skin are ideal for winter.
• Natural soaps or herbal soaps with high fat content are good for the skin in winter as they care for dry skin.
• Tub baths should be avoided as they can cause drying of the skin and showers should be taken with tepid, not hot, water.
• Avoid vigorous and too frequent scrubbing with washcloths in winter as this can further damage and irritate dry skin.
• Apply moisturizer onto towel-dried skin immediately after emerging from a shower as this locks more water into your skin.
• While shaving in winter, use a moisturizing gel rather than soap and remember to moisturize your legs well immediately afterward.
• Rubber gloves will need to be worn while washing dishes or using harsh cleaning agents to avoid further chemical damage.
• Keep a bottle of hand lotion handy and apply after washing your hands.
• Winter time also sees the exacerbation or outbreaks of itchy skin or Eczema. Avoid the use of soap if this happens and try to use natural emollients such as olive oil or moisturizers with herbal oils such as tea-tree oil.
• If feet tend to be neglected in winter and need extra attention. Ensure that socks and shoes fit properly and dust your feet with non-irritating talc before enclosing them in socks and footwear for the day.

Dressing for winter

• Though it is natural to want to resort to wool or other warmer fabrics in winter,these may not be great on winter skin.
• Non-irritating fabrics, such as cotton, allow circulation of air over the skin and avoid trapping of moisture. Dressing in layers will give you the advantage of taking off or adding clothes if you feel too warm or cold.
• Synthetic materials are ideal for winter as they provide warmth and yet do not trap moisture. They even dry faster if they become wet.
• Since more skin is covered in winter, there is increased potential for developing allergic reactions to irritants in detergents or fabric toners and softeners. Switching to a gentler brand of detergent or avoiding fabric toners is a good choice in winter.
• Wearing gloves over your hands can protect the nails and skin from unseemly damage while also keeping them supple.

Hair care in winter

• Dry scalp, dandruff, split ends, and falling hair are frequent hair and scalp complaints in winter. These can be avoided by adequate care.
• Avoid over-washing your hair in winter. Hair tends to become dry faster in winter and this adds to the problems of hair fall and breakage.
• Avoid use of hot blow dryers, curling irons or straightening irons as they tend to damage hair faster.
• Wrapping a towel around hair after washing can reduce hair dryer time and protect your hair.
• Avoid all chemical hair treatments, such as perming, straightening and coloring,in the winter months.
• Use conditioners generously and remember to use a leave-in conditioner before going outdoors.

Diet in winter 

• The changing weather also seeks it due in terms of dietary changes in winter.
• Protein needs tend to be higher and diet must reflect this change by the addition of nuts, peas, beans and lean meat.
• Dairy products are also a good source of protein at this time and provide the required amounts of protein and calcium if incorporated into diet.
• Extra vitamins are necessary to fight the onslaughts on the Immune System in winter as body resistance to infection tends to fall in winter.
• Dark-green, leafy vegetables are excellent at preventing skin dryness and cracking and also provide essential micronutrients to help fight infection.

Despite the challenges to beauty care in winter, a few changes in diet and lifestyle can work wonders and carry one unscathed through the dip in temperatures.