You can’t keep the winter weather away, but you can keep your skin from drying out.
Jeanette Comstock MD’19, a dermatologist and assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, says our skin needs special attention, especially in the winter months.
“We can actually solve and prevent many issues on skin by caring for it a little bit differently in the winter,” she says. “People often misunderstand the skin. It’s actually a very complex and very alive organ that requires just as much care as any other organ.”
Comstock works with patients of all ages, and she’s a specialist in complex medical dermatology and Lymphoma of the skin. She says the skin’s moisture barrier is a vital part of maintaining healthy skin, as it helps prevent against itchiness, dryness, eczema, and other inflammation.
According to Comstock, we don’t need to suffer through scratchy skin in the cold months. By following a simple skincare routine, we can strengthen our skin barrier and maintain healthy skin all winter long. Here’s Comstock’s how-to for healthy skin in the winter.
Humidify your home.
Adding a humidifier to your home is a great way to keep your skin nice in winter.
“As the temperatures drop outside, we turn our heat up inside and that heat really pulls moisture out of the skin, stripping the skin of its natural lipids,” she says. “Even just a small room humidifier that’s adding moisture back into the air really, really helps things.”
Avoid long showers.
When wind and cold chap skin our skin, hopping into a warm shower can be enticing. But, Comstock warns, hot water can lead to more dry skin.
“It feels really comfortable to be in a hot, long shower or bath in the winter months,” Comstock says. “But hot water, just like heat indoors, strips the skin of oils.”
Break out the rubber gloves.
“My tip for hands in the winter is always, always wear rubber gloves when you’re washing dishes,” Comstock says. “That’s the most important thing by far.”
Just like long showers, Comstock suggests skipping the hot water whenever you can in winter. Instead, secure a pair for rubber gloves when washing dishes and keep a moisturizer by your sink to apply after working in water.
When it comes to germs, she suggests washing your hands frequently and drying thoroughly. She also recommends using fragrance-free hand soaps, which are less harsh on skin.
Prioritize warming your core.
In frigid temps, our bodies send blood from the fingers, nose, ears, and toes to heat central organs such as the heart and lungs to preserve the body’s main functions. However, less blood flow to those extremities can lead to frostbite, fissures, and cracks in the skin.
Comstock recommends reaching for gloves, hats, and scarves to protect against the cold, and suggests wearing vests, long underwear, and other insulated clothing to keep our central body temperatures up and maintain blood flow throughout the body.
Keep it simple, and skip the fragrance.
When choosing skincare products for winter, Comstock says it’s important to stick to simple and scentless products.
“The skincare industry is a huge, multibillion-dollar industry, and there’s a lot of people trying to sell you things,” she says. “I tell patients skincare does not have to be fancy or expensive. Bland and simple is best almost all the time, especially in winter.”
Comstock says fancier skincare formulations often include more ingredients, like fragrance, that can irritate the skin or cause an allergy.
Opt for a moisturizer in jar, and pause the pump bottle.
Comstock’s recommendation for a winter moisturizer is a scentless, simple moisturizer that comes in a jar with a screw-on cap or a squeeze tube. Avoid lotions that come in pump bottles.
“The reason is water,” she says. “To get lotion to come out of a pump bottle, you have to add more water to the product. In the summer it’s fine, because it dries fast and doesn’t feel sticky. But in the winter, you really need additional oil in the product to get the moisture into your skin.”
Comstock recommends drugstore products such as Vanicream Moisturizing Cream, CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, and Eucerin Original Healing Cream.
“They don’t have to be fancy or expensive,” she says.
Don’t forget to drink water.
While there are external remedies for keeping skin nice, Comstock says what we put in our bodies also affects the integrity of our moisture barrier. And in winter, we sometimes slack on water intake because our bodies are cooler and we sweat less.
Comstock says drinking water, even when we’re not hot, is important for skin. She also says there is some data to suggest that omega-3 supplementation, like fish oil and fatty fish in general, may help with skin moisture.
Sunscreen is important.
Most sun damage happens in the hot, summer months, but Comstock says wearing sunscreen in winter is also important.
When sunlight reflects off snow, water, and ice, UV rays intensify, which causes more damage to skin. This is particularly important for people who participate in outdoor winter activities like skiing, ice fishing, and ice skating.
Comstock recommends buying a daily, facial moisturizer with SPF in the formula to wear year-round, even on cloudy days. And she suggests elevating your sun protection when outdoors in winter by adding more SPF and covering up. A pro tip, she says, is wearing sunglasses in the winter to protect the delicate skin around our eyes from sun damage.
Retire the tube lip balm.
What’s the best product to keep lips from drying out this winter? The answer is probably already in your medicine cabinet.
Comstock says ointments like Aquaphor Healing Ointment or plain Vaseline Original Healing Jelly are great options, and she suggests avoiding lip balms that come in tubes.
Tube lip balms, like Chapstick, often contain fragrance, menthol, and other ingredients that can irritate the skin and drive a cycle of inflammation and dryness.
Comstock says it can be difficult to find a good lip balm with SPF, but she suggests finding products with minimal ingredients and no added fragrance.
Try a minimalist nighttime routine.
According to Comstock, simple is best. Here’s her step-by-step, minimalist nighttime routine for healthy winter skin.
- When showering, use a gentle face and body wash and a zinc-based shampoo, which can be anti-inflammatory and helpful for the scalp.
- Next, pat the skin partially dry. Apply moisturizer to the body, and apply Aquaphor Healing Ointment to the lips.
- When struggling with dry hands, apply a layer of Vaseline or Aquaphor to the skin, put on a pair of cotton gloves, and head to bed.
The next day, your skin will thank you.
