Understanding the Dance Between Weather and Skin Hydration

Adapting Skin Care to Climate

The dance between weather and skin hydration is a balancing act that most people experience during the change of each season.

If your skin’s hydration level drops during the winter and feels oily during the summer, you need to adapt your skin care routine to suit your skin’s hydration needs.

This article will help you understand skin hydration and give you simple tips to keep your skin clear, calm, and hydrated with the changing weather of each season.

Cold Weather Skin Care

cold weather skin care

If your skin feels less hydrated when the air temperature drops, or you are travelling to a colder climate, you’re not alone.

The number one thing you’ll want to do is use a rich moisturizer to make an adequate amount of oil available to your skin externally.

Reduce your use of potentially drying or irritating ingredients. Examples of these are retinols,  salycylic acid, and alpha hydroxy acids (AHA).

Next, switch to a face wash that is sulfate and paraben-free. If you don’t feel that cream cleansers get your face clean enough, try a gel cleanser and make sure that it doesn’t leave your skin feeling stripped.

Then use an toner that contains herbs that help keep your skin clear and your pores tight. Make sure that it doesn’t have any drying ingredients, like alcohols.

In the morning, apply a serum, then a moisturizer, and a sunscreen to nourish and protect your skin during the day.

You can use a nighttime moisturizer during the daytime if your skin is prone to being dry. Look for moisturizers that are not water based and that contain natural emollients so that you skin doesn’t flake underneath makeup.

Wait 1-2 minutes after applying your moisturizer to allow it to soak in before you put a sunscreen over it. Make sure that you are using  some form of sun protection year-round, even if you don’t see much sun where you live.

Physical sunscreens, such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide, are better for conditions where skin is more likely to become irritated. Wearing sunblock is important because the earth’s ozone layer is thinner than it was even a few years ago, leaving your skin potentially exposed to more damage than ever. 

If you are using a moisturizer that contains hyaluronic acid, don’t rub your skin when applying  makeup. Hyaluronic acid is a wonderful way to pull water into your skin, but it can bead up when rubbed together with makeup.Shea butter

At night, remove makeup with an oil based makeup remover. Use your sulfate-free cleanser and herbal toner.

Then follow with a nighttime moisturizer to replace the oils you have removed.  Look for a face cream with aloe extract and shea butter high on the ingredient list, like this calming moisturizer, to hydrate the skin. You should also look for a moisturizer that contains hyaluronic acid, peptides, and oils. 

Hyaluronic acid is a part of the body’s connective tissues, and is known to cushion and lubricate. It helps fend off wrinkles, as well as helping your skin regulate inflammation.

Your moisturizer also should contain anti-inflammatory ingredients to reduce irritation. Certain essential oils, such as species of Helichrysum and Chamomile, have anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. 

Essential oils are also a great source of antioxidants. Look for a moisturizer with Helichrysum and Chamomile essential oils to provide antioxidants so your skin can fight off free-radical damage and wrinkles while you sleep.

Hot and Dry Weather Skin Care

woman outside in sun hot weather skin care

When it is hot, skin tends to feel more oily because of sweat.

Sweating causes you to lose water internally, and skin can actually get dehydrated by sweating so much in hot weather.

Use a lighter daytime moisturizer or serum and drink more water than you normally do to maintain skin hydration without feeling oily.

Be religious about sun protection. If you want additional protection to supplement your physical sunscreens, try taking astaxanthin, an antioxidant known to provide some sun protection internally.

If you need a tan during summer,  use a tanning cream that contains dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA is a sugar that reacts with dead cells, causing a temporary darkening of the skin.

Hot and Humid Weather Skin Care

Hydrate Skin with Organic Radiance SkincareOur skin loves humidity. When we’re in hot, humid climates we tend to be in the water, with our skin immersed in salt and chlorine.

After hitting the pool or the beach, use a sulfate-free cleanser, and replace the lost oils with a light moisturizer or serum that contains nourishing oils and hyaluronic acid every time you wash.

These drying factors, combined with extra washing off of sunscreen in the evening, set the stage for skin dehydration, despite the humidity.

Skip the moisturizer in the morning and use a lightweight serum and sunscreen.

Now Get Hydrated!

Now you have the knowledge and tools to perfect your skincare routine in any climate!  Use these principles to keep your skin clear, calm, and hydrated all year long.

Please share this article with friends and family who would benefit from it.

 

3 thoughts on “Understanding the Dance Between Weather and Skin Hydration”

  1. Excellent site you’ve got here.. It’s hard to find good quality writing
    like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you!
    Take care!!

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