Winter Dry Skin Survival Strategies: How to Help Your Skin Survive the Cold

By genevieve / 18 December 2023

Winter Dry Skin Survival Strategies: How to Help Your Skin Survive the Cold
Biting winds, steamy showers, frigid air: Bitter winter weather can suck the life out of your winter dry skin. Here, how to protect your face from common cold-weather complexion killers.

Winter Dry Skin Complexion killer: Dry, bitter cold

When it’s frigid, skin loses moisture at an accelerated rate—as much as 25 percent more than it does in a moderate climate. Thus, to prevent your complexion from becoming chronically dehydrated, your skincare regimen must be driven by hydrating according to climate, and not skin type. While the rest of the skincare on the market focuses on making creams heavier in order to hydrate better, the correct strategy to protect your skin from bitter cold weather is to actually formulate lightweight products utilizing key hydrators and botanicals that provide superior hydration in each specific climate. We call these our Climate Energized Beautifiers (CEBs) and they work by shielding and repairing skin from the elements (both natural and man-made) that are prevalent in each climate. For extreme cold weather climates, Pour Moi’s Polar Day Cream is packed with three sizes of hyaluronic acid, a humectant that hydrates the skin, to not only pull water from the environment but also pull hydration from what we drink. It also contains Shea Butter, an occlusive ingredient that serves as an invisible barrier, holding in regained moisture and helping to strengthen the skin barrier. Bonus: Shea Butter also forms a light film on your face, helping to shield the skin from blustery winds. It’s also important to regularly—and gently—exfoliate. You can slather on moisturizers packed with hyaluronic acid all day long, but if the buildup of dead skin cells on your face has become nearly impenetrable, those treatments can’t permeate and nourish your skin. Using a gentle scrub, oscillating cleansing brush or even just a clean, wet washcloth are all effective strategies. Or, to exfoliate and hydrate at the same time, try our one-of-a-kind Hydrating Balancer, which uses Glycolic fruit acids to remove dead skin cells, as well as glycerin to boost moisture content. Sweep over skin twice a day as the first step in your skincare regimen after cleansing.

Winter Dry Skin Complexion killer: Biting winds

As mentioned above, slathering on a moisturizer that contains an occlusive ingredient, such as Shea Butter, will help provide a barrier against bluster. However, even the most conscientious among us have mornings when we’re running late, skip (or under-apply) our face cream, then pay the price with skin that ends up wind-burned. The simple solution: Apply a soothing product to balance out your complexion’s out-of-whack pH level. With exposure to harsh climates (plus toxic man-made conditions like pollution), it can seem impossible to keep your skin’s pH balanced, thus leading to inflamed, dehydrated skin. Restoring balance is of prime importance, which is why Pour Moi’s Hydrating Balancer, a moisturizing liquid balancer, not only helps to control sweat and sebum (the result of a fluctuating pH), but also improve the efficiency and penetration of your other skincare products to follow. It contains Citric Acid and Sodium Hydroxide, which work together to calm inflammation and reduce sensitivity.

Winter Dry Skin Complexion killer: Overheated rooms

Coming inside to blasting dry heat can be as dehydrating to the skin as the icy air you’ve just escaped. But other face products don’t account for this and only focus on adding hydration to dry skin. That’s why using Pour Moi’s Climate Smart Day Creams is so important. For the 1st time a brand is taking both natural and man-made environmental conditions into account and creating products that focus on how the skin functions in different environments, versus skin type. Relying on humectants (the ingredients that pull moisture from the air and what you drink, and deliver it to your skin), such as Hyaluronic Acid or Glycerin, will help counteract the dehydrating effects. Our sophisticated fusion of ingredients called HyalurTruf+ marries multi-weight hyaluronic acid molecules with 100% natural White Truffle extract to nourish, hydrate and support skin’s natural climate smart function. Also smart: Opting for our moisturizers because they have light, easy-to-absorb oils, like Squalane Oil, which get soaked up in seconds for faster relief. Having a humidifier running, especially in a room like your bedroom or office where you spend a lot of time, is also a good way to counteract the drying effects of the heat. And make sure you are drinking plenty of liquids so you stay hydrated from the inside out. Drinking cool water is probably less appealing when it’s freezing outside. But a comforting cup of herbal tea, or even warm water and lemon, count as part of the daily water tally too.

Winter Dry Skin Complexion killer: Steamy showers

Hot water feels so good on a cold day, but it’s so bad for your skin. A steamy shower or soak can strip away natural oils and disrupt your skin’s barrier function, leaving the skin dry and sensitized. Whenever possible, try to switch to warm or cool water (e.g. to wash your face or hands), and if you must turn up the heat in the shower, don’t linger! A hot shower should last no more than five or ten minutes. And once you’re done, apply a rich face and body cream to still-damp skin, since wet skin absorbs topical products more readily than dry skin. After cleansing, and applying the Hydrating Balancer (as mentioned above), your next step should be blending on one drop of Pour Moi’s Black Serum. The silky, light formula contains our HyalurTruf+ complex, plus Squalane Oil, and fine black Diamond Powder to boost collagen, reduce inflammation and promote a healthy lipid barrier. To maximize its moisture boost, in the a.m., top with Pour Moi’s Polar Day Cream, and in the p.m., with the Night Cream. Both contain Shea Butter, which will seal in the serum’s potent ingredients and deeply nourish thirsty skin.