The #1 Ingredient Your Skin Needs This Winter

By lesley / 18 December 2023

The #1 Ingredient Your Skin Needs This Winter

A cold, snowy winter may look beautiful, but it’s not the prettiest time of year for your skin - especially if you happen to live in a cold, dry climate. Low humidity, harsh indoor heat, whipping winds, and freezing temperatures suck the life out of skin, leaving it dry and dull.

While some may think simply adding a creamy face mask to your skincare routine would help perk up your skin during the doldrums of winter, the cold fact is most face masks aren’t up to the challenge of revitalizing skin in a polar climate. Without ingredients specifically tailored to nurture skin in these harsh conditions, or technology that works to help skin’s own natural functions change to acclimate to the climate aggressors, skin struggles to protect itself. In fact, in a study that appeared in Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, environments with low humidity and low temperatures have been found to cause a decrease in skin barrier function making skin more susceptible to damage and aging. That’s where climate-smart skincare comes in to close the gap. Developed to mirror healthy skin’s biochemistry in a polar climate, our new Climate-Smart Polar Moisture-Burst Mask is specifically formulated to address arid-weather conditions and temperature changes in a way that no other traditional mask can.

How weather changes skin texture

Studies show that cold-weather climates tend to be harsher on the skin. In a study that appeared in the British Journal of Dermatology, researchers applied tape to the cheeks and hands of 80 men and women in the winter and the summer. They then gently peeled off the tape, and analyzed the skin cells trapped on the tape under a microscope. In the winter, participants had less moisture in their skin and more roughness. The reason may have to do with the degradation of filaggrin, which is a protein involved in skin barrier function. During the winter, there is less moisture in the air, and low humidity has been found to weaken filaggrin and cause other skin problems. In fact, research from the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology found that a dip in humidity by 30 percent can contribute to the formation of fine lines and wrinkles in just 30 minutes, and low humidity can also reduce skin elasticity, boost skin roughness, and exacerbate existing skin conditions. However, it’s not just bone-chilling outdoor air that’s to blame for parched skin; indoor heat also removes moisture from the air—so being both inside and outside leads to dry, dull, wrinkled skin. In a cold, polar climate there’s just no escaping it!

Why Climate-Smart Moisture-Burst Masks work

Skin doesn’t like change. That’s why it freaks out when you get an unseasonably warm day in the middle of February, or you jet off to humid Florida for a week in March to escape the cold. And it gets especially confusing when arid winter days suddenly start to give way to balmier spring temperatures. Your skin struggles to adjust to these fluctuations, and it can take at least 14 days (and sometimes even months or years) for skin to adjust to these changes. Climate-Smart Moisture-Burst Masks speed up the acclimation process, so your skin stays radiant despite sudden weather changes. Each of the Climate-Smart Moisture-Burst Masks contains our patented Geo-hydraDynamic Complex, a moisturization technology that serves dual functions: It hydrates skin by climate and it serves as a reservoir within skin for the actives to ensure proper efficacy in the climate you’re in. Because each climate is so different, our Geo-hydraDynamic Complex is customized for each one to uniquely boost the hydrating potential and the efficiency of the actives for an optimal release in each mask. In a polar climate, this complex helps to keep skin optimally hydrated, plump, supple and soft so skin looks and feels healthy and glowing. Additionally, each of our Climate-Smart Moisture-Burst Masks also has all of the antioxidants, peptides, and vitamins your skin needs in each specific weather condition. The Polar Moisture-Burst Mask’s signature ingredient is Norwegian Evergreen Spruce Extract, which helps skin adjust between cold, dry environments and warm, humid locales. Another thing that sets this mask apart? The formula combines both cream and clay. Cream masks hydrate and plump the skin, while clay masks are known for absorbing oil, to unclog pores and prevent pimples. In this mask, cream and clay work together to provide clear, glowing skin. To use it: Apply an even layer of the creamy-clay mask all over your face, being careful to avoid your lips, eyes, and eyebrows. Let the mask marinate on your skin for 10-15 minutes, and then use a warm, wet towel, to wipe it off. During the harshest cold, dry days, apply this mask at least once a week. Post mask, apply Polar Day Cream, for an extra boost of anti-aging, hydrating ingredients. The Day Cream contains vitamins A, C E, white truffle extract plus 3 types of hyaluronic acid, moisture-boosting lecithin and glycerin to lock in hydration. All work together to ensure your skin looks bright and beautiful while fighting off the polar climate aggressors.