Wondering why your skin becomes dull, dry, and itchy during the winter months? If you find yourself reminiscing about your dewy mid-summer glow, you can tweak your winter skin routine to better support it’s hydration and elasticity over the colder months.

Harsh temperatures, changes in diet (holiday cookies are a guilty pleasure), and increases in stress tend to be a recipe for dry, dull, and inflamed skin.  The good news is there are a few easy changes to our diet and our topical routine that protect our skin so we can maintain a beautiful glowing throughout the year.

5 Tips for Healthy Winter Skin from Within

1. Drink more water.

Did you know you should be drinking at least ½ your body weight in ounces of water daily?  Most people do not get anywhere close to these numbers. Dehydration can exacerbate dry skin in the winter, causing dull skin and wrinkles. Drink up for healthy glowing skin.

2. Support detox.

Your gut, liver, kidney, lungs, and SKIN are the organs that support detox in your body. After the holiday indulgences, our skin can take a hit, look dull, and have more blemishes.  To help support your skin during this time try increasing foods that support detoxification like cilantro, parsley, dandelion root, cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. You can also try supplements like NAC and milk thistle to help support detoxification in the liver and improve your skin quality.

3. Increase antioxidants.

Oxidative stress from sunlight, stress, air pollution–and even aging–can show up on our skin. This causes dark spots, sagging, uneven skin tone, and premature wrinkles. Increasing antioxidants can help brighten your skin and reverse or prevent these changes.  Make sure you are eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies of different colors including pomegranate, blueberries, kale, and beets. You can also try taking additional antioxidants through supplementation, specifically Vitamin C.

4. Avoid sugars and inflammatory foods (dairy).

Holiday cookies, charcuterie boards, pies, cakes – no matter how hard you work on your diet during the year, sugar and dairy can creep in over the holidays! Dairy and sugars have been shown to disrupt the gut microbiome, increasing blemishes and inflammation on the skin. Now that we are in a New Year it is time to cut these foods out of your diet to help clear up your skin and help improve skin tone and reduce blemishes.  You can also add probiotics to help rebalance your gut and reduce this inflammation more quickly.

5. Increase omega 3.

Omega 3 helps support cell membrane health. A healthy cell membrane is what influences the cell’s ability to hold water. This helps support your skin to be more supple, soft, and wrinkle-free. You can increase foods like fish, chia and flax seeds in your diet or take an omega-3 supplement.

5 Tips For Healthy Winter Skin on the Outside

1. Invest in a humidifier for your bedroom.

During the colder months, it feels great to turn up the heat in our home, but while that might keep you feeling warm and cozy, it plays a large part in drying out your skin. Humidifiers help to increase moisture in your room, and that keeps your skin nice and hydrated.

2. Don’t forget to exfoliate!

When we exfoliate, we remove dead skin cells that allow products we apply topically to penetrate deeper and seal in moisture. Just make sure you are not OVER exfoliating. Keep it to around 2-3 times a week. I personally love Eminences Pear and Poppyseed Microderm polisher, and if you need something gentler, the Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant is amazing!

3. Decrease Retin-A or Retinal, if necessary.

Cut back to every other day use during the winter. This product is amazing for anti-aging but can certainly dry out the skin more than usual. 

4. Use Hyaluronic Acid serum.

This little powerhouse can hold 1,000 times its molecular weight in water. That means your skin is getting major hydration. I love our Circadia Vitamin C Reversal Serum that contains hyaluronic acid. If you want to go the organic route, the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum from Eminence is amazing. Just apply before your moisturizer and you will be good to glow!

5. Moisturize to help protect your skin’s barrier and prevent water loss.

Apply moisturizer to slightly damp skin. This will assure your skin does not get dehydrated before you apply your skincare. One of my absolute favorite nighttime moisturizers is Eminence’s Monoi Night Cream, your skin will thank you later! 

For added moisture, add a couple of drops of oil to your moisturizer. This will enhance your skin’s ability to seal in moisture. Eminence’s Rosehip C+E Oil not only gives your skin a boost of antioxidants but also quenches thirsty skin!

Taking care of our body’s largest (and most beautiful) organ, not only makes us feel our best, but healthy, supple skin is better able to protect our health. Truly, healthy skin is the BEST skin.

What are your healthy skin secrets, and which are you going to add to your winter routine?

These winter skin tips were created by our wonderful spa esthetician, Whitney Barnhart! If you’ve been thinking about coming to CentreSpringMD Spa, now is the perfect time to schedule an appointment with Whitney.