Winter is a difficult season – the snow and the cold weather pose specific challenges for commuting, it makes day to day life more difficult and, to make matters even worse, they are hard on our skin, causing dryness, redness and irritation. While switching to richer creams and using skincare products with higher nutrient contents can help with winter-specific skin challenges when they happen, there are many easy ways to prepare your skin for those challenges before cold weather settles in. Here are some tips for you.

Switch to Richer Skincare Products

While the best products to use in summer are light creams and lotions that rehydrate the skin, in fall it is time to switch to more emollient products to replenish the lost nutrients in your skin and to prepare the skin for the cold. Pick a day cream that contains vitamins, especially vitamin A, C and E and a special night cream to aide with skin regeneration during the night. A topical vitamin C skincare product will do wonders for improving the texture and dryness of your skin. Put on a nourishing skin mask once or twice a week and use it not only on your face, but on your neck and on your cleavage as well. Pay attention to your lips as well – cold weather can cause dryness and chapping around the mouth, so use a rich cream on your lips, too.

Tackle the Effects of Dry Air on Your Skin

It is not only the cold weather that has drying effects on your skin in fall and winter – spending time in air-conditioned rooms is also harsh on your skin. While ensuring proper moisture levels in the air is not possible in your office or in supermarkets, at home you can install humidifiers to make sure that the air in your rooms is healthy for your skin.

Another way to ensure that your skin stays moisturized in winter is to shorten your showers. Long, hot showers or taking long baths might feel great when it is cold and dark outside, but soaking for too long depletes the skin of the oils and nutrients it needs for staying soft and smooth, so reduce the duration of your showers and baths and apply a generous layer of body lotion afterwards.

Don’t Forget Sunscreen

Solar protection is essential for the health and softness of your skin all year, not only in summer. The sun’s rays are harsh on the skin in winter, too, so never go outside without wearing sunscreen.

Pay Attention to Your Diet and Your Liquid Intake

A clean and healthy diet and good hydration are essential for the health of your skin in fall and winter. Prepare your skin for the cold months by replenishing the vitamins and nutrients in your body through a healthy diet that includes lots of lean meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and through healthy beverages, such as water, fresh fruit and vegetable juices and green tea. Consuming carbohydrates and unhealthy fats in excessive amounts can cause inflammatory processes in the body, therefore adopting healthy eating habits that exclude such foods is of special importance for people who have sensitive or acne-prone skin.