Medically reviewed by Minimalist Health Specialist - Written by Aheli Sen (Fashion & Beauty Expert) on 02nd Jan 2021
The Ultimate Winter Moisturizing Guide for all Skin Types in India
In a country with a billion different landscapes and different weather conditions, the guide to moisturization would have to be different for every region and skin type. Many areas experience dry winters, while some experience wet winters, where the main regime difference comes in. This article shall discuss these two primary conditions and how to go about your moisturization regime accordingly and discuss it based on the different skin types: oily, normal, combination, dry, and sensitive skin.
The other segregation also comes for regions that need to use heaters and areas that can do without because heaters act the same way as air conditioners that dry out the air in the room, making the skin extremely dehydrated and dry.
So what is it that you should stock up on this season? Let us look at the ultimate moisturization guide for winters in India for all skin types.
Let's begin with morning and nighttime routines for each skin type during the winters:
1. Normal Skin –
A blessed soul is who you are if this is the type of skin you have. There need not be any extensive routine for this skin type as skin is supple and not as dried out or overtly oily and thus perfectly balanced out in its chemistry.
- Morning Routine – wash the skin with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and some lukewarm water. Follow immediately with some light moisturizer and sunscreen if you have to go out.
- Night Routine - wash the skin, apply a hydrating serum, a slightly thicker moisturizer that is water-based along with a face oil, if you want it exactly in the order mentioned.
2. Dry Skin -
A person with flaky, irritated skin, for most parts, needs to figure a good oil-based and water-based hydration routine to help maintain the skin's natural oils and moisture levels.
- Morning Routine - wash the skin with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and some lukewarm water. Follow immediately with some thick water-based moisturizer and sunscreen if you have to go out.
- Night Routine - wash the skin, apply a hydrating serum, a thick oil-based moisturizer along with a good face oil exactly in the order mentioned.
3. Oily Skin -
Many oily skinned people assume that they do not need to moisturize at all. Well, that is a myth. What happens when you do not moisturize is that the skin thinks that it needs to produce more oil to retain the skin's hydration, and, in the process, there are more breakouts because of the extra oil and dirt sticking to the skin.
- Morning Routine - Wash the skin with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and some lukewarm water. Follow immediately with a gel-based moisturizer and sunscreen(SPF 30 or above) if you have to go out.
- Night Routine - Wash the skin, apply a hydrating serum, a thicker water-based moisturizer exactly in the order mentioned.
4. Combination Skin -
An oily T-zone and dry skin patches all over the face makes up for combination skin. Such skin types need the best of both worlds. They also need to use products in patches sometimes.
- Morning Routine - Wash the skin with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and some lukewarm water. Follow immediately with some water-based moisturizer and sunscreen if you have to go out.
- Night Routine - Wash the skin, apply a hydrating serum, a thicker water-based moisturizer, and some good face oil that has retinol exactly in the order mentioned.
5. Sensitive Skin -
This type of skin breaks out in response to most skincare products.
- Morning Routine - Wash the skin with a mild, fragrance-free cleanser and some lukewarm water. Follow immediately with some water-based moisturizer and sunscreen if you have to go out with no fragrance or ingredients that make such skin break out into bumps.
- Night Routine - wash the skin, apply a hydrating serum, thicker water or oil-based moisturizer, and some good face oil that is again, fragrance-free exactly in the order mentioned.
10 ways to retain soft, supple skin this winter for all skin types:
1. A Humidifier is your skin's BFF
Whether home or at the office and everywhere in between where possible, a humidifier is the best way to help skin retain moisture. As mentioned before, heaters rip the skin off moisture and having a humidifier cancels out this problem.
2. Do not make your heater heat up too much
What does that even mean? Well, simply that you need to maintain normal temperatures or at least have a temperature setting that warms you up instead of heating you up. Heating the temperature to the higher degrees is the first mistake that one could make as it would only make the dry air drier and rough up the skin. A healthy temperature of 25 to 30 degrees celsius is the answer to healthy skin during the winters.
3. Say no to long, hot baths
We know what is better than a long, hot bath or shower during the winters. Almost nothing. Why almost? Because taking a lukewarm, shorter bath or shower will help skin retain moisture and strip the skin off of hydration, making it rough, flaky, and obviously, dry. The recommended period would be no more than 5 to 10 minutes. Cooler water is more effective in removing germs than warm water and is also less irritable to the skin.
4. Limit the usage of Hair Dryers
Nope, this has nothing to do with the hair (well, maybe a little bit), but for most parts, this point is to make up for the fact that the heat applied to the hair also dries out the face as the hot air blowing does fall on the skin of the face. It dries out the skin, again, because of the high temperature at which it runs. A cool hairdryer would be the better option to run with. Keeps both the hair and skin more hydrated and supple.
5. Gentler, fragrance-free cleanser.
The harsher the soap, the worse it will affect your beautiful skin. A harsh, strong soap will strip all its hydration skin and make the skin very itchy and red, like almost peeling off the skin like in an infection.
The second important part of using soap is to realize that the soap has no fragrance written in the "fragrance-free" format on its packaging. "Unscented" products will not help as such products contain added fragrance to cancel out the fragrance that the product had to begin with. A scented product can cause dehydration as fragrances are usually formulated with part alcohol, an ingredient that we all know dehydrates.
6. Adopt a skincare regimen for the dry weather
Here is what, applying toners and astringents that usually contain alcohol will make sure that the skin is stripped off its moisture. During the already dry weather of the winter, alcohol on the skin will not help. A more oil-based, water-based format of moisturizers will help and take care of the dryness and the flakiness from it by penetrating the deepest layers of skin and nourishing it from base up. Also, as mentioned for soaps, the best products to use apart from just cleansers would be to use all other skincare products containing no fragrance. It will help the skin retain its natural oils. A thicker moisture based cream for the night is recommended as the skin repairs the most during your sleep, and more compact moisture will only enable the skin to do so better. Also, for the lips, a moisturizing balm is a must at all times.
7. Moisturize Frequently
No matter what kind of cream you use on the skin, it is recommended to keep moisturizing at intervals to ensure well-hydrated skin. For a thicker base, it would be at longer intervals, but continuous nonetheless. Also, always moisturize after washing your face with some cool water. Use a cleanser only twice daily and not more.
8. Sunscreen is a forever must
This whole misconception of wearing sunscreen only on bright summer days needs to come to an end. It is meant for all days and all seasons. Whether it is a hot summer day or a cold, gloomy winter morning, sunscreen is a must. Sunscreen creates a film or a "screen" to protect the skin from harmful rays of the sun. Such rays are quite prominent even on a dark, gloomy day because rays can penetrate through the clouds and harm our skin like it can on any other day. An SPF of 25-30 is a must.
9. Remember to eat right and stay hydrated
Barbara R. Reed, MD, Dermot, Denver Skin Clinic. Says,
Sometimes when the skin is extremely dry, you can fix it by consuming supplements that contain omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids, like fish oil and flaxseed oil
10. Do not keep the skin sans moisturizer
Not applying any moisturizer can kill good, healthy, beautiful skin. It only means the skin will dry out badly and feel itchy and irritated. It is thus, recommended to keep the skin moisturized.
