The cold weather presents a number of pressing winter beauty questions from our readers. We are taking two of the most popular queries and combining them into a special winter beauty package!
First up is Zoomer reader Anna, who is fighting the age-old battle with “itchy, dry, flaky skin all over” now that the forced air heating is turned on. She also wonders: “Is retinol too harsh for winter? I love the results, but fear making my skin feel, and look, worse.”
I rang up top Toronto dermatologist Dr. Lisa Kellett of DLK on Avenue to get some straight up answers and she delivered some really quite simple and logical and inexpensive strategies. One thing I love about getting to ask dermatologists questions is the exactness of their responses. I love big words, words with explicit meaning, and boy is dermatology the field to find them!
The skin, of course, is the largest organ on the body, and the field of dermatology study and practice is enormous. Many problems present similarly, and a process of elimination is often the best diagnostic tool. All of which translates to: take the time and book the appointment with a specialist, as guessing and trial and error at home can lead to real ongoing problems.
But everyone’s skin gets dry in the winter, right? Well, says Dr. Kellett, yes and no. First of all, she doesn’t like the descriptor “dry,” as it isn’t technically correct. “What it is is transdermal water loss,” she clarifies. “Flaky” is also what she calls a lay word; she uses “desquamation,” which means the shedding of the outermost layer of skin (the stratum corneum barrier). Fun fact: the Latin root desquamare means the stripping of the scales of a fish. And we’ve all felt like that at some point when our skin gets really rough.
So, how do we adjust our routines to stop the transdermal water loss and desquamation? Reduce the frequency of washing your face, the doctor says. “Twice a day may be too often in the wintertime.” She also suggests sticking to gentle cleansers for sensitive skin.
If you normally use a gel moisturizer, she says, switch to a cream formulation. “You still want to exfoliate,” she says, “but use a gentle product with beads that is just a little bit grainy. Chemical exfoliants such as lactic or salicylic acids can cause too much irritation in winter.” As for retinols, per our reader’s question, Dr. Kellett says you can still use them after the snow starts but, again, try switching to a different delivery vehicle, such as an oil or serum formulation.
Her best advice is free though: skip the soap in the winter time. And this is the best part, at least for someone like me who lives to float: “Switch to baths in winter,” Kellett says. “Put in an oil, and do not use soap.”
Aveeno has a simple and inexpensive oil, for instance. In fact, Kellett is a champion of less expensive, simpler products in general. Great examples of these are Cerave, Aveno and Cetaphil, all hypoallergenic and non-irritating and available at every drugstore. “More expensive does not mean better,” she says for the basic products, such as moisturizers. These lines all have great moisturizers for face and body. “The biggest and most effective tip,” she says, is to skip the towel as well. “Put the moisturizer on a wet face and wet body,” to seal in the moisture.”
Otherwise, the doctor emphasizes not to forget sunscreen at any time of the year, and to physically protect your skin, especially your face, from wind burn. And of course, see your doctor if you are experiencing atopic dermatitis or eczema, both of which can increase in the winter months.
