We all know the cooler months wreak havoc on our skin.
My hands already feel cracked and dry (but being a doctor, I do wash them around 25 times per day!) and the truth is water can be your enemy when you suffer dry skin. I would advise avoiding lengthy contact with water, and hot water especially. Use the alcohol rubs or better still use moisturiser each time after washing.
Ah, I digress!
Here are some general tips to help survive the cold dry months ahead:
- Avoid long hot showers or baths
- Don’t rub the skin dry, but rather pat dry
- When cleansing skin avoid harsh foaming cleansers. I don’t see any problem with Cetaphil and equivalents but I prefer Synergie biocleanse.
- Moisturise twice daily. The greasier and blander the better if you ask me. Forget perfumed creams. Use creams over lotions. Epaderm and Dermeze are great for skin prone to excessive dryness and eczema
- Drink! Water!! We all forget to drink in winter and we substitute water for dehydrating drinks such as those that contain caffeine and alcohol. Try drinking a glass of water before each hot drink to keep up your hydration from the inside.
- Keep lips supple by using a good quality lip balm that hydrates and locks the moisture in. Synergie lip service is my answer to dry winter lips.
- Winter isn’t all that bad. It can be a time to simplify life; a chance to stay at home to have a quiet read or to stare into the fire with a good red wine (and a glass of water!). Winter offers a welcome relief from the Australian sun too and can provide an opportunity to rehabilitate and prep skin in time for the more festive Spring and Summer seasons.
Every year I get a bunch of clients present in September despairing over their dry lifeless skin.
I wish they had presented weeks or months earlier, especially if they would like a revamp with filler, but due to coming events they lack the time to properly plump, hydrate and resurface their skin.
Below is a plan I’ve put together using good quality cosmeceuticals and simple treatments to ensure luminous hydrated skin:
- After a gentle cleanse in the morning, apply Synergie Superserum. Superserum will remind your skin cells to behave youthfully despite wanting to hide under the doona in front of the fire.
- Apply Synergie potent C. This fabulous potent vitamin C preparation is in an oily base to maintain the integrity of the active L-ascorbic acid. It will act as an antioxidant and brighten dull skin. It is hydrating without being greasy. Not advised for problem skin.
- Keep using Uberzinc. Zinc is soothing and healing. Help heal those dry micro-cracks and keep moisture in with moisturising zinc. This is why zinc is so popular with nappy rashes!
- Use a good mineral makeup, ideally one containing iron oxides. This makeup helps to protect the skin further from harmful rays from the environment.
- At night apply a good topical vitamin A and B and use a dermaroller (0.5mm) to lightly needle the skin and cork the product into the skin past the robust stratum corneum (the doorkeeper to the sought-after dermis beneath). Yes, home needling is a bit ouchie but it takes only a moment and does stimulate collagen, although not as much as clinic-based needling (such as with the V2), but it definitely does help.
- Lips are a good reflection of hydration levels in the skin. Drink water and apply Synergie lip service to rescue those babies that do so much work - often 24/7 for the noisy sleepers amongst us! People on oral vitamin A preparations for acne have sought me out to buy this product as it’s been one of the few lip balms that offer relief for severely cracked lips. Note, don’t leave it in the console of your car in Summer as it liquefies in the heat. Synergie lip service can save your lips from the drying effects of air-conditioning when flying too.
- Keep up with regular peels and LED treatments. Peels rich in lactic acid are hydrating. Add an enzyme and other alpha and beta hydroxy acids to remove dead skin cells and brighten the complexion. I suggest avoiding harsh scrubs and physical exfoliants as they can damage the healthy barriers of the skin. Read our blogs about peels by clicking here and LED treatments by clicking here!
- Cut to the chase and inject hydration directly into the dermis with the added benefit of collagen stimulation from needling. Achieve the best results from the V2 Beauty Booster with three treatments one month apart.