There’s no doubt winter weather inflicts a great deal of stress on our skin. Think rough, dry, irritated, itchy—sound familiar? In an effort to hydrate our skin, we tend to pile on the moisturizer. Though this may be an intuitive response, it’s not always an effective solution, nor does it deliver the results we desire.
The seasonal transition to winter tends to weaken our skin barrier, stripping it of its natural moisture and disrupting new skin cell growth. The skin barrier (also known as the moisture barrier) protects the skin by retaining the good moisture and keeping the bacteria and toxins out. Dry indoor heat air and cold outdoor temperatures, as well as changes in diet (like fewer fresh fruits and vegetables), stress and weaken the natural moisture barrier. This results in small cracks in the skin, invisible to the naked eye, which allow water and moisture to escape from your skin into the dry air.
When our moisture barrier is damaged, our skin may experience a variety of different effects, which are often both irritating and uncomfortable, including:
- Dry Skin—loss of hydration and natural moisturizing factors
- Rough Surface Texture— a result of inconsistent skin cell growth
- Loss of Suppleness—a deficit of essential nutrients and natural moisturizing factors
- Tired, Dull Skin Tone—a result of built-up excess dead skin cells, the slowing of new skin cell growth, and reduced levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Carotenoids in the skin
- Increased Sensitivity—hardworking skincare ingredients can become irritating because they are not uniformly absorbed by the skin and tend to run down the cracks in the surface
- Breakouts—built-up dead skin cells, as well as certain moisturizers, can clog pores resulting in increased breakouts
Don’t Just Moisturize, Winterize
Moisturizers have long laid the foundation for many skincare routines. Many moisturizers function by providing a protective layer or seal to the surface of the skin. Rather than sinking into the skin, they sit on the surface to conceal your skin’s natural moisture. However, this provides only a temporary solution for hydration. Now, there’s a new class of dermatologist-grade moisturizers that not only provide lasting hydration, but that also help support a healthy skin barrier.
The MD Complete Approach to Winter Skin
With moisturization, we approach products for dry skin and winter weather the same as we do our products for clients with highly sensitive or damaged skin, addressing not only the immediate problem, but also targeting the root cause for long-term benefit. We understand the importance of a healthy skin barrier so that your skin not only looks great, but feels great too. Rather than providing a temporary solution to dry skin, our holistic approach covers a wider range of issues including:
- A damaged moisture barrier—small cracks that allow water to escape the skin
- Higher levels of inflammation—which weaken the skin and its ability to handle the stress of winter weather
- Free radicals and high oxidative damage resulting from the stress on the skin
- Irregular new skin cell production
- Buildup of dead skin cells
- Lower nutrient levels—lower carotenoids and potentially Vitamins A, C, D & E
Deep Moisturizer not only hydrates dryness, but also helps repair and restore the natural moisture barrier, leaving you with skin that is more hardy, resilient, and proactively capable of handling the stress of winter weather. Now, you can achieve healthy, radiant, supple skin all season long.