With Winter well and truly upon us down here in the land of Aus, we thought now would be a good time to explore what affects the chilliest season has on our skin and how we can keep our largest organ happy and healthy during the colder months. 

What Does Cold Weather Do To Skin?

The first thing we need to unpack here is how Winter - and the icy conditions that come with it - impacts our skin’s health.

Colder temperatures often bring with them lower humidity, this can wreak havoc on your skin as it isn’t getting any environmental hydration, but also because the dry air can actually strip water from your complexion and cause problems for your moisture barrier.

When we combine this with the extreme changes in temperature between our homes, offices and cars, and those in the outside world, this can bring about a whole host of skin concerns including:

• Both dehydration and dryness (if you’re wondering what the difference is, head over to this blog post)
• Flaky, irritated or inflamed skin
• Chapped lips
• Itchiness 
• Dullness
• Sensitivity
• Worsening of conditions such as eczema or rosacea 

 

Because of this, our skin requires different care solutions to those we would employ in warmer months. Namely, it requires us to focus far more heavily on protecting and hydrating it.

This isn’t to say that you need to switch up every part of your routine - but it does mean that there are certain elements you’ll want to swap out. 

How To Look After Your Skin In Winter:

Now that we’ve established why our skin needs special care during Winter, let’s look at how we can give it the nourishment it craves:

 

Love Your Body

One of the best things you can do for your skin during the colder months is remember to take an approach that cares for your entire body, not just your face. Often the rest of our skin is neglected if we’re not slathering on moisturiser after a day at the beach, but whenever any part of our skin is vulnerable, our whole body can suffer due to toxins and bacteria receiving easier access. Our body, after all, suffers just as much as our face when those icy winds blow. To help conquer this, we suggest following our three steps to body bliss:

Three Steps To Body Bliss:

Step One: Cleanse with a gentle and nourishing bar or wash.

Our recommendation: An Origani Face & Body Cleansing Bar - available in Clarifying Cranberry and soothing Manuka Honey

Step Two: Exfoliate weekly with a hydrating, eco-friendly scrub

Our recommendation: Origani Body Summer Lychee Salt Scrub

Step Three: Pamper your body with a deliciously moisturising butter

Our recommendation: Origani Body Pure Tranquility Whipped Body Butter

Bonus Tip: Look after your hands by regularly applying a soothing hand cream

Our Recommendation: Origani Hand & Nail Perfection Cream

The best thing about our three step body bliss checklist? We figured these products go so well together that they simply had to become a collection. Kick start your self care routine this chilly season with our brand new, Winter Skincare Essentials Collection.

 

Layer Your Hydration

Another super important aspect of looking after your skin in Winter is layering your hydration. Because our environment tends to be dryer during the colder months, locking in hydration is super important and the best way to do this is to have multiple layers. This helps ensure that if your top layer is depleted or stripped off by the environment that the others are still working to protect and nourish your skin.

Did you know? Our Erda Firming Serum Concentrate isn’t just a great anti-aging treatment, it’s also wonderfully hydrating! Layer this serum with our brand new hydrating skin hero, Oz Fraiche, for ultimate daily hydration.

 

Look After Your Lips

As one of the thinnest layers of skin on your body, your lips will likely be one of the first places to crack (pun intended) under the pressure of icy winds and drying environments. Especially since every time you lick them, you’re actually drying them out even more.

Combat this by keeping a protecting and soothing lip balm easily accessible. We suggest our Manuka Honey or Strawberry Lip Balm as they’re designed to hydrate and repair lips with nourishing ingredients such as avocado oil, beeswax, and shea butter.

 

It’s All In The Eyes

Your delicate eye area is another that suffers greatly from excessively cold weather. Dryness, redness and irritation are common during the Winter months and if the wind chill is high enough, and temperature low enough, you could even experience vision problems. While we can’t help with the latter, we do know a thing or two about caring for the eye contour area.

Our Erda Eye Gel Concentrate is great for hydrating and brightening the area and if your eyes need a little extra nourishment and love, our Immortajell Wrinkle Diffusing Eye Cream is perfect for the job. Or, if you feel like your peepers need all of the above, check out our All About The Eyes bundle.

 

Use Chemical Exfoliants

Because your skin is already irritated from the extremes in your external environment, purely physical exfoliation may not be the best option for you - especially if you have sensitive skin. It may sound weird for a natural skincare company to be telling you to make use of chemical exfoliation but hear us out here, we’re not talking about manufactured chemicals, we’re meaning AHAs and BHAs.

These natural chemical exfoliants are fantastic for clearing and resurfacing the complexion and can be paired with a gentle physical exfoliant to get the job done just as well - if not better - than a harsher physical scrub.

We recommend our Manuka Honey Peel - an amazing dual phase exfoliator that provides ten benefits for your skin in just ten seconds. You can learn more about it here but essentially, it’s the superhero product you definitely need in your skincare routine.

 

Don’t Forget The SPF

Another thing that is important to remember is that even though the weather is cold and there are plenty of clouds in the sky, UV rays can still get through and damage your skin. SPF is important year round, even if it may not seem that sunny outside. Trust us - your complexion will thank you. 

Seven Ways To Support Your Winter Skincare Routine:

In addition to the skincare tips above, there are a few things you can do to support happy, healthy skin during the Winter months. By taking a holistic approach, you can help ensure general health, as well as great skin, so you can look and feel great.

 

Drink More Water

We all know that we should be drinking at least 2 litres (about 8 glasses) of water each day to help maintain hydration, but when your environment is much drier than normal, it’s a good idea to up your water intake. Your body will tell you if it thinks that your water intake is excessive so don’t be afraid to drink as much as you feel like.

 

Eat Right

What we eat can have a significant impact on our skin’s health and appearance. While it is possible to adjust your diet to achieve specific goals (by consuming a skin clearing diet, for example) we suggest that unless you’re after a particular result, you just munch on a healthy, balanced diet that supports your body and makes you feel good.

 

Boost Your Antioxidant Intake

The one exception to our relaxed opinion above is your antioxidant intake. During the Winter months it is incredibly important that you increase your intake of these wonderful little helpers. Topical application will always be beneficial to your skin, but if you’re not getting enough in your diet, your skincare won’t be able to perform at its best.

 

Take A Multivitamin If You Need It

Sometimes, no matter how healthy and balanced our diet is, we simply cannot get all of the nutrients that our body needs. When eating correctly, this is most commonly due to a lack of ability for our body to absorb or process vital nutrients so a multivitamin can be greatly beneficial to both your skin and your overall health.

Please Note: While many multivitamins can be purchased over the counter these days, it is always a good idea to have a discussion with your preferred medical professional prior to taking any form of supplement or medication.

 

Work Out

Another simple way to support your Winter skincare routine is to maintain a regular workout schedule. If you usually exercise outdoors, but are finding it a bit too cold at the moment, consider getting a short term gym membership, or looking into activities that you can do within your home. Working out regularly also provides a whole host of benefits for your mental health as well as your skin which can be particularly important in the colder months as many of us will experience lower moods during this time.

 

Practice Self-Care

Although maintaining a proper skincare routine can be considered self-care, it is not the only way to engage in this highly beneficial practice. Finding methods of self-care that work for you and your lifestyle can greatly improve your overall well being and assist in falling - and staying - asleep each night.

 

Get Enough Sleep

Speaking of sleep - it's vital for your complexion that you get enough of this wonderfully restful activity. Our skin, like all of our other organs, repairs itself while we get some shut eye overnight, so if you’re not getting enough, especially when conditions are so unfavourable, your complexion will suffer. Dark under eye circles and puffiness are usually the first concerns to arise, but you can also end up with a dull complexion, more or worse breakouts and a host of other concerns. The amount of sleep you need will vary depending on a multitude of factors but it's important that you work out what’s best for you - and then actually get enough.

If you have any questions about caring for your skin this Winter - or any time of the year - please do not hesitate to reach out. Our friendly team of skin specialists are always happy to help with any skincare or beauty related questions that you may have and we love finding the best routine for each member of the Origani family.

Have a beautiful day!