Now that we understand which ingredients support winter skin health, let’s focus on how to use them effectively. Your skin’s needs shift throughout the day – requiring protection during daylight hours and focusing on repair overnight. Here’s how to structure your routine for optimal results:
Morning: Your Protection Strategy
Each step in your morning routine serves to protect the skin by creating a defence against winter’s challenges of cold winds, central heating, and UV exposure.
1. Cleanse & Prepare
Start with a gentle cream cleanser. Avoid hot water as this compromises your barrier function. Remember: gentle cleansing maintains protection whilst removing overnight build-up.
2. Active Hydration Layer
Whilst skin is still slightly damp, apply your hyaluronic acid serum. This timing is crucial – damp skin optimises absorption and helps create an effective moisture barrier. If using niacinamide for additional environmental protection, layer it after your hyaluronic acid.
3. Lock In Protection
Apply your peptide moisturiser next. This step reinforces your barrier function and helps maintain the hydration from previous layers.
4. UV Defence
Finish with broad-spectrum SPF 50. Don’t be deceived by grey British winters – UV damage occurs year-round, making this step non-negotiable for skin health.
Additional tip: If using multiple serums, apply them from thinnest to thickest consistency, always on slightly damp skin to maximise benefits.
Your Evening Repair Strategy
Night-time provides an optimal opportunity for intensive skin repair and regeneration.
1. Double Cleanse
Begin with an oil-based cleanser to effectively dissolve daily build-up, pollution and SPF. Follow with a gentle cream cleanser to ensure skin is thoroughly cleansed whilst maintaining barrier integrity.
2. Hydration Foundation
Apply hydrating toner to damp skin. This creates the perfect foundation for your active ingredients and enhances their absorption.
3. Active Treatment
Apply your treatment serums, alternating between:
- Gentle retinol for cellular renewal
- Barrier-supporting peptides for repair
- Note: Use only one active per evening to avoid overwhelming the skin
4. Moisture Lock
Layer your ceramide-rich moisturiser next. This step is crucial for reinforcing your skin’s natural barrier and supporting overnight repair processes.
5. Protective Seal
Complete your routine with an omega-rich facial oil. This final layer helps lock in all previous products and enhances overnight repair.
Advanced Winter Protection: Slugging
For particularly dry or compromised skin during winter months, ‘slugging’ can provide additional barrier support. This technique involves applying a thin layer of petrolatum-based product as your final step, reducing overnight moisture loss by up to 99%.
Important guidelines for slugging:
- Use only over non-active products
- Best practised 2-3 times weekly during winter
- Apply a thin layer only
- Not suitable for acne-prone skin
The effectiveness of your evening routine relies heavily on proper sequencing. Each step builds upon the last, creating multiple layers of protection and repair for resilient winter skin.
Restoring Winter Radiance
While it might seem counterintuitive, gentle exfoliation remains crucial in winter. Think of it as carefully removing barriers to hydration while supporting your skin’s renewal process:
The Gentle Approach
- Choose PHAs or lactic acid – think of these as sophisticated exfoliants that hydrate while they work
- Limit to 1-2 times weekly – the science shows us that over-exfoliation compromises barrier function
- Always follow with extra hydration
- Apply treatments at night, allowing your skin to repair undisturbed
Beyond Your Face: Complete Winter Skin Protection
While facial care often takes centre stage, winter’s effects challenge our entire skin barrier. Think of your skin as having its own unique microenvironments – each requiring targeted support based on its specific structure and needs.
Lip Protection
Unlike the rest of your skin, lips lack protective oil glands so hydration is key:
- Start with hydration – apply a humectant-rich lip product to damp lips
- Lock it in with a ceramide-containing balm
- Avoid flavoured products which can trigger irritation
- Reapply throughout the day, especially after eating or drinking
Hands Protection
- Hands have a thicker barrier and face constant exposure and frequent washing.
- Apply hand cream while slightly damp
- Look for urea-based formulas for better penetration
- Use overnight gloves with rich ceramide creams for intensive repair
Foot care
- Evening exfoliation to remove buildup
- Apply urea-based creams to damp feet
- Create an overnight moisture sandwich: hydrating cream, ceramide treatment, occlusive layer
- Use cotton socks to lock everything in
- Intensive Care for Very Dry Areas
For severely dry or cracked areas
- Apply treatments to damp skin
- Layer hydrating product under occlusive barrier
- Consider slugging technique for heels and hands
- Use overnight protection (gloves/socks)
Application Principles for All Areas
- Always apply products to damp skin
- Layer from thinnest to thickest texture
- Focus on prevention rather than correction
- Maintain consistency with gentle care