Anyone else notice things going haywire? If it’s just me, I’d be surprised. My technology is uncooperative, and worse still, I’ve got not one, but several, breakouts on my forehead. I made an attempt to use a stronger retinal mixture to test for readers while cleaning some mold in the basement, and, OOPS!
Now that’s a post-hoc rationalization as I don’t really know what caused the breakout, but the changing of the seasons not only upsets our circadian rhythms and moods, but also wreaks havoc on our skin. Shorter days, less sleep, dryer weather, and holiday seasonality upsets the epidermis.
And while we’ve been focused on the face, it is important to remember that your hands, your neck, and the rest of your skin, are all part of the Nice Packaging experience. Take good care of your skin and it will take good care of you.
Baz Luhrman’s song, “Wear Sunscreen”, embedded itself deep in the millennial psyche, so our faces are in pretty good shape. But let me share a warning to the younger generation that older readers likely know; your face won’t show your age first, and winter is preview season.
If you want to clock someone’s age, look to their hands, neck, and décolletage. That’s a French term for a neckline which shows where your neck swan dives into your cleavage. Men have different troubles, they get turkey neck and are more prone to seborrheic dermatitis as they age. We call that dandruff when its on our scalp, but it can appear under beards, eyebrows, and as a scaly rash on bare skin.
How to keep your skin’s healthy barriers intact, functioning properly, well hydrated, and not overproducing oils or sebum? Let’s first understand why skin struggles in the winter and how our environment, behavioral patterns, and age contribute.
How Winter Affects Our Skin
Cold air has lower humidity. Less moisture in the air means less moisture in your skin. Indoor heating systems make the air drier, further depleting skin hydration. Winter can mean dryness, flaking, and a worsening of conditions like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and seborrheic dermatitis. You are more at risk for your skin’s natural biome getting upset when things dry out.
Let’s just take one example: seborrheic dermatitis. It is caused by a natural yeast that lives on our skin called Malassezia. The skin’s immune system reacts to the yeast’s presence on our drier skin as, when our skin is dry, it compensates by overproducing sebum. The natural state of our biome becomes unbalanced when it interacts with Malassezia’s metabolic byproducts (they poop fatty acids as the yeast digests our excess sebum) and that causes the flaking. Turns out, it isn’t only women who get yeast infections.
Seborrheic dermatitis can be a vicious cycle of excess sebum fueling the yeast and playing whack-a-mole on the waste products. Fortunately, keeping the moisture content in your skin higher can help avoid overproducing sebum.
The winter months give us a chance to see where our aging will show up first, as the vicissitudes of harsher weather desiccate our skin. Behavioral factors like frequent handwashing, wearing rougher fabrics (eg wool), and taking long, hot showers weaken the skin’s barrier function further. Shorter nights can mean less restful sleep and holiday obligations dry you out with alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.
All these factors give us a preview of aging. The older we get, the thinner our skin gets. For women, dropping estrogen levels make this even worse, as it impacts collagen production. The medical term for dry skin is xeroderma, and I agree, your derma having zero moisture is a nightmare. From pruritus (itchy skin) to athlete’s foot (a fungal infection called ringworm), you have a lot of reasons to want to stop issues at the border of your dermal layers.
A Basic Body Care Routine For The Whole Family
While it is tempting to linger in a steaming hot shower, your skin won’t thank you for it. Using gentle, unscented, or lightly scented soaps, and avoiding harsh alcohol based products like astringents, goes a long way though. Gently remove dead, dry skin with a wash cloth & Castile soap, and then lock in the moisture before it evaporates by applying moisturizers while still damp.
Remember, the Sephora “Everything” Sale ends tonight (Monday, November 10th) – so if you’re looking to pick up any past routines (like Julie’s personal routine) do that ASAP.
The Basic Daily Routine
Wash gently with a wash cloth and Dr. Bronners Bar or Liquid Soup
Exfoliate with a pumice stone to gently work over heels and your feet
Moisturize everywhere with Cetaphil Lotion, while your skin is still wet and followup on parts of your skin that are quite dry (hands, feet, elbows) with a thicker Cetaphil Cream.
Seal everything in with Jojoba or Vitamin E Oil. Or, in very dry cases, use an occlusive like Aquaphor. I use it on my lips.
Before bed, use a retinol handcream. I use Beauty Pie’s Retinol Hand Cream 1% ($14). I’ve also been known to mix my facial retinol with Cetaphil to cover my entire neck and chest area. Remember it is thinner skin so less retinol is more.
Upping The Ante On A Body Routine
Dry Brushing – before you get in the shower, dry brush lightly in upward strokes with a natural bristle like this set from Belula ($20)
Wash gently with a wash cloth and Dr. Bronners Bar or Liquid Soup – I prefer a cotton washcloth once in the shower (as tempting as the plastic poofs can be), as I’d rather a natural fiber and not a plastic one remove dead skin cells for me.
Exfoliate with a pumice stone to gently work over heels and your feet
Moisturize everywhere with Cetaphil Lotion, while your skin is still wet and followup on parts of your skin that are quite dry (hands, feet, elbows) with a thicker Cetaphil Cream.
Seal in with Jojoba or Vitamin E Oil. I like Desert Essence Pure Jojo ($15) as it lasts longer, has antioxidants, vitamin E, and works as a cuticle oil, a hair oil
Before bed, use a retinol handcream. I use Beauty Pie’s Retinol Hand Cream 1% ($14). I’ve also been known to mix my facial retinol with Cetaphil to cover my entire neck and chest area. Remember it is thinner skin so less retinol is more.
Finally, the INKEY LIST Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick ($20) is great for smoothing rough skin and keratosis bumps. I use it on my elbows, bikini and groin era, and other parts of my body that need to be gently exfoliated with a moisturizer.
Bargain Luxury Upgraded Body Routine
Dry Brushing – before you get in the shower, dry brush lightly in upward strokes with a natural bristle like this set from Belula ($20)
Wash gently with a wash cloth and Dr. Bronners Bar or Liquid Soup
Start exfoliating with a pumice stone to gently work over heels and your feet
Continue and exfoliate more deeply with a sugar scrub like Beauty Pie’s Jumbo Re-Energizing Dry Oil Sugar Body Scrub ($19)
Repair with Beauty Pie’s Youthbomb Body 360° Repair Concentrate ($44) body lotion for intense firming & sun damage repair. This is powerful enough you might want to mix it with Cetaphil Lotion while your skin is still wet. Apply lotion everywhere except face.
The parts of your skin that are quite dry (hands, feet, elbows) need a thicker cream, so use Cetaphil Cream on those.
Seal with Desert Essence Pure Jojo ($15) which has antioxidants, vitamin E, and works as a cuticle oil, a hair oil
Finish up with Beauty Pie’s Retinol Hand Cream 1% ($14) and Beauty Pie’s Uber Youth Neck & Chest Serum Spray ($22)
If you REALLY want to up the ante, you can get a red light mask to help your body produce more collagen. At $239 its a big purchase, but lasts forever and you can get $20 off with my signup link.
