With winter right around the corner, your skin is going to become dehydrated. Sadly, winter doesn’t care if you have naturally oily, combination or dry skin. Fortunately for everyone, chemists and the skincare gods have found a few ingredients and tricks you can add to your skincare routine to keep your skin glowing all year long! Lets break it down by skin type.
Oily and acne-prone skin
Dehydrated oily skin can be caused for numerous reasons. You might have forgotten to put on sunscreen this past summer and your skin is sun-damaged, or your skincare products might contain high amounts of alcohol or other irritating ingredients. To manage your skin, you need to stay away from products that contain heavy oils and stick to lightweight formulas. Here are a few things to add to your skincare routine:
1. Oil cleanser
I know! I just said to stay away from heavy oils. Think of it this way, like attracts like. Water attracts water and oil attracts oil. Using an oil-based cleanser will help break down oil without leaving your skin dry and tight.
2. Salicylic acid
A dermatologist favourite, this organic acid helps with dissolving debris that clogs pores, which could cause blackheads, whiteheads and ultimately lead to acne if left untreated. But you have to be careful, don’t use products that contain a high concentration of it or overuse it since that can lead to weakening of the protective layer of your and that leads to even more acne. For more information, check out this article.
3. Hyaluronic acid
My personal favourite! This ingredient is naturally produced in your body and helps with retaining water and keeping your skin and joints lubricated and moist. YUM! It is a must-have because it balances the water and oil in your skin. In the long run, it helps with skin elasticity and helps to prevent wrinkles, redness and dermatitis.
Combination skin
When indecisiveness in your daily life reaches your skin. If your face is partially oily (normally the T-zone) and partially dry, congrats! You are now diagnosed with combination skin. Generally, with combo skin you can keep these tricks in mind.
1. Use a gentle and water-soluble cleanser
This shouldn’t leave your skin feeling tight or greasy. It will ensure that your skin receives the hydration it needs, even when you’re washing away the dirt. I’d personally recommend the Neutrogena Hydro-Boost Hydrating Cleanser.
2. Use a night gel or serum moisturizer
Make sure they contain antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients and skin-restoring ingredients. Over time, a combination of these ingredients will help calm your skin. I’d recommend using this Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol.
3. Learn how to layer your moisturizer
Most of the time, you don’t need to add a serum or night cream to your T-zone. I find that if you use a light-weight moisturizer for oily skin, leave a thin layer on your T-zone and apply more layers to the rest of your face, you can achieve the hydration your skin craves.
4. Add hyaluronic acid
This also works great for combination skin, so feel free to add it to your routine.
Dry skin
If you have dry skin, you are luckier than everyone else. Nature has provided a large number of options for your skin to get hydrated, from plant oils to extracts. However, you still have to be careful not to irritate your skin. From the large variety of options, some go-to products are borage seed oil, argan oil, evening primrose oil, sunflower seed oil, ceramides, glycerin and omega fatty acids. None of these ingredients are fragrant and they won’t clog your pores. You can also add hyaluronic acid to your skincare routine; turns out it is amazing for all skin types!
Hopefully you will be able to find these tips useful and develop a skincare routine that’s perfect for you!