Winter is a blessing for some people who prefer the chill over the searing heat of summer. In winter, you do get the chance to savour some delicious fruit and vegetables as well. However, the winter months also bring their share of woes, including skin problems. Apart from dry skin and dandruff issues, acne can be a source of worry for most people in winter. While you may have thought acne is predominantly a problem of humid summer months, it is not necessarily so.
What Leads To Acne In Winter?
Your skin tends to get dry as winter months creep in. The heating setup inside the house only adds to that. It eventually leads to dry skin cells and clog skin pores. This leads to skin eruptions in the form of acne. As it is, you will find people with normal skin suffering from acne breakout in winter- This is called seasonal acne.
How To Cope With Acne In Winter And Prevent Recurrence
6 top effective measures you can try to deal with acne in winter:
1. Addressing The Lack of Humidity
In winter months the climate becomes less humid, along with a dip in temperature. This leads to dry skinned related problems. So, you may think of using a humidifier device at home. It helps your skin cope better with dryness.
2. Cleaning The Skin
It is very important that you keep face and other parts of your body clean during winter to evade acne and breakouts. The air remains full of dust and dirt and these particles get stuck on the skin easily. It happens because you apply more cream or moisturizing lotions on skin in winter days. Use a gentle cleanser at the end of the day to wash the face and neck thoroughly. Avoid using soap based products to cleanse the skin as it will worsen skin drying and stretching.
3. Keeping Skin Moisturized
If you keep skin well moisturized in winter days, the skin pores are less likely to get clogged. Regardless of your skin type, you need to keep it hydrated. Even those with oily skin should use light, water based moisturizers in winter. Using moisturizers that do not clog skin pores is advisable.
4. Exfoliating The Skin
It is necessary to exfoliate the facial skin in winter. This helps peel away layers of dead cells and opens the pores. You can use natural face packs made of herbs and fruits to exfoliate skin gently and unclog pores. Using ingredients like honey, lemon, mashed ripe papaya and almonds can be helpful. You should choose ingredients as per your skin type. Apply such face packs once a week on face and neck. After drying, wash off with water.
5. Drinking Enough Water
Apart from applying moisturizers on the skin surface, you also need to keep the body hydrated from within, more so in winter months. Drinking adequate water becomes even more important in winter to prevent skin dryness and related problems.
6. Working Out
In summer, you tend to sweat more and toxins in the body get out easily. This does not happen so much in winter. So, you may think of options like working out, cycling, hitting the gym or visiting a sauna to sweat and discard toxins from the body.
Things To Avoid In Winter To Keep Acne At Bay
There are certain things you should not do in winter months or at least reduce the usage to prevent an acne breakout. These are:
1. Makeup
It is prudent that you refrain from using much makeup products during winter months, especially those laden with chemical residues. Using such products can clog skin pores and chemicals in them will worsen the situation leading to skin rash and breakout. So, keep makeup usage to a minimum level in winter to evade acne.
2. Basic Skincare
A lot of people do not feel like cleansing face properly after returning home on winter nights and hit the bed. This also leads to skin pores getting clogged.
3. Water Temperature
Taking hot showers may seem like a nice idea in chilling winter days, but it eventually does more harm than good for the skin! Bathing in hot water shrinks skin pores and make it appear drier. Use lukewarm water for best results.
What steps you are taking to get rid of acne? Share your fruity thoughts with me in the comments!