We've all been there: as soon as the days get shorter, darker and colder, we can feel the winter even on our skin.
Our summer tan gradually fades, our complexion becomes tired and our winter skin looks dry and sunken. Therefore, it's a good time to offer our skin the boost it so urgently needs.
Medical needling helps your skin to cope with the colder months and its cold weather in a radiantly beautiful way.
The right skin care routine in winter
The seasonal change brings many challenges: the days getting shorter, the temperature dropping and the sun rarely coming out. Our skin suffers from bitterly cold winds, a lack of sunlight and cold temperatures.
When we look in the mirror, it becomes clear that the healthy 'sun-kissed' complexion disappears abruptly as soon as summertime is over and the cold winter begins.
That's why it's important to take proper care of your skin now to ensure that it radiates a healthy glow even in winter.
Why is the skin so stressed in winter?
Millions of small sebaceous glands produce the protective oil film on our skin's surface, which protects it from losing moisture and external influences.
However, as temperatures drop due to winter weather, these glands can produce less and less oil, if any at all.
As a result, an important component of the skin's protective layer is temporarily lost. Without a protective layer, the water contained in the skin evaporates leading to irritated, dry skin and an impaired skin barrier.
Why does our complexion change in winter?
In addition to sebum production struggling with the winter cold, the blood vessels also contract under its influence. Since the body needs all the energy and warmth inside to maintain the organs, it reduces the blood supply to the skin in extreme or prolonged cold.
This means that the skin appears pale in winter not only because melanin and vitamin D production is less stimulated by the lack of sunlight, but also because less oxygen and nutrients actually reach it.
Do's of winter skin care
Regardless of your skin type, facial skin requires an extra dose of moisturiser in winter: skincare products with hyaluronic acid, skin oils or moisturising creams help to prevent dryness.
They create a thin protective film on the skin – similar to the natural sebum layer, which is impaired at this time of year.
For extremely dry and sensitive skin areas, such as lips and noses, Vaseline can also provide additional protection against drying out. When cleansing the skin, it is advisable to use mild cleansers such as a moisturising cleansing milk.
Even if a long, hot bath sounds wonderful after a cold winter's day, special care is required here: after about 10 minutes, warm water begins to dry out the skin.
In contrast to the usual foaming soaps, a bath or shower oil has a moisturising effect – so you can easily spend 15-20 minutes in a warm bath. But don't forget to moisturise afterwards! Body lotions with lipids and natural oils, ceramides or rich creams with shea butter or urea are very popular here.
If you like skiing, you should not only use a day cream, but also apply sun protection to your skin so that your sensitive skin is not stressed by the surprisingly strong sun in the mountains - sun protection factor SPF 50 is recommended. Of course, lip care and hand cream are also essential in these cold temperatures.
Always important when it comes to skin health: drink enough! A minimum of two litres of water a day is recommended. You're also doing yourself a favour with the right diet.
Eating a varied diet of wholemeal products, fruit, vegetables, dairy products and proteins from fish, meat and eggs promotes metabolism and cell division, which in turn prevents wrinkles and delays skin ageing.