The weather outside is frightful and this January, we’re reminding you that you need to be as careful with your skin in the winter as you do in the summer. Although you don’t need to slip on the sun-screen quite like in July, we’ve compiled this list of simple tips to make sure you stay warm, healthy and hydrated, even when the temperature drops this year.
Avoid protracted, steamy hot showers
Everyone enjoys a good soak now and again, but for some people, a piping hot shower first thing in the morning is part of the essential Winter ritual. However, as enticing as that sounds, you should try and avoid it wherever possible.
The heat from these showers causes your essential skin oils to dry out and strip from the body, causing areas of soreness and inflammation. Your skin cells can become dilated and the epidermis of your skin can crack, causing fissures and leaving you with cracked, dry and rough layers. Heavy scented and flavoured soaps might also smell nice, but the chemicals can be irritable and harmful to your skin.
To combat this, take shorter, cooler showers and use natural, unscented soaps, shower-gels and shampoos. Instead of rubbing them into your skin and creating friction, let them lather naturally and cleanse you. Then, pat yourself dry with a cool, clean and natural-fabric towel.
Use loose, light layers
It’s part and parcel of the UK winter to wrap up warm. Hats, coat, scarves, gloves, leg-warmers and thick woolly jumpers are usually the bare minimum to keep yourself warm in the freezing temperature, but it is all about picking the right layers.
For clothing closest to your skin, pick a light, loose and comfortable fabric like cotton or flannel, which provide little to no friction. For outer layers, pick heavier, thicker materials like wool. In inclement weather, try and avoid thicker coats in favour of lighter raincoats.
Avoid make-up and face-cleansing wipes
No one doubts the effectiveness of the various cosmetic and facial products in terms of cleaning your face. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean doing so is healthy or kind on your skin. Often, these products have harmful side-effects such as drying out the skin, by removing natural oils and leaving your skin dehydrated. Instead of turning to these products, use a light warm water wash and gently pat your skin down to remove these products each day and remember to drink two litres of water each day to keep your hydration high. Although you don’t normally sweat as much in the winter, the extreme changes of temperature can cause hot and cold flushes, giving you an unpleasant sticky burst of sweat each time you step outside or come indoors.
Regulate your heating
A lot of the time, it can be far too tempting to just blast the heating up briefly to take the chill off on a cold winter night. However, as well as not being cost effective for you, your home won’t heat efficiently and you’ll often find that it rapidly cools just a few minutes later.
To combat this, set an efficient timer on your heating system in hour slots. Plan when you’ll be in the house most often and turn your heating on an hour beforehand to warm everything up, then dial it back down when you are moving around. Overnight, set a core temperature using the thermostat and set your heaters up to give you a quick blast before you get up, so you won’t be freezing the moment you leave the comfort of your bed.
These four steps will help keep you warm and healthy in the winter months, leaving you in perfect shape for when Spring rolls around. And if you want to make a further positive change, why not sign up to your local Simply Gym? With top-of-the-range gyms dotted across the country and some of the best Personal Trainers in the game, we can create a bespoke plan that will directly reflect your wants and needs. To make use of our PTs, the incredible selection of classes or to discuss membership options, get in touch with our team today.
