YOUR SKIN IN WINTER

How cold affects the skin

Your body needs to protect itself against the cold, because to function properly, it needs to remain at 37°C.

The skin is our body's 1st protective barrier. Among other things, it regulates temperature through

Sweat: when you're too hot, it perspires, and the water that evaporates on the skin lowers its temperature.
Sebum: to prevent dehydration of the body, the skin secretes sebum, which prevents water from leaving the body.
Hair: which retracts on contact with cold to create a sort of blanket, trapping warm air and acting as an insulator.

Drier air, wind and the alternation between the cold outside and the heat inside our homes are all factors that attack the skin and promote dryness.

These characteristic winter elements will :

thin the lipid layer, whose very role is to prevent skin dryness.
weaken the cutaneous barrier: the water contained within the skin escapes because it is no longer retained.
alter the hydrolipidic film on the skin's surface.
alter the desquamation process: skin becomes dry, rough and scaly.

Altered in this way, the skin can no longer play its role as a protective barrier, and is no longer able to keep the epidermis hydrated.

Reinforce your face's protective barrier:

Your skin needs lipids to fully protect itself from external aggressors. These reinforce both the hydrolipidic film and intercellular cement.
Your skin therefore needs the fatty acids found in plant oils and butters.

Why your skin looks dull when it's cold
When you're out in the cold, the vessels in your skin that carry oxygen, nutrients and heat will contract, to have as little surface area as possible in contact with the cold air. This prevents your body from cooling down.

As a result, your skin is less oxygenated and nourished. As a result, it's in poorer condition. It becomes dull!

Brighten up your complexion!
Pigmentation spots appear after a summer in the sun, and you need to regulate them by starting with regular exfoliation.

This is because, as the days go by, dead cells accumulate on the skin's surface, giving the complexion a graying appearance. To brighten up the skin and give it a radiant complexion, there's nothing like a light exfoliation or peel.

This allows the skin to breathe and oxygenate. It will also be much better able to absorb any skincare products that are applied.

So what can you do to keep your skin in good condition in winter?

Do as the Scandinavians do!

If you insulate your epidermis with fairly occlusive plant oils and natural waxes, you'll insulate your skin from the cold.

So:

- there will be no more (or less) inflammation due to the cold, and no more redness

- blood vessels will contract less, and your skin will receive the oxygen and ingredients it needs to stay in shape.

This method is based on a certain common sense that has been lost.

We therefore need to protect the epidermis from dehydration and dryness with oilier ingredients, such as certain oils rich in Oleic Acid = Omega 9.

Oleic lipids have much greater covering power, and keep the skin moisturized thanks to their more occlusive and protective properties.

Change your daily routine

If you apply a cream in the morning or just an Elixir, add a light film of Climate Shield on top before going out into the cold. A real anti-cold barrier!

Tip: If you're having wood fires in the house, avoid dehydration with Cocoon Balm or a thin layer of Climate Shield.