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Winter Shines a Light on Summer Damaged Skin

During the summer, the range of cosmetic tanning agents, bronzers and tints available combined with the natural kisses of the sun can make healthy looking skin something that’s relatively simple to achieve. But, when winter comes along, those flaws, imbalances and dry patches begin to reappear, and this is the time when you reassess the damage another season spent sunbathing, or just being outdoors has done to your skin.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there are the added complications of central heating, changes in diet and reduced exercise and hydration that become habitual during the winter which compound underlying skin problems. This means that by next spring, the anxieties about revealing tired, dry, damaged skin to the world again resurface.

However, with the proper treatment this season, this can be avoided and you really can step out from the shadows of winter with a healthy, clear and glowing complexion.
Apart from maintaining a healthy diet, hydration and exercise throughout the winter season, there are two distinct issues that need to be addressed:

Repair and Recovery: Whether you realise it or not, your skin will have been affected during the summer by the effects of the sun and the preservatives and fats in all those balmy BBQ nights at the beer garden that have pounded your skin with free radicals. In the simplest terms, free radicals are produced by the body in response to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and are found in pollution, industrial smog and cigarette smoke. They cause cell damage and are thought to be responsible for some major diseases and illnesses including diabetes and cancer.

One of the most effective options for free radical removal, are antioxidant products. A number of antioxidant benefits can of course be taken from foods such as pecan nuts, green tea, artichokes, citric acids and dark chocolate, however the quantities in which we consume these foods is often insufficient to limit or remove damaging free radicals already present in the skin. That’s why, in the winter more than at any other time of year, you need to support your skins repair and recovery with an antioxidant serum. Neostrata currently make one of the leading, clinically proven, dermatologist developed skincare ranges in the world. Their Skin Active Antioxidant Defense Serum is packed with green tea and citric acid extracts to neutralise free radicals, repair, and protect healthy cells from any further damage.

Protection: To support your skin’s renewal, you need to give it adequate protection from UV rays, regardless of the season. UV rays can damage your skin in winter too, so the best thing you can do is drink plenty of water to keep it hydrated and apply an SPF sunscreen every day, or whenever you’re outdoors.

Staying healthy, hydrating well and support your skins repair, renewal while protecting it from further damage is the only way to ensure you come back to life in the spring, looking your best.