Winter Skincare Tips: How to Treat Breakouts in the Winter

Winter is a harsh season. It’s cold. Polar vortexes happen, and things freeze. And though we do our best to stay warm and cozy and take care of ourselves, we know that each season changes the way that do we our day to day routines – including our skincare. The Winter season is harsh on our skin. It tends to even dry out those who have normally oily skin. And while this dryness is happening, we are still trying to take care of those breakouts that come along with hormones, stress, change in our diet…so many things. Over the years, I had a hard time perfecting my seasonal skincare routine, but for the past few years, I have found some go-to item, and daily routines, that I use to keep my skin at hydrated and breakout free during the Winter months.

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Breakouts in the Winter can be hard to battle. The majority of the time, we use products that dry out the breakout in order to treat it. But that can be a problem in the cold, crisp weather since there is no moisture in the air to combat the dryness of the product. So what do we do?

My firs tip for battling breakouts during the Winter is to start with PREVENTION. Prevention is the biggest thing for fighting breakouts any time of the year, and honestly, the processes for prevention aren’t as hard as it may seem.

During the Winter, we have the tendency to want to eat more greasy foods and we tend to get a little bit more lazier. Now, I’m not saying to not go into this hibernative state (because I surely do), but to maintain and do some other little things that may help.

For example, in our laziness, we may get to the point where we are jumping right into bed instead of washing our face at night because our routine just seems exhausting. The two things that I do when I feel this way is to not go through the entire routine, but use a facial cloth. This at least wipes some of the grime off of your face so that it is not caked on. (P.S. This does not apply if you wore make-up during the day. You NEED to wash your face in that instance.)

And then sleep on a satin pillow case, if you’re not already. Satin pillowcases don’t pull a lot off your face which then leaves natural oils to hydrate and it doesn’t keep dirt there that you lay on night after night as much as a cotton pillow case. Additionally, you still need to wash your pillowcase at least once a week.

Another major thing that I do, especially when it comes to my greasy, Winter diet, is I make sure that I am drinking plenty of water. You don’t need to be drinking plain water – I can’t, I need flavor – but try to find flavored waters that are not heavy in sugar. I recommend ICE. They have good flavors and the sugar value is low. Fighting breakouts from the inside out is the ultimate way to win the breakout battle.

The last MAJOR thing about Winter skincare is HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE! If you do not hydrate your skin with a moisturizer, you are asking for your skin to dry up. And when you skin dries up, the top layer of your skin begins to flake. Then that dead skin turns into “waste” which then goes back into your pores and then creates breakouts. And then the dead layers that are still on top are the blocking your skin from absorbing any of the products you are using into the layers of skin that need it.

Biggest tip for hydration is EXFOLIATE. There are tons of ways to exfoliate, but honestly, you don’t want to do it as often during the Winter because it can dry out the skin. I recommend doing a good exfoliant at least once a week – even on your body. Or if you want to put it into your daily routine, use a daily exfoliant (they are a little more gentler) at night and then add on your night cream. That process is guarenteed to get rid of those dead layers, open up your pores, and allow your skin to regroup overnight.

I’ve rounded up a collection of my go-to products for Winter skincare (along with my year round products), just below. These products, in addition to my previous recommendations on skincare products for every skin type, are useful to everyone during the Winter season. Just scroll down a smidge and you’ll find those products that you need to add to your skincare collection.