Everything you need to know about fighting winter acne
Words Clément Laré
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For many of us, winter is synonymous with new outbreaks of acne. Lucily, this phenomenon can be relieved with the right steps. In this article, Horace shares good care practices for you and your skin this chilly season.
Noticing your acne getting worse with winter weather is quite common. This is the case for many people prone to breakouts. According to a 2015 American study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, data from 6101 patients confirmed a trend of improvements in acne during the summer and while it would tend to worsen in the wintertime.Thankfully, winter acne can be soothed with the help of a few good habits.
Cold, the culprit of acne
The main culprit of acne is none other than the cold. To protect itself from this environmental aggression, your skin tends to produce sebum, which is its natural way to retain hydration. Only, it’s often an overproduction of sebum that’s the origin of acne, since it can cause dead skin cells to stick together on the surface of the epidermis, consequentially clogging the pores. The result? Pimples, of course.
What’s more, the cold can also cause inflammation of the skin, which might give rise to intense acne breakouts. Finally, the cold is also a cause of stress for your body, which we know is a common aggravating factor that contributes to acne outbreaks.
Pay attention to temperature changes
When faced with cold weather, here’s a word of advice: take extra care of your skin. A good start can be to avoid sudden temperature changes. As tempting as it may seem, jumping in a hot shower when you come back from being outside in the cold weather isn’t the best idea, and it’s especially not recommended in case of acne. By increasing the microcirculation of your skin and activating its sebaceous glands, hot showers can contribute to the overproduction of sebum.
The key: modifying your skin cleansing
Next, it’s time to review everything that you apply on your face, starting with your cleanser. Faced with acne, you might feel the temptation to choose a very heavy duty cleanser, especially in the summer with all the heat and sweat. But be careful in the winter, a gentle product is essential. The key is not to attack your skin that’s already been damaged.
Think about hydration
Be sure not to forget about hydration, this step in a skincare routine is too often forgotten when it comes to fighting acne. However, pimple treatments are usually very drying and the cold weather doesn’t exactly help. More than ever, your skin needs to be hydrated so as not to feel the need to overcompensate with sebum. In the morning or night, hydrating creams and serums like our rich face moisturisere are the right solutions. Ingredients like glycerin or hyaluronic acid have been shown to be good active ingredients when it comes to moisturising acne-prone skin.
Let’s not forget treatment
Finally, the most important thing is to continue to strictly follow your prescribed acne treatment - if that is the case. If acne really gets out of control with the winter weather, the best thing is to (re)schedule an appointment with your dermatologist. Just remember that an overdose of treatment may do more harm than good.
