The daunting mix of cold and dry pushes you to modify your skincare routines, disregarding the skin type you have. But if you have oily skin, the more significant part of that seasonal toll would be upon you.
Combatting that stiffness using richer, emollient moisturizers is the only option left to feel like going from bad to worse. Replacements carry doubts and fears as you must determine the probability of being beneficial or hazardous.
Well, we’ve got you covered! Stopping winter’s impact shouldn’t cost clogged pores or make your skin feel greasy!
We’ll guide you through the more minor tweaks (and not a drastic overhaul!) to do in your current skincare routine and some dos and don’ts while following that routine. The guideline is grouped under two major categories: Daytime routine and nighttime routine. Plus, all the products we suggest have made hundreds of oily-skinned folks happier and stand out confidently through fall!
But Let’s Start with A Refresher First…
The oily skin looking and feeling dried doesn’t ever mean you’re free to use oily products to make it smooth and hydrated. It’s a false recommendation. Heavy-duty, enriched products will increase the likelihood of clogging your pores and more breakouts. Even if the oily skin is dry, you still need gentler moisturizing products that fulfill your skin’s moisturizing and hydrating needs while not making it feel coated and greasy.
Opt for water-based products; even better, choose non-comedogenic ones as they don’t clog pores on oily skin types. The best part? We’ve independently selected products that meet all those criteria!
What Causes Oily Skin?
Mother nature is the only thing at play – both within and around us!
Our skin has sebaceous glands that produce skin’s natural oil called sebum. Compared to other skin types, these glands in oily skin type tend to produce sebum more often and in more amounts.
When the skin gets dry, the sebaceous glands start producing sebum, thinking the skin needs hydration. This is one of the reasons why people with oily skin types tend to look and feel stickier and greasy on the skin in the summer season. And the more they wipe that oiliness out, the more they face it. Yes, those glands aren’t supposed to let you become dry!
The second factor is the weather – humidity in particular. Though humidity helps your skin look and feel smooth and deters dryness and flaking, any excess or lack of moisture causes trouble for oily skin.
Now that you know what happens to your skin when humidity is at its peak. But what about the winters when it’s lacking? This leads us to our next point…
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How Winter Weather Affects Skin
Regardless of your skin type or the weather outside, the mutual ‘understanding’ of the sebaceous glands and humidity never fades. It goes like this in winter: Low humidity in the air while sebum is still produced. Low humidity? Cheers! Actually, nope.
That cold and dry air outside and hot and dry air inside make your skin look and feel dry, flaky, dehydrated, and uncomfortable. You can’t control the weather, nor turning off the heat inside is an option.
Now, where are those magical glands? Shouldn’t they start producing sebum to make your skin hydrated and smooth? Yes, they must and try even more challenges to do so. But the problem is that the cold-hot dryness combination overpowers the glands’ ability to produce enough oil to meet those hydration and smoothness needs.
This is how the winter season affects the oily skin type and why you feel your skin dried out and tight even though you think of being among the luckiest ones!
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The Best Skincare Routine for Oily Skin in Winter
Daytime Skincare Routine
1. Face Washing
The key in the winter is: Stick to only two washes a day, morning and evening. This will help keep excess sebum at bay.
While you may find your skin feeling less oily than it does in the humid seasons, this doesn’t translate to kicking off your cleanser. A cleanser is still helpful as it helps remove any oil and dust build-up, decreasing the likelihood of clogging pores. However, prefer gentle, water-soluble cleansers over harsh, medical cleaners mainly designed for oily skin types. We found CeraVe, a dermatologist-recommended brand in skincare products, offering Gentle Foam Cleanser as the perfect solution. The specialty of this cleanser is that it contains hyaluronic acid, which helps to regulate sebum production and keeps the skin hydrated. This very acid is excellent for all skin types, including oily skin. The cleanser is non-comedogenic and Cleanses your skin without making it feel tight and dry.
2. Minimize the Scrub and Scrubbing!
Face scrubs are the first ones to go when it comes to taking good care of oily skin in the winter season. Face scrubs are designed to remove oil faster, but this efficiency takes no time to turn into evil for your skin. The drier the skin, the more sebum will be produced before you know it!
Then comes the practical part – call it over-cleansing or over-scrubbing; you’re doing overdoing, which isn’t good with anything in life.
Scrubbing too hard and too long with a cleanser will strip the skin of its natural moisture, causing glands (you know it well now!) to overproduce oil – that’s why gentle cleansing is so important.
3. Pat, Not Rub!
The first thing you do right after cleansing your face could affect your oily skin’s health.
The best idea, which most dermatologists recommend, is to let the skin air-dry if you want to be gentle to the skin, especially the sensitive type. Afraid of doing this on a cold winter morning? We can feel you.
Though using a towel becomes inevitable, you shouldn’t be into the conventional drying practice of rubbing the skin to make it dry faster. When you rub your skin, you’re irritating the clogged pores, which leads to further acne and blackheads. Tap it gently, and you’ll thank us later!
Also Read: How to Get Rid of Sticky Skin
4. Exfoliate
Exfoliation becomes even more critical in the winter season than in summer. You wash your face less often and are used to using moisturizing lotions or creams. That accumulates dust and oil, making your skin more prone to acne and dryness.
Exfoliating a week thrice (and not overdoing it) helps keep your skin healthy by removing all that gunk and making it absorb products more efficiently. Like scrubbing, over-exfoliation can aggravate the skin and lead to redness and irritation, leaving the skin worse than what you started with. Consistency is the key to achieving clearer, brighter skin, not overdoing it all at once. Finally, like your cleanser, choose an exfoliator that gentler the skin while improving its texture for radiant, even-toned skin.
5. Tone Your Face
Every skin type needs some tone balance post-cleansing, but oily skin in winter requires a bit more.
Finding a cleanser with skin-balancing abilities is easy today; if you don’t get one or want to use one, you’re one of the luckiest.
Apart from a toner’s balancing properties, it removes any traces of dirt, grime, and impurities stuck in your pores after washing your face. Go regular with toning, and you’ll see how many significant positive impacts it has on the appearance and tightness of your pores throughout the season. Make sure the toner you choose is pore-reducing, gentle, and hydrating to make product absorption easier.
6. Use Sunscreen
What does sun protection that sunscreen offers have to do with the winter season and oily skin? Let’s explain.
Even though the sun is less harsh in winter than in summer, the damage is still more. You increase the time spent in the sun enjoying the calmer sunlight in a cold winter. So, this increased exposure to sunlight increases the risk of premature wrinkling and makes skin dry. And you know what over-drying the skin means to you! When choosing a sunscreen for the winter season, opt for one that’s water-based and low comedogenic. Oil-based sunscreens are bad for oily skin, no matter how dry your skin feels.
Nighttime Skincare Routine
1. Use Serum
A serum on oily skin may seem too much, but you should reconsider when it’s winter.
As long as you’re using a light and soothing serum that hydrates the skin from within, it’ll help balance oil and water in the skin. When looking for a serum that’s best to use in the winter on oily skin, Ebanel Vitamin C Serum is the best option available. Infused with hyaluronic acid and retinol, this Vitamin C for face skin brightening serum penetrates moisture deeply into the skin to prevent the skin from drying out and breaking out. This vitamin C serum is an ultimate anti-wrinkle anti-aging serum with antioxidant-rich benefits.
2. Moisturize
Isn’t the entire day routine enough? Yes, it is. But all the tips and tools you’ve been using on the skin throughout the day or week create one issue: Make your skin lose the natural water and oil to some extent.
So, all that oil and water lost by cleansing and exfoliation makes your skin dry. A good moisturizer helps replenish that lost water without making your skin oily. This La Roche-Posay Oil-Free Mattifying Moisturizer for the Face is the perfect option for many good reasons. This moisturizer is ideal for oily, sensitive skin, is rich in vitamins E and C, refines pores, and provides daily hydration.
3. Use Fresh Linen
Let’s use your home decor enthusiasm to your skin’s advantage this winter!
Yes, bedsheets and pillowcases accumulate dust and bacteria that can settle into your skin while you sleep. Plus, that same gunk also makes those clothes harsher, and rubbing your skin on such a rough surface is never good.
What You Should Avoid
Prevention is better than cure; let’s do something better!
1. Hot Showers
We agree with how soothing and comforting hot showers feel on a cold winter day. But success is always outside of the comfort zone.
Hot showers can make skin look and feel dry and stretchy. Stop thinking about cold water! Use lukewarm water to take a bath, as it helps eliminate sebum while making your skin look and feel hydrated.
2. Changing Products!
Sometimes seeking the best often doesn’t end up getting even better. Though changing products according to the season isn’t included in this don’t, this means the products you’re using this winter and if you find one useful, don’t try to skip it next winter. As someone with oily skin, changing products like your lotion or face wash can make you prone to breakouts. So, commit to the one you love!
3. Go Alcohol-Free
Not just at parties – steer clear of alcohol when choosing skincare products. Check the label. If you find nothing satisfying on the label, ask the seller.
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Bonus Skincare Tips
- Stay Hydrated – Not only from outside but from within too! Your body needs two liters of water to function well. As you don’t feel thirsty in the winter, you can stay hydrated with green tea, coconut water, and other fruit juices.
- Eat Healthily – What you eat means a lot to the overall health of your skin. Add antioxidants and vitamin-rich diets to your meals. By vitamins, we don’t mean supplements, though they’re good options but can never outweigh the value something pure and natural offers.
- Go Sweaty – Yes, while you look and feel perfect physically, regular exercise also drastically improves the health of your skin. It helps keep your skin hydrated and glowing by enhancing blood circulation and digestion.
Final Thought
Changing weather is sure to impact how your skin looks and feels. Preparing beforehand is the only way to go smoothly without bothering with that change. The proper guidelines and products and knowing how and when to use them can achieve you all that quickly. Till you adjust to the perfect winter skincare routine, wishing you the best of luck!