Skincare Tips For Winter Breakouts

When it comes to blemishes in the winter, feel free to blame the weather. Cold, dry winter air zaps moisture out of your skin and leaves it more susceptible to breakouts. To make things worse, your summertime acne products might actually make your skin even drier, causing a never-ending zit cycle. Here’s why you might be battling breakouts this winter and what you can do to treat it. 

HOW WINTER BREAKOUTS HAPPEN

Cold winter air and dry indoor heat suck moisture out of the skin. When the skin is dehydrated, it overcompensates by producing more oil in an effort to stay hydrated. And since the skin’s natural moisture barrier is compromised, it’s less able to fight off acne-causing bacteria. The combination of too much oil and bacteria creates the perfect environment for acne to thrive. 

HOW TO TREAT IT

Common acne treatments like benzoyl peroxide are too drying to use during the winter months; avoid products that cause flaky skin and redness, and stick with gentler acne-zapping alternatives.

Use a Gentle Cleanser:

Switch to a mild, non-irritating cleanser that will wash away makeup and dirt without disrupting your skin’s natural moisture barrier. Our sulfate-freeHYDRATING GEL CLEANSERis formulated with allantoin, a natural plant extract that pulls moisture into the skin while soothing irritation.

Exfoliate With a Peel: The drop in humidity during the winter months causes your skin cells to dehydrate more quickly. Exfoliating not only sloughs off dead, dry cells to reveal healthier skin underneath, but also helps your moisturizing products absorb better. Opt for a weekly peel like our TCA LACTIC & GLYCOLIC FACE PEEL, which contains gentle acids like lactic acid and salicylic acid to kill acne-causing bacteria and visibly brighten without over-drying the skin. 

Switch Your Acne Treatments: This winter, switch out your drying acne treatments for epidermal growth factor or EGF. Epidermal growth factors are naturally occurring protein chains that speed up the skin’s turnover cycle, preventing clogged pores before they start. Follow your daily cleanser with a serum like our EGF ACTIVATING SERUM, which is formulated with vegan squalene, a natural ingredient extracted from olives that can help lock in moisture. 

Strengthen Your Lipid Barrier: Dry winter air zaps moisture from your skin, which can compromise the skin’s microbiome and lipid barrier, making your skin vulnerable to breakouts. Our MICROBIOME RESCUE DAILY MOISTURIZER can help. The formula contains prebiotics to help replenish the good bacteria in your skin and ceramides to strengthen the  lipid barrier so your skin can effectively fight off blemish-causing bacteria.