Biting winds coupled with cold weather, central heating and hot showers can all suck the life out of your skin. It’s time to ramp up your skincare routine and help keep dry winter skin at bay.

1) Face balm to protect the face

Face balms are a great invention and are ideal for women who have to face the cold. These creams insulate the skin, preventing the cold temperatures and biting winds from drying out the skin.

2) Cool Down

Those hot showers really are bad for your skin, turn the temperature down and apply your moisturiser whilst skin is still slightly damp.

3) Take care

While most people get used to moisturising once a day, there is no harm in doing it more frequently – I normally do it at least every morning and night. Also try and get into the habit of doing a soft exfoliation once a day, and applying a thick moisturiser afterwards. Do what works for you, and your skin will glow.

4) Use sunscreen all year round

While it goes without saying that the sun’s rays are less intense in the winter, don’t ditch your SPF entirely. The rays can still damage your skin, and many people still burn during the winter months. While it’s fine to keep your high SPFs for the summer months, make sure you’ve got winter coverage, too. You’ll want something with a minimum coverage of SPF 15, and protection against UVA and UVB rays.

5) Brighten up your complexion with fish…

Dry winter skin can lead to a dull complexion, and nobody wants that! Dehydration is one of the key causes of a dull complexion – which isn’t surprising with all the partying. Once your body becomes dehydrated, your skin begins to really suffer. Dehydrated skin cells are replaced much slower than healthy cells, which causes a build-up of skin cells and limits light reflection. The easiest solution is to drink more water, and load up on omega-3s such as walnuts and salmon which boost hydration.

image:istock.com/SanneBerg