Cold wind strips water from the skin faster than anything except a hot shower, and in winter we get both. If your face feels tight an hour after cleansing, or stings with products it loved in summer, the barrier is asking for a break.
1. Change the cleanser
Swap foaming cleansers for a milk in the morning, or just rinse with water. Samphire Milk Cleanser removes SPF and light make-up without the squeak.
2. Pause the acids
Drop exfoliating toners and peels to once a week, or stop for a fortnight. Keep retinal if your skin is used to it, but buffer it with cream.
Warming a drop of face oil between the hands beside a cup of tea.
In winter, the kindest thing you can do for your skin is less.
3. Seal it in
Use a richer cream at night, and on the windiest days press one or two drops of face oil over it. Ceramide Barrier Cream has the lipids your skin is short of; a drop of Fennel Seed Face Oil on top keeps them there.
And keep wearing SPF. Winter sun off the sea is still strong enough to leave marks.
