As soon as the winter weather hits, our skin reacts immediately. The cold, dry air can make our skin feel parched and you might even start to notice textural changes in the quality of your skin. Perhaps your makeup doesn’t sit as well on your skin, or you just need more protection against the winter elements. Well luckily, our team at The Skin Center by Charlotte Plastic Surgery are experts in the realm of winter skin care. Here are our top winter skin care tips to help you look your best for the upcoming holidays. Our board-certified plastic surgeons, and the licensed estheticians and skin health specialists of our Skin Center will have your dull and dry complexion looking dewy and glowing before you know it…and right in time for Christmas!
Watch Dr. Kevin Smith talk about his top winter skin care tips and recommendations for your skin this season!
Winter Skin Care Tip Number One
Your Summer Skin Care Won’t Help You
You wouldn’t wear your summer clothing in the winter months, so why would you continue to use the same skin care products? Dr. Kevin Smith explains that colder temperatures and dry winter air effect your skin very differently than the warm, often humid air of the summer – and these changes have almost an immediate effect in the quality of your skin. The biggest change you’ll notice is how hydrated your skin will feel – or should we say NOT-hydrated! Winter weather depletes the moisture in our skin, so it’s important to switch to products that can handle your skin’s need for deeper hydration, and try an exfoliating treatment with growth factors to slough off that dry skin that’s already starting to accumulate.
We recommend:
- SkinMedica’s HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator with Hyaluronic Acid
- SkinMedica’s Dermal Repair Cream
- Microneedling Treatment with PRP (platelet-rich plasma)
SkinMedica’s HA5 contains 5 different types of hyaluronic acid – the component in your skin that holds on to moisture. By incorporating HA5 into your skin care regimen, your skin will be able to maintain its ability to lock in moisture – a perfect defense against dry, cold air. HA5 works best when paired with a powerful, winter-time moisturizer like SkinMedica’s Dermal Repair Cream. This product is ideal for the season because of its ability to get moisture down deep into the layers of the skin with its penetrating formulation. The best part is that it’s rich but not too rich – it never feels heavy or too creamy on your skin. Top this all off with an exfoliating treatment like Microneeding to slough away dry, dead skin cells and reveal the healthy skin underneath all that winter (and summer!) damage. You can give this treatment a boost by adding the use of PRP or platelet-rich plasma – this will infuse your skin with your own human growth factors, increasing cell turnover and speeding up recovery time.
Purchase SkinMedica’s award-winning products at our online boutique!
Winter Skin Care Tip Number Two
Erase Summer Sun Damage With No Downtime
Everyone has sun-damaged skin; you don’t even have to spend that much time outside, and you’ll start to see freckles, brown spots, and broken capillaries around your cheeks, nose, and mouth. What many of us don’t realize is that sun damage is not just for summer sun-bunnies – we’re actually exposed to damaging UV rays 365 days a year through our windshields, windows, and we even get some exposure inside a building! But there are ways you can reverse that annoying pigmentation, and it doesn’t require a ton of downtime either.
We recommend:
- SkinMedica’s Lytera 2.0
- BBL or Broadband Light laser treatment
Address stubborn skin discoloration and pigmentation with the very powerful Lytera 2.0 by SkinMedica. This advanced corrective serum is appropriate for all skin types and can improve the appearance of dark spots as early as 2 weeks with regular daily use (dramatic results can be seen around the 12 week mark). This product works best when paired with a pigment correcting treatment like BBL or broadband light laser therapy. By targeting the brown and red pigmentation in the skin, this gentle, minimal-downtime procedure will address melasma, hyperpigmentation, and broken capillaries to reveal a more even complexion. What you’ll love most is the downtime – you can return to normal activities immediately after treatment with some mild pinkness to the skin, and there’s no aftercare regimen to follow.
Watch a BBL treatment in action!
Winter Skin Care Tip Number Three
We’re Serious – You Need SPF 365 Days A Year
You’ve heard it before, and we’re going to tell you again – SPF protection is an all-year kind of thing. Luckily for you, there are light weight, easy to apply products that will not only help you keep your skin safe, but can improve the way it looks too!
We recommend:
- ColoreScience Lip Shine with SPF
- SkinMedica’s Total Defense & Repair Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 34 (tinted and non)
One of our favorite products (that routinely flies off the shelves!) is ColoreScience’s Lip Shine with SPF 35 sun protection. It comes in 4 natural colors (rose, light pink, champagne, coral and clear) so it’s easy to find a shade that’s right for you. It has just a touch of gloss, a hint of color, and feels very light to wear. The reason we love it so much is because it isn’t just a pretty face, it’s also a heavy-lifter – Lip Shine contains zinc oxide to protect against UVA and UVB rays, a patented lip conditioner for smoother lips, vitamin E for a boost of antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid for hydration. For your gorgeous face, we recommend SkinMedica’s Total Defense & Repair Sunscreen to not only protect your skin, but to help repair prior damage. This revolutionary superscreen goes far beyond UV protection by also defending against infrared rays and helping improve skin firmness, tightness, and elasticity.
All of these winter skin care tips treatments, products, and so much more can be found at Charlotte Plastic Surgery’s brand new aesthetic destination, The Skin Center by Charlotte Plastic Surgery. Anything you could possibly need for healthy, beautiful, youthful skin can be found here – and the best part is that it’s all backed by our amazing plastic surgeons at Charlotte Plastic Surgery. Contact us today for your consultation!
