Rosacea Skin Care for Cold Weather
It’s getting colder here in the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s a tough time to have rosacea. There are triggers all over the place: dry heat; cold, winds, and much more. “We don’t know what causes rosacea,” Jenny Kim, MD, PhD, a dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology and clinical medicine at UCLA, told Everyday Health. “What we do know is that … usually something triggers it, like the cold or dryness, or spicy food, or caffeine, or sun. A couple of those things happen more in the cold weather.”
If you want to calm down a rosacea flare or avoid having one in the first place, here’s the best rosacea skin care regimen for colder months.
1. First, protect your skin
The cold isn’t the only thing that can irritate your skin. So can blustery winds carrying dirt, dust, or other irritants. Protect the top of your head with a soft hat and your cheeks, nose, and mouth with a comfortable scarf that you know won’t irritate your skin. If your eyes are affected by your rosacea, don’t forget to wear UVA/UVB-blocking sunglasses.
2. Clean gently
If you have rosacea, it’s really important not to use harsh cleansers on your face. A product like our Mild Oatmeal Cleanser is a perfect place to start your cold weather skincare regimen. Created by one of America’s best-known dermatologists, this product is made from colloidal oatmeal and inspired by rosaceans who made their own oatmeal face masks. If your skin is super-sensitive, try our Ultramild Cleanser, made with shea butter and meadowfarm oil to be especially gentle on your skin. If you want add some gentle exfoliation, use our Exfo Cleansing Cloth with our cleansers.
3. Moisturize
Winters tend to be dry and windy, so moisturizing is a crucial part of a winter rosacea skin care regimen. To keep your skin happy in winter and avoid flare-ups, we recommend one of two products: either our Moisturizer or our Calming Cream with Symcalmin®.
Our Moisturizer contains willowherb extract, olive oil, and aloe vera extract. Willowherb has been used by people in harsh climates for centuries to promote healthy skin, olive oil helps balance the skin’s moisture without clogging pores (and also has excellent anti-aging properties), and aloe vera helps to soothe and hydrate sensitive skin.
Calming Cream with Symcalmin is not only a great moisturizer, it’s an anti-aging champion. Containing globe daisy, a flower with youth-preserving properties, along with willowherb and our new patented product, Symcalmin, this cream can be used day or night for effective calming and soothing.
4. Defend your skin
In the cold weather you may need to apply more and different skin care products as you come from warm, heated inside to the cold windy outside. For cold weather skin care, we recommend adding our Vita-Oil to your regimen after you moisturize. Vita-Oil is a very light, soothing oil that deeply hydrates and moisturizes even the most sensitive and delicate skin. It contains jojoba oil, processed to remove contaminants and microorganisms; and lecithin, a natural phospholipid that mixes with water to provide hydration. Best of all, it doesn’t prevent medicated products from being absorbed, so if your doctor has prescribed you topical creams, no need to worry!