You have heard the caveat time and again. Winter warrants a rigorous skincare routine to ward off excessive dryness that may cause painful cracks and even bleeding. Skin experts and self-proclaimed beauty mavens, alike, prescribe heavy moisturizers and oil-based creams, while scorning scrubs and peels that can dent the skin’s already-thin shield against the inclement weather.
What if we tell you that the concern about the harm cold months can inflict on your skin strikes a faulty tune. Dr. Zein Obagi, a renowned dermatologist and a pioneer in skin health restoration and rejuvenation, debunks the winter dry skin myth and the notion that the change in seasons necessitates a shift in your skincare rituals.
Heading the Obagi Skin Health Institute in Beverly Hills and several ZO Skincare Centres throughout the US and in UAE, Dr. Obagi has conducted eye-opening research on conventional moisturizers that has revealed their long-term adverse effects. Even if a moisturizer leaves you skin supple and refreshed, the hydration it provides is only temporal. With time, it turns your skin dull and lazy to execute its natural functions and defenses. This unsung condition worsens during winter, prompting many to administer the delusive salve of rich hydrating products.
“For most of my patients who complain about dry sensitive skin,” Dr. Obagi says, “I know it’s more likely [they] have unhealthy skin. [Their] skin is weak, intolerant and reactive because its skin barrier functions have been compromised. This can happen more in the winter months when patients are over moisturizing.”
Instead of submitting your skincare routine to the advance of the calendar, Dr. Obagi recommends a stable, healthy regimen dependent on your individual needs that “make[s] your skin do its own workout.”
Here are the ingredients that Dr. Obagi deems essential for a balanced skincare regime:
- Exfoliate regularly.
- Keep your baths and showers short (up to 10 minutes), as hot water washes away your skin’s essential oils.
- Always use sunscreen, regardless of the season.
- Place a humidifier at home for extra hydration.
If your skin leans dry, seek products with ceramides, dimethicone, and glycerin as these ingredients draw in and lock up moisture. One such potent hydrator is Dr. Obagi’s ZO® Skin Health’s Ommerse® Renewal Crème, which contains retinol that triggers epidermal renewal and collagen production.
If you live in or near Newport Beach, CA, Pasadena, CA, St. Petersburg, FL or Dubai head to your regional ZO Skin Centre® for a comprehensive skin analysis and personalized skincare. If you are in the states of Florida or Georgia, you can visit hundreds of locally based doctors, trained and certified by Dr. Obagi in advanced skin treatments and the prescription of his ZO Skin Health line.
