Understanding Winter Skin

How Cold Weather Affects Skin

Winter is one of the worst weather seasons since it affects skin health through reduced temperatures and humidity. Cold air has no moisture content and when you sit in a heated house it is even worse for the skin so it is just the worst thing for your skin. The humidity reduces the skin’s own oils which are critical in creating the skin’s protection layer. Consequently, the skin feels dry and tight, and may easily be damaged or irritated due to this increase in thickness.

Also, cold wind can cause what is commonly called windburn, this is where the skin turns red, feels sore and may even peel off. Windburn happens when cold wind strips of the skin’s outermost layer of oil, which makes the skin vulnerable to the harsh weather and dry out. This results to irritation of the skin and uncomfortable feeling, and may take up to three days for the skin to regain its normal texture.

Another area in which cold climate has some influence, but is not well publicised, is blood flow. This means that, body=fat and muscle controls blood flow to the extremities and outer skin in an effort to maintain higher core body temperature. This may cause skin to have a white washed out look and may also aggravate conditions for instance chilblains which makes the skin to be itchy and painful due to poor blood circulation.

Changes in Skin Physiology During Winter

Skin physiology during winter Some of the changes, which are evident in skin during winter include skin dryness, increased itching, skin tightness among other symptoms.

In winter, a lot of changes to the skin physiological parameters occur due to the cold and dry weather condition. One of the profound transformations is that of a reduced secretion of sebum, the body’s natural oil that is used to maintain the skin healthy and moisturized. Decreased sebum secretion makes the skin drier and weakens the skin’s barrier function making it vulnerable to inflammation and infection.

The body’s normal shedding of the skin also reduces its production during the winter. The skin on the surface is renewed constantly, thus the layer of the dead skin cells makes the look of the skin less bright and can make skin texture coarse. Accumulation has not only impaired the outer structure of the skin but also influenced prevent the skincare products from penetrating deeper into the skin layers where they are required to perform various tasks.

The amount of moisture in the skin also reduces during winter than those of summer periods. The stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the skin makes certain amount of water is imperative in order to effectively perform its function. This layer functioning also in the sense as a barrier to pathogens getting on to the skin’s surface: when this layer becomes dry, it becomes brittle, flakes and causes the skin to become more sensitive. Dehydration becomes really important when it comes to the skin’s firmness and elasticity, and if it fails to get the required amount of water supply, the skin turns vulnerable to other damages that come with aging.

Though the skin has a natural barrier function the function is compromised in winter. The intercellular lipid layer, which in its main components levels of fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides, is critical to skin barrier function. This lipid matrix can be compromised during cold seasons, and hence the watery loss through the epidermis is easily made through processes such as transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and hence easy irritation and inflammation.