00:00 Being one of the biggest organs on our bodies, you might have thought things might be a little
00:06 bit more straightforward when it comes to skin care. But it being such a subjective
00:10 field with so much information out there, do we as a nation need a little bit more of
00:15 a helping hand when it comes to understanding skin health? With the winter comes dry and
00:20 flaky skin and if you're looking for some top tips on how to protect yourself in the
00:23 cold weather, you're in the right place.
00:26 Now with social media, there's a democratisation of beauty and skin advice and that's great.
00:33 But it's not always the advice that you as an individual need. And again, there's a survey
00:37 done recently, 14% of people have problems during the winter months with their skin.
00:41 And that's because we have central heating put on, the air is dry and cold, so we lose
00:46 moisture from our skin. So the first, the top tip I would say is use the most gentle
00:51 cleanser. We all over strip our skin, we all are obsessed by cleansing our skin. It's important
00:56 to clean our skin, but not to strip the skin barrier. So using a really lovely, gentle
01:01 sort of hydrating skin product to wash your skin is really important. And the way you
01:05 can tell is when you finish cleansing your skin, it should feel soft and hydrated, it
01:09 shouldn't feel dry and tight. Dry and tight does not mean deeply cleaned, it means a disruptive
01:14 skin barrier. And then use moisturisers, you're going to put something back into the skin
01:17 barrier. So products like shea butter, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, all of these draw
01:23 moisture and hold moisture and protect the skin barrier. And that's really important
01:27 during the winter months. You want to make the skin barrier hydrated and robust so it
01:32 can weather that cold wind, that cold dry air basically.
01:36 Understanding your skin type might be difficult. So let's put things simply. If your skin stings
01:41 or hurts often when using new products, you might have sensitive skin. If you find you're
01:45 very shiny and greasy, you might have oily skin. Maybe your skin gets flaky, itchy or
01:49 rough, that suggests you have dry skin. And if you have several of these, you might have
01:54 combination skin. So now you're a little bit more clued up on where to start, what are
01:58 the next steps to unlocking your skin potential?
02:01 The most expensive skincare regime is one that doesn't work for your skin, that's going
02:05 to disrupt your skin, it's going to cause problems. Then you're going to spend time
02:08 and money getting your skin back on track. That is the whole point of this concept, is
02:12 that getting the right products in the right order will be very helpful to your skin. It's
02:17 going to make your skin feel robust and healthy in the long term, and you're going to end
02:21 up spending a lot less. Obviously, do not expose your skin to too much sun, don't get
02:26 sunburnt, etc. Remember that there's UV all the year round. So UVA, the longer wavelength,
02:32 which really damages our skin, we often call it UV ageing in dermatology circles, is around
02:37 all the year, will come through clouds, will come through windows. So using a really good
02:41 high factor broad spectrum sun cream to protect your skin, you'll really thank yourself in
02:45 the long term for how your skin will look towards your 50s, 60s and 70s. So remember
02:50 that there is UV all the year round, pollution will also damage your skin, so make sure you
02:54 clean your skin at the end of the day, but don't over strip your skin, use gentle products,
02:59 soothing products, and your skin will definitely thank you.
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