Top 10 Tips for Winter Healthy Skin and Hair

Winter skincare: you can save yourself a lot of time by taking a little time out and factor in some dedicated time every day to look after your skin and hair. Prevention is the best tip we can give you. Beyond and even before our treatments, there is so much you can do to help your skin and hair through winter.

The Private Clinic offers our Top 10 Tips for the best health, skin and hair this winter. Let us know on social media what your top tips are!

Top 10 Tips

1. Apply SPF sun cream every day. Although the days are short and you may feel like you’re not even getting enough Vitamin D to feel like the sun may be a problem, any sun exposure requires care and if possible some protection. Sun exposure is a leading cause in prematurely aged skin. If you’re regularly using sunbeds, to help your skin please cut down as much as possible or preferably avoid altogether. Unfortunately women’s skin is thinner than male skin so women have to work harder to protect their skin. Don’t worry too much though, skin thickness roughly equals out once people reach their 60s!
2. As crazy as it sounds, avoid overheating. Overheating your skin and hair, often in the shower and with a hairdryer afterwards, can cause your skin to loose the natural oils that are essential for healthy skin and it can cause your hair to dry out too much – damaging rather than helping. Try turning down the shower temperature a notch and avoiding those last few blasts with the hairdryer. Little and often is key.
3. Healthy Diet – with Christmas and the New Year’s Celebrations fast approaching it can be easy to forget about a balanced diet where possible. Snack on fruit at work if you’re struggling.
4. Water – ensure you remain hydrated throughout the day for your general health. Drink as much as you feel comfortable drinking. There’s no strict minimum. You get plenty of water from tea and coffee (caffeine’s diuretic effect is mostly negated by the amount of water ingested so don’t worry too much about that) but please try to drink more. We also always recommend a glass of water before a meal to avoid overindulging. It’s not a miracle worker but it can help.
5. Take care with alcohol – for a prevention boost and to save on hangover woes always try to remember to include as much water or soft drinks as possible when drinking. Your liver will be working overtime and your whole body will show it. Excess alcohol intake and big nights out can take their toll on your skin, which shows particularly around the eyes.
6. Supplements – although it’s always going to be ideal to have a balanced diet that includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals plus those extra health-boosting ingredients, sometimes it’s too hard. Supplements can be a great way to top up our diets. There’s only so much you can do to avoid germs in the winter so best to build up those defenses and keep everything in working order.
7. Keep the basics in order – moisturise twice a day after cleaning the face and body, moisturise as soon as you can once out of the shower or bath, pat yourself dry and avoid rubbing yourself dry, ensure you don’t sleep with makeup on, pucker up and keep those lips moist, dress in layers (20 minutes of public transport can make even the most tropical-minded folk sweat).
8. Avoid hat hair – cotton hats are often less clingy compared to wool hats, tighter hairstyles can help you avoid hat hair flat look and using finishing product before you leave the house can smooth out and avoid the static cling.
9. Hands are one of the most exposed parts of our body. Take care to moisturise regularly particularly at work. Keep some moisturiser at your workplace if you’re finding it hard to keep the dryness at bay. We lose fat and skin elasticity as we age so it’s always good to start early when it comes to looking after your hands.
10. Research non-invasive and minimally invasive cosmetic treatments – they’re not as extreme as some people think. Some treatments can be effectively done in your lunch hour or after work with no downtime. You can get some great results safely and effectively. Ensure you choose an experienced, well-regarded and qualified clinic. Avoid cut-price offers that seem to good to be true. Chances are, they probably will be. We like our patients to take their time so please do have a read through and call to ask any questions you may have.