Your old pal winter is back once again, and of course, he comes bearing gifts. Wooly jumpers, crisp air, mulled wine, the daily battle to de-ice your car, black ice, slush, expensive heating bills… Wonderful stuff, right?

Whether you’re a lover or a loather of winter (admittedly we’re leaning towards the latter), one thing’s for sure, your skin certainly isn’t a fan.

As conditions get harsher and temperatures drop, its usual protective barrier is jeopardized. Basically meaning that bad stuff (like allergens, pollutants and irritants) are let in, and the good stuff (specifically moisture) is let out.

In real terms, this translates as dry skin, chapped lips, and not forgetting everyone’s favourite, that classic “Rudolph” nose.

But don’t fret. When it comes to protecting yourself from the wrath of winter, a bit of TLC goes a long way. We’ve put together this guide so you can keep your face happy in the cold.

Ditch the dead skin

If you aren’t already partial to a bit of exfoliation, then winter is the perfect time to start. Snow is ideally supposed to fall from the sky, not your face, but left to its own devices, dry winter skin can end up looking dull and flakey. A daily scrub with kóri exfoliating wash will get rid of any lingering dead skin cells, leaving you feeling smooth and fresh.

Moisturise, moisturise, MOISTURISE!!!

All that damage to your skin’s protective barrier means its ability to retain moisture in the winter time can fall by over 25%. We hope you’re already moisturising daily, but winter is the time to seriously step up your game. A layer in the morning will help protect you from those unforgiving elements throughout the day, but night-time is where the real magic happens… Apply a generous layer before you go to bed (always on a freshly washed face) to soothe and repair whilst you sleep.

Pucker up

Crispy lips are never a good look, so keep a lip balm handy when you’re out and about. There’s a lot of debate about whether some lip balms can actually make the dryness worse due to chemicals and irritants in the ingredients. As a general rule of thumb, we’d always recommend going for something made from a natural butter, oils, or beeswax.

Keep the inside happy

As we’re sure you’re aware, we don’t do fuss here at grüum, so we’d like to stress that these last points are by no means essential – just something for you to think about. Vitamin D and Omega 3 are vital for repairing your skin’s protective barrier. Sunlight is our usual Vit-D source, but in the winter this is obviously lacking, so a supplement could be a good idea. As for Omega-3, nutritionists reckon that 3 servings of oily fish per week are enough to keep your levels in check, but if you can’t commit to the fish, you could go for a supplement instead.