During winter skin gets dry, flaky and chapped. This causes a lot of discomfort and itching, but there are ways to protect your skin during the winter. From our skincare experts at NuVista, here are the best practical ways to protect your skin during winter:

Cover your skin

This doesn’t just mean piling on layers. You need to make sure your skin is totally covered. Wear waterproof gloves, wrap a scarf around your neck and protect any area of your chest that your coat doesn’t cover. Pull a hat down low so it covers your ears and protects your hair as well.

Don’t wash your hair every day

Washing your hair every day strips it of natural oils that keep your scalp healthy and moisturized. If you wash your hair every day, or nearly every day, stopping suddenly might make your scalp overproduce the oil. It will feel greasy for a bit, but soon enough your scalp will realize that it’s not being stripped of oil and adapt to being washed.

Protect your hair when you do wash it

We think about moisturizing our skin in cold weather, but it’s easy to forget about hair. During the winter, your hair gets dry, which makes it brittle and prone to damage. During these months, change to a moisturizing shampoo. Look for a shampoo or hot oil treatment that will heal your hair.

Use more moisture in your skincare routine

Your skin’s moisture evaporates quickly in the cold and wind of winter, and it naturally produces less oil. Thicker, heavier moisturizer is necessary during winter, as long as it still good for your skin. Apply this new lotion as soon as you get out of the shower at night.

Use sunscreen

You might think it sounds strange to apply sunscreen before bundling up, but you should. The sun is still dangerous in winter, and the glare off ice and snow can make it even more harmful. Apply sunscreen half an hour before you go outside and give it a chance to dry and not stick to clothes.

Prevent chapped lips

Licking your lips a lot makes them extremely chapped. Use a moisturizing lip balm throughout the day to keep your lips soft. Use it as part of your moisturizing routine, but carry a tube you with you to reapply as needed. If you’re going out into extreme cold, use a layer of Vaseline on top of your lip balm to keep the cold off.