Laura deCarufel

Along with hot chocolate and snowflakes, the cold weather brings a serious challenge: how to protect your skin from the year’s most drying conditions. Cold air contains less humidity than warm air, meaning that every time you step outdoors moisture is leached from your exposed skin. And being indoors—with furnaces pumping at full desiccating power—can be just as problematic.

Fortunately, there are solutions. First, take care not to overwash your face, says Dr. Alfred Balbul, a dermatologist at McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. “Doing so can strip the skin’s natural oil barrier, leading to dryness and then breakouts as bacteria build up in cracked skin.”

To add moisture to arid indoor air, Dr. Kucy Pon, a dermatologist at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a special consultant to Olay, recommends using a home humidifier (set to keep moisture at no more than 35% to 40% to deter allergenic moulds). “Take short lukewarm baths and showers, and apply moisturizer to damp skin all over the body.” Choose rich, quenching lotions with glycerine, petrolatum and shea butter, which have intense hydrating properties.

Both Balbul and Pon list sunscreen as an essential element of a winter skin-care regimen. As ultraviolet A and B rays reflect off ice and snow onto skin, a sunscreen helps by deflecting them or by absorbing the UV light and dissolving it as heat. Choose sunscreen and lip balm with an SPF of 30 or more, and remember to wear sunglasses with polarized lenses, which protect the eyes by dramatically reducing glare.

Just as—if not more—important than protective creams is proper clothing. The worst-case scenario of winter skin is frostbite, which occurs with  prolonged exposure to cold. Although the body’s extremities—which in severe frostbite can suffer tissue death, turn black and fall off—are most at risk, the nose and ears are also vulnerable.

Short story? Cover up in bitter cold. Wear long gloves and a scarf that covers your face, and invest in a windbreaker that blocks heat loss. Layer your clothing and wear a soft fabric such as cotton close to your body. “Winter fabrics—wool, for example—tend to be more abrasive and adhere more closely to the skin,” explains Balbul, “and that can lead to irritation.”

But don’t let the season scare you. Moisturize well, dress wisely and spend time outside, especially on sunny days. The sun will help your skin make vitamin D, which may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. The crisp air will redden your cheeks, and the sparkling snow will make you smile—the perfect complement to healthy winter skin.