No matter where you are in our beautiful country, winter is very much here and with some colder than average temperatures of recent weeks, now is the time to boost your winter skin arsenal, writes Cameron Pine.

With indoor heating in full force, our skin in the often dreaded cooler months is prone to extra dryness, flakiness, dehydration and just general dullness from both indoor and outdoor elements.

Thanks to the Ultracetuicals Global Education Ambassador, Tracey Beebey, we have taken a look at four aspects of your skin regime you can’t afford to get slack on this winter.

Cleansing 

Cleansing our skin is something we do every day, twice a day – just like brushing our teeth! However, it is important to understand that our skin goes through changes, as the climate changes around us. Winter can bring cold and harsh climates, making our skin more susceptible to becoming dry and even more sensitive to these conditions. As our skin navigates these climate changes, we sometimes have to change up what we are doing for our skin, including our cleanser. Most people will opt for a gentle and calming cleanser in the mornings such as the Ultra B² Micellar Cleansing Water or Ultra Calming Cleanser, both of which can be used around the eyes. If you are lipid dry, the Ultraceuticals Ultra Hydrating Milk Cleanser is ideal, to help keep the skin nourished. For evening, we recommend sticking to your specialised cleanser to continue working toward your skin goals. It’s also an important time to better support your skin barrier, look out for soothing and nourishing skincare products that deliver hydration and comfort.

Hydration

Hydration is imperative all year round, however winter sees the skin become excessively dry. Ensuring your skin is receiving ultimate levels of hydration is important, to help combat excessive dryness, dehydration and flaky skin, dosing your skin with ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid will help serve your skin the large drink of water it needs! The Ultra B² Hydrating Serum will be your best friend for this to boost hydration in your skin. At night, the Ultra DNA³ Complex Recovery Night Cream will help work to restore your skin as you sleep. It’s lightweight but jam-packed with goodness for a glowing, hydrated and restored skin when you wake! Keeping up the hydration will ensure you maintain a smoother, more refined complexion.

Protect

Protecting the skin in winter is vital, and as tempting as it is to run the air con to warm up, it dries skin out of its natural oils. Even turning down the water temperature slightly in the shower works wonders for keeping skin more hydrated. Following loading your skin with hydration, it’s important to lock in all the goodness with a nourishing moisturiser, opting sometimes for a stronger more nourishing moisturiser is important, like the Ultra Rich Moisturiser containing Shea Butter, which will help to alleviate any loss of hydration from the skin. Also, don’t forget SPF! Even though we may not see many sunny days, UV exposure is still around us and our skin is still susceptible to UV damage, even on a dark and cloudy day. The Ultra Protective Antioxidant Complex, followed by Ultraceuticals Protective Daily Moisturiser SPF30 or 50 provides the essential protection from the environment as well as UV rays.

To further spread the word about the importance of SPF in a harsh climate like Australia, this year Ultraceuticals was the official partner of Liandra Swim at Australian Fashion Week. Skin experts provided a tailored skin preparation regime for models with a commitment to promoting skin health and radiance with a key focus on skin balance with instant hydration. Each model experienced skin preparation to ensure dewy and flawless skin on the runway including the newly reformulated Ultra B2 Hydrating Serum, and the best-selling intensively calming and hydrating Ultra Calming Moisturising Crème and the product Ultraceuticals recommends for every regime especially in Winter; the Ultra UV Protective Daily Moisturiser SPF 50 Hydrating which can be easily replicated at home with day-to-day skin prep.

Bodycare 

Bodycare is just as important as the face! Most people will experience skin dryness in winter, especially on their legs, hands and arms! Ensure you use a nourishing body product that is designed to target the skin on the hands and body, to effectively address dryness. Products like the Ultraceuticals Ultra Retexturising Body Complex and the Ultra Rejuvenating Night Hand Complex, will be your body’s favourite creams! Don’t forget to exfoliate the hands and body too, this will help remove the old dead cells that can sometimes block your moisturisers for absorbing. Ultra Gentle Exfoliating Gel will remove the dead skin cells, gently and effectively to ensure an overall healthy, smooth and nourished skin all over the body.

For more information visit www.ultraceuticals.com.au