banish winter breakouts

caring for acne-prone skin year round

Winter is a rough time for anyone struggling with dry skin. And dry, acne-prone skin requires its own special care this time of year. The number of options and techniques marketed towards this skin type can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we've learned through experience how to retain glow and promote clear skin all year long.

the challenge

Deep hydration is such an important part of caring for dry skin. The options for thick creams and balm moisturizers abound, and those seem to be the obvious options to condition and protect sensitive, flaky skin. However, especially when dealing with acne-prone skin, it’s preferable to incorporate moisture throughout a skin care routine instead of attempting to get it all from one product and risking clogged pores. And and of course, you don’t want to undermine yourself from the get-go by stripping moisture from your skin with harsh cleansers and treatments as you attempt to clear it up.

Step 1: careful cleansing

Removing makeup, pollution, and excess oil is the first step in preparing your skin for the rest of your routine, but ingredients in certain cleansers formulated for acne-prone skin can be much too harsh for skin that becomes dry in winter. For example, salicylic acid is a great ingredient for cleaning pores, but it can be a drying way to start your skin care routine (salicylic can be especially drying to the eye area. In addition, it simply doesn’t work very well in a cleanser– it doesn’t stay on long enough to do much before it’s washed away.

Instead, reach for a face wash with no active ingredients and zero fragrance, because fragrance (even if it comes from essential oils!) irritates the skin, triggers excess oil production inside the pore, and breaks down your skin’s barrier. Your face should feel clean after cleansing, but not dry and tight. We recommend our gel-creme cleanser to achieve those results, because it deeply conditions dehydrated skin even as it sweeps away surface debris and oil. To avoid over-stimulating your face, use tepid to cool water to gently your rinse cleanser off and pat dry with a clean cloth. Hot or even warm water stimulates oil production (like any type of irritation) and dries out the skin's surface.

Step 2: gentle exfoliation

Exfoliation is a skin care step that must be practiced with caution by sensitive and acne-prone skin types, especially if skin is already stressed by dry, cold weather. Flaky surface skin can be maddening, not to mention hard to cover with makeup, but it is as important as always to avoid physical exfoliants like scrubs and rough washcloths. Yes, you may be removing dead skin (trust us, I know it feels satisfying), but you’re also likely killing some healthy skin cells with that method.

Instead, use gentle chemical exfoliants to dissolve dead skin that might otherwise enter the pore and lead to blemishes (the p. acnes bacteria thrives on oil and dead skin!). If you’ve been using temperature extremes, fragrance, essential oils and scrubs, it might take some time to balance your skin, but it's worth doing! Irritated skin can be dry-looking on the surface while oiliness lurks underneath, an ideal microbial breeding ground.

To address exfoliation on the surface only, a low-concentration glycolic treatment (like our glow exfoliant) can do wonders (it doesn't penetrate the pore and dissolve oil, however); for exfoliation inside the pore (to dissolve trapped oil), lactic acid is ideal if you’re rosacea-prone or if you’ve got milia–those tiny hard white bumps that never seems to go away. Salicylic or mandelic acid can also be a solid choice if you’re especially breakout-prone and have a bit more oil. There's a chemical exfoliant for almost everyone-- check out our selection here.

When applying exfoliants, be aware whether you can feel tingling or stinging. Ideally, you’d only feel a mild amount that dissipates quickly. If you feel nothing at all, you can probably handle a little more. Keep in mind, oilier skin can handle more acidic and stronger formulas than dry skin can. If struggle with dry patches and oily blemish-prone areas, you might try using glycolic over your entire face followed by lactic, salicylic or mandelic over areas prone to clogged pores like the t-zone (forehead, nose and chin).

Bonus tip: if you’re dry and still want to try a stronger exfoliant, apply a light, non-comedogenic oil to the skin before sweeping the exfoliant over your face. Our 7 seed oil blend has strictly non-pore-clogging oils that act to protect the skin against potential irritation while still allowing your skin to access the benefits of exfoliating acids!

Step 3: target bacteria

If gentle, target exfoliation alone doesn’t totally clear your skin, you might want to incorporate an antibacterial ingredient like zinc PCA or azelaic acid (the main active ingredients in our clear up serum). Bacteria don’t tend to exist only inside the blemishes you see, but in general areas. Knowing this, you can actually prevent blemishes by applying these treatments to areas where you tend to see breakouts. For sensitive skin, spot treating is a great way to take care of individual pimples without irritating surrounding skin.

Step 4: moisturize strategically

Moisturizer is of course essential for dry, winter skin, but we need to be careful to not over-do it! In fact, over-moisturizing wreaks havoc especially on acne-prone skin. Our skin cells are constantly turning over and smothering them in moisturizer will slow this process, thus impeding the healing process of blemishes.

Not only will over-moisturizing keep zits around for longer, anything overly thick and chock-full of certain oils is bound to bring about bumpy clogged pores and won’t effectively treat dry skin in the long term. Here are some specific ingredients that we avoid for that reason exactly (and some better options).

You could start by using a lightweight moisturizing serum after you exfoliate. Look for a formula with ingredients that provide all-day hydration such as hyaluronic acid and soothing extracts (e.g., green tea and marshmallow root). These are perfect for skin prone to acne and redness because they also have wonderful anti-irritant properties! Our moisture milk, mixed with a couple drops of 7 seeds oil blend, would be a great option for drier skin days.

Breakout-prone folks really need to resist the urge to use thick cream moisturizers in favor of a more liquidy, gel-like consistency, even when skin feels its driest. You can always layer lighter products until you achieve the level of moisture your skin needs. Lightweight, non-comedogenic seed oils like camellia seed and cucumber seed can soothe and protect your barrier without blocking pores.

Step 5: protect against UV damage

Many sunscreen products on the market feel thick, and it's a good instinct for the acne-prone to stay away from products that sit heavy on the skin. Still, a daily SPF is too crucial for skin and overall health to leave off as the last step in a morning routine. Luckily, formulas have improved over the years and now there are more weightless options on the market. We love Rain or Shine SPF 50, and recommend it to all of our clients. It's fragrance-free, lightweight, and non-pore-clogging!!

PS- skin care supplements are not essential (but one option in particular could help your acne)

Something else you may want to look into is taking a zinc supplement to help prevent breakouts from the inside-out and bonus, it can help your immune system fight off winter germs. Though they may be tempting, avoid any supplements with B12 or biotin, which can trigger cystic acne, rosacea, and increased oil production.

the main takeaway

Clear, glowing skin doesn’t have to take a winter break. Work on incorporating moisture into multiple steps of your routine, avoid harsh exfoliants, and resist applying heavy creams or balms to rough patches… not only can we brave the chilly weather, but we can do it with clear skin!