Most people blame the cold. The larger culprit is indoors — heated air holds very little moisture, and you spend far more hours in it than outside.

The fix that outperforms most creams

A humidifier in the bedroom. Eight hours a night in dry heated air is where a great deal of winter dehydration happens. Adding humidity often does more than any product change, and it helps hair at the same time.

Routine changes

Go one texture richer, at least at night. Within the range that usually means moving from a gel-cream to a cream, or adding a second layer of what you already use.

Switch to a gentler cleanser. A foaming gel that was fine in July frequently leaves winter skin tight. Cleansing milks and creams suit the season.

Lower the water temperature. Hot water on a cold morning is the most tempting and most damaging winter habit.

Apply to damp skin, within a minute of cleansing. This matters more in winter than at any other time.

Cut exfoliation in half. Winter flaking is usually a barrier problem, and scrubbing worsens the cause.

Current textures are in the Faberlic catalogue.

Keep the sunscreen

The most commonly dropped winter step. UVA passes through cloud and window glass largely unchanged, and snow reflects a substantial amount back at you. Reduced exposure is not absent exposure.

The parts people forget

Lips and hands take the worst of winter — thin skin, few oil glands, constant exposure. Balm and hand cream carried with you, applied after every hand wash.

Wind is more damaging than cold, because it accelerates water loss directly.

The neck, which is usually left out of both the moisturising and the sun protection.

What is normal and what is not

Slight tightness on very cold days is normal even with a good routine.

Persistent flaking, cracking, redness that does not settle, or patches that itch are not — those point to a barrier problem needing a gentler approach, or to a condition needing a doctor.

Coming out of winter

Reverse the changes in spring. A rich winter cream on summer skin causes congestion, and people routinely leave it two months too long.

For the seasonal opposite, see the summer guide in the reviews section.