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

The fix that beats most creams

A humidifier in the bedroom. Eight hours a night in dry heated air is where a great deal of winter dehydration happens, and adding humidity often does more than any product change.

If a humidifier is not practical, a bowl of water near a radiator helps a little. Not as much, but something.

Routine adjustments

Cleanse more gently. Switch a foaming cleanser for a cream or milk formula, at least for the season. Winter skin tolerates stripping badly.

Lower the water temperature. Hot water on a cold morning feels wonderful and removes lipids. Lukewarm.

Moisturise onto damp skin, within a minute of washing. This matters more in winter than at any other time.

Go one step richer, at least at night. Not necessarily a different product — a second layer of what you already use often suffices.

Cut back exfoliation. Halve whatever you were doing. Flaking in winter is usually a barrier problem, and scrubbing it worsens the cause.

Keep the sunscreen

The most commonly dropped winter step, and it should not be. 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 nobody mentions

Lips and hands take the worst of it — thin skin, few oil glands, constant exposure. Balm and hand cream in a pocket, applied after every hand wash.

Wind is more damaging than cold. It accelerates water loss directly. A scarf over the lower face on windy days is a genuine skincare measure.

Long hot showers are the single most common winter habit that damages skin. Shorter and cooler.

What to expect

Winter skin behaves differently even with a perfect routine. Slight tightness on very cold days is normal. Persistent flaking, cracking or redness is not, and means the barrier needs the gentler approach above rather than more product.

Coming out of winter

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

For barrier repair and hydration basics, see the skincare section.