During the colder months, it is crucial to protect and provide optimal care for your customer's skin, especially for delicate areas like the eyes, lips, and décolleté. What considerations should you keep in mind in the salon, and what advice can you offer your customers?
As the outdoor temperatures decrease, we increase the heating in our homes, leading to temperature gaps of up to 25 degrees. Along with these temperature changes, various weather conditions such as wind, humidity, and rain also play a role. Our skin is left vulnerable to these elements without any shielding.
What happens in the skin?
After cooling down in the fresh autumn and winter air, the skin faces a new challenge when transitioning to indoor environments like apartments, offices, or cars with just a push of a button.
Even slightly below zero temperatures can cause the natural skin moisture (NMF) to freeze, leading to dry and brittle skin - exacerbated by the wind. Upon sudden exposure to different indoor climates, there is a risk of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) as the thawed skin moisture evaporates from the skin's surface.
Not only do we lose moisture in these conditions, but our lipid mantle also weakens. As the thermometer drops, our sebaceous glands reduce the production of skin lipids, resulting in dry and brittle skin.
Moisture or lipids?
Our skin is now lacking both moisture and lipids, which means that the natural protection provided by the hydrolipid mantle is compromised. A healthy lipid barrier is essential for maintaining a proper moisture balance and offering optimal defense against harsh environmental elements.
The primary focus should be on preventing Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL), which is effectively achieved with skincare products containing lipids.
These lipids work by gently sealing (occluding) the skin's surface (stratum corneum). They shield the skin from external factors like wind and cold, while also preventing the rapid evaporation of the skin's own moisture. During autumn and winter, lipids act as a transparent, insulating protective layer. For comprehensive skincare, it is important to ensure the skin receives adequate hydration as well.
Special circumstances
To determine the customer's skin needs, the esthetician should inquire about the customer's skin condition, living environment, and lifestyle during the skin analysis.
By doing so, they can promptly pinpoint the underlying causes of irritation, skin dryness, and tightness. It is important to consider specific professional environments and situations throughout all seasons.
In certain occupations, the skin is regularly exposed to varying weather conditions throughout the year. For instance, professions involving work in refrigerated spaces like large kitchens, butcher shops, supermarkets, and hospitals.
When the skin is consistently subjected to air conditioning in workplaces, airplanes, or vehicles, it can become strained. This continuous exposure may result in year-round "skin stress", necessitating similar considerations as those in colder seasons.
Sensitive skin areas - eyes, lips, and décolleté
Special attention is needed for sensitive skin areas, especially in the winter months. The skin around the eyes, lips, and décolleté is thinner and produces fewer lipids compared to other areas.
While we bundle up to stay warm during the cold season, our clothing can strip away moisture and lipids from our skin. Therefore, it is crucial to provide extra care for these delicate areas. Treat your customer's skin with nourishing active ingredients. A facial massage can be particularly beneficial at this time, boosting cell activity.
Care for the three “sensitive ones”
Optimal care for your eyes: During the cold season, the eye area will benefit greatly from using an eye mask. Treat the delicate eye area with a collagen-hyaluronic acid complex, caffeine, and jojoba oil. Suggest to your client an eye care product specifically designed for nighttime, with a higher lipid content compared to the daytime product. . In winter, consider adding a special booster for the eye area, such as a tripeptide/tetrapeptide complex and hyaluronic acid to combat dryness, wrinkles, and dark circles. This will instantly revitalize tired eyes.
Our Suggestion: High Perfection Eye Cream
Lip Care: Even in winter, maintaining soft, kissable lips is essential. Recommend to your client the use of lipid-rich lip care products daily, especially before bedtime, to keep the lips smooth and hydrated. Beeswax is an excellent ingredient to prevent dryness.
Our suggestion: Soft Lip Balm
Neck and Décolleté: The neck and décolleté area can reveal a woman's age. Encourage your client to invest in extra care both in the morning and evening to maintain a youthful appearance. Recommend a cream that creates a protective barrier against external moisture loss, such as from clothing. Key ingredients for caring for sensitive skin in the neck and chest area include anti-aging lipopeptides, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid.
Our suggestion: ReFirm Decollete Cream
Valuable active ingredients in winter
Beeswax is rich in vitamins and minerals. It preserves and protects against moisture loss, even in strong winds.
Vitamin B6 has a regenerating effect and leaves the complexion balanced and soothed.
Moisture-binding ingredients such as a moisture booster and panthenol are particularly valuable in winter.
A stem cell extract from comfrey supports the skin's ability to regenerate, strengthen the skin barrier and reduce transepidermal water loss.
Sea buckthorn oil contains many vitamins (for example vitamin E and carotenoids) as well as unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3, 6, 7 and 9), which nourish and revitalize the skin.
Herbal complexes made from chamomile and horse chestnut extracts strengthen the skin’s own resistance – they have a balancing effect and reduce redness.
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