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Beauty

29th Dec 2023

‘Radiator face’ is the skin issue we’re all struggling with this winter

Kat O'Connor

Is anyone else’s skin feeling a little worse for wear at the moment?

My skin and winter are not the best of friends. I’ve never had perfect skin (who does apart from Margot Robbie?) but it has been relatively calm in recent months.

I’ve avoided bad acne flare-ups, I’ve been using better products and I don’t feel the need to cover my face in buckets of foundation anymore.

That was until we put the heating on in our house and my face started experiencing half a dozen problems.

We spoke to Jennifer Rock from The Skin Nerd about ‘radiator face’ and what exactly causes it.

Jennifer and the team at The Skin Nerd refer to that ‘dehydrated and red’ looking skin as ‘radiator face’ because your heating is causing the issue.

Jennifer told Her.ie that going from one extreme to another is causing problems because your skin is susceptible to environmental changes.

She explained, “We at The Skin Nerd lovingly refer to it as ‘radiator face.’ This is an issue we see lots of in the winter months and describes the dehydrated, red appearance you get after being out in the icy temperatures and then cosying up inside with the central heating on full blast.

“Extreme switches in temperature like this can negatively impact the delicate skin barrier.”

But what can we do to fix this issue?

This issue is caused because the low temperatures and low humidity mean that our barrier function isn’t working to its best ability and trans-epidermal water loss can be increased.

We may not be able to control the weather, but we can amend our beauty routines to help tackle this issue.

Jennifer recommended increasing our intake of fats, inside and out.

“On the inside, you should look to consume more omega and essential fatty acid-rich foods. Great sources include walnuts, salmon, and flaxseed but make sure that you check with your GP if you are on blood thinners or medication as you may not be able to eat additional essential fatty acids.”

When it comes to skincare, the Skingredients Skin Good Fats Ultra Hydrating Ceramide Moisturiser is the one.

This much-loved and award-winning barrier cream contains ceramide NP and vitamin E to soothe your weather-beaten face and protect it from further damage.

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