Can I use face scrub in winter? And 4 other winter FAQ's answered

For your skin, winter has to be one of the toughest seasons to get through. Lower moisture levels, continued UV exposure, higher pollution levels, and a host of other factors tend to make it tougher to "keep glowing" through the winter. We get asked quite a few "winter" questions, and we thought of compiling 5 of them here for you. Hope you find these interesting and useful. And if there's any you'd like us to cover, do not hesitate to reach us!

Winter FAQ 1

Can I use a face scrub in winter? Or will it overly dry my skin?
Short answer: yes. Long answer (do read): exfoliation (catch our exfoliation guide here) is one of the best things you can do to help your skin maintain in the "pink" of its health. It reduces the overload of dead cells on your skin, and facilitates better absorption of the goodies in toners, serums and moisturizers that you apply. So exfoliate, you must.

Winter hack: Use gentle exfoliators, and do not exfoliate more than once a week. Always follow exfoliation with a moisturizer.

Plum Face scrub

Winter FAQ 2

Can I skip face wash in the evening and just use a cleansing lotion?
Yes, you can. Provided you haven't been exposed to extremely dusty environs, and just need to get rid of light makeup and a little bit of grime. Washing with foaming cleansers too often does end up drying the face a bit.
Use a cotton pad and a gentle cleansing lotion to wipe down thoroughly (full cleansing guide here), follow up with a toner and/or serum, and lastly a night cream to suit your skin type. Happy skin, sweet dreams!

Plum Face Wash

Winter FAQ 3

Can I use coconut oil on my body instead of body lotion or butter?
Yes and no. Coconut oil forms an excellent "occlusive" layer, preventing moisture loss from your skin. Virgin coconut oil is rich in Vitamin E and K, which are natural antioxidants. But there are 2 shortcomings: one, using a high-quality body lotion or butter hydrates your skin through a combination of mechanisms (read our post on humectants here), and is therefore a more balanced approach to hydration. Secondly, processed coconut oil is usually devoid of the goodies that are found in virgin coconut oil. Which means, besides forming an oily coat on your skin, the oil isn't doing much by itself.

Winter hack: If you are suffering from really dry skin, use coconut oil after applying body lotion or butter. This way, you'll do your skin double good. And for face, use a facial oil that's light and more nutritious than just coconut oil.

Plum Moisturizer

Winter FAQ 4

I have oily skin. But my skin is dry in winters. Can I switch to a heavier moisturizer?If you have oily skin, it's natural to be worried about changing your routine, lest it trigger breakouts. But your skin routine does need adaptation to changing weather routines. It's absolutely fine to change to a heavier moisturizer, BUT, look for those which are safe for combination skin (what are product reviews for?), have non-comedogenic ingredients, and are free of pore-clogging mineral oil (some mineral oils do clog pores) and other comedogenic ingredients. And follow a healthy CTM regimen, and weekly exfoliation. You should be fine. Read a success story on a managing dry spots on oily skin here.

Plum Face Moisturizer

Winter FAQ 5

Do I need an SPF for winters?
This has to be our favorite question. Yes, you do need SPF in winters, for 3 very rational reasons. One, UV rays from the sun are there all the time. And SPF protects you from UV. Two, we tend to expose ourselves to the sun more in winters than in summers. So when do we need SPF more? Three, good SPF creams also provide multi-pronged protection from free radical damage from pollution as well. So you're solving another problem if you pick the right SPF creams for yourself, that are not just providing SPF, but also are rich in vitamins and antioxidants for your skin.