Why Does Skin Get Dry in Winter? How to Protect Your Skin's Moisture
Cold winter is a season when skin dryness becomes a real concern. Rough, flaky patches on hands, elbows, knees, and heels are common complaints.
Even if your face doesn't feel visibly flaky, reduced moisture levels can make fine lines more noticeable than usual. Fine lines caused by dryness tend to soften with thorough moisturizing.
Let's understand why skin dries out so easily in winter, and make a habit of protecting its moisture.
Falling Humidity and Temperature Are Behind Winter's Dryness
Winter is the season when temperature and humidity drop the most throughout the year. Lower humidity means less moisture in the air overall.
In other words, winter air is in a state where it can absorb a great deal of moisture. Skin exposed to this kind of air tends to lose moisture from its surface into the surrounding air more easily.
On top of that, the body tends to feel colder as temperatures drop in winter, which is another factor behind winter dryness. As the skin's surface temperature drops, oil production decreases.
The oil film formed on the skin's surface — a mix of oil and sweat — normally helps prevent moisture from evaporating from within, but in winter, when oil and sweat production both decrease, this protective film tends to fall short too.
How to Protect Your Skin's Moisture in Winter
To prevent winter dryness, it's important to give your skin attentive moisture care to help make up for the drop in oil production, while also spending time in a warm environment with appropriate humidity.
Winter tends to mean more time spent indoors. At home, try using a humidifier to keep humidity between 50–60%. Adding houseplants to a room can also help boost humidity.
It's also worth making good use of clothing and accessories to protect your body from the cold.
Cold not only lowers oil production, but by slowing circulation, it can also contribute to dullness, under-eye circles, and puffiness.
Warm Up from the Inside with KOTOSHINA Green Tea
One effective way to fight the cold indoors is warming your body from the inside with a hot drink. If you're choosing a beverage with your skin in mind, green tea — rich in vitamin C and catechins — is a great option.
KOTOSHINA's Organic Sencha with Matcha comes from the same high-quality organic green tea garden in Uji, Kyoto that supplies ingredients for the brand's cosmetics.
Adding matcha powder to sencha gives it added richness, along with a delicate balance of sweetness and gentle bitterness. Being in tea bag form also makes it easy to brew.
The generously sized tea bags help preserve the full flavor of the leaves. We also offer a clean, fragrant organic hojicha, and a mellow, aromatic organic genmaicha blended with matcha.
Choose whichever suits your taste. This blend adds the sweetness and smoothness of matcha to sencha's clean, refreshing flavor.
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Organic Sencha — Matcha Blend Tea Bags, 3g × 18 bags
¥2,160 (tax included)
This blend adds the sweetness and smoothness of matcha to sencha's clean, refreshing flavor. A delicious tea with a well-balanced sweetness and gentle bitterness.
A clean, fragrant hojicha, made by slowly roasting tea leaves at high heat.
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Organic Hojicha Tea Bags, 3g × 13 bags
¥1,922 (tax included)
A clean, fragrant hojicha made by slowly roasting tea leaves at high heat. Roasting in a sand-roasting machine allows the heat to penetrate deep into the leaves, bringing out a richer, more fragrant aroma.
Two types of brown rice, roasted to different degrees, bring out an even richer aroma.
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Organic Genmaicha — Matcha Blend Tea Bags, 3g × 15 bags
¥1,922 (tax included)
A delicate balance of tea leaves, brown rice, and matcha creates a genmaicha that's fragrant and mellow. Two types of brown rice, roasted to different degrees, bring out an even richer aroma.
As winter brings more time spent indoors, why not enjoy a warm, delicious cup of tea to accompany your quiet moments at home?
