Lockdown skincare tips from a top-rated plastic surgeon

The second lockdown is here, and winter too, which means we have more time inside than ever. Central heating and dried air inside, colder temperatures and harsh winds outside, all these can affect your skin, making it dehydrated, irritated or sensitive, along with losing that healthy-looking glow. 

To help you keep your skin healthy and hydrated during lockdown, we asked London based plastic surgeon Dr. Rozina Ali to share her top tips on how to take care of your skin. 

Why Staying Home Affects Our Skin

Dry air and low humidity coupled with constant exposure to indoor heaters suck the moisture from your skin. This can weaken its ability to protect itself and leads to loss of hydration, dry, cracked or chapped skin. When your skin is dry, it will begin to feel rough and itchy and becomes more sensitive. Although dry skin can appear on any part of your body, is more common on the face and hands, being the most exposed areas.

Fortunately, you can prevent these damages if you change up your skincare routine now!

Follow our lockdown skincare tips

1. Hydrate and moisturise

The more time you spend indoors, the drier and more sensitive your skin will become. Unfortunately, dry and dehydrated skin really highlights your wrinkles and fine lines. That’s why you have to keep your skin moisturised - invest in a moisturiser that offers gentle hydration and apply it in a heavy layer at night and again in the morning. Keep a cream tube near your home office, so you can reapply whenever you start to feel your skin dry. Don’t forget to also keep a water bottle on your desk, to make sure you keep hydrated during the day. Hydration is the key to obtaining radiant skin! 

2. Don’t forget to cleanse

If you work from home, you’re probably scaling back your usual makeup routine. However, your skin will still be collecting dirt throughout the day - that means you’ll still need to remove grime, sweat, and pollution before you go to sleep and cleanse it properly. Repeat the process until the cotton pad comes away clean. This step prepares your skin to absorb ingredients from your day/night moisturiser or other skincare products more efficiently. 

Choose a gentle cleanser that also hydrates your skin and does not disrupt the skin barrier. 

3. Exfoliate weekly

Gentle exfoliation will remove dead skin cells accumulated from dry air, leaving your skin smooth and radiant. A well-known benefit of exfoliation is helping your moisturiser absorb better, according to Rozina Ali MD, a top-rated plastic surgeon in London.

Exfoliating once a week is more than enough - you don’t want to damage the outer skin layer because this will lead to even more dryness. 

4. Use SPF when going outside

Most people think SPF is recommended only during summertime when the sun is up and the UV index is at its highest. Actually, it’s essential to continue using SPF even when it gets cold, as UV rays get reflected off the snow and can cause serious damage to your exposed skin. 

So don’t forget your sunscreen next time you go out! 

Here are Rozina Ali’s top tips for lockdown skincare so you can have beautiful, healthy skin! Need more skincare advice? Get in touch!