THE SKIN EDIT · SEASONAL SKIN
Winter Skin: How to Adjust Your Routine Without Giving Up Your Retinoid
Every year the weather turns colder and you start noticing changes in your skin. Tight after cleansing, flaky in places, stinging at products that were perfectly fine in August. The good news is you’re not imagining it, and it’s largely fixable.
Cold air holds less moisture than warm air, indoor heating drops the humidity further, and skin can produce less oil when it’s cold. In short: less hydration, less protection and more opportunity for water to escape.
That’s usually when the retinoid gets the blame. It’s almost never simply the retinoid. Nothing about it has changed. The air has.
What is a retinoid?
Retinoid is the umbrella term for a family of vitamin A derived compounds. Retinol, retinaldehyde (usually called retinal) and tretinoin are all retinoids, they aren’t interchangeable, and the strongest option isn’t automatically the best one for your skin.
The difference is how much work your skin has to do. Tretinoin is already in its active form (retinoic acid). Retinal is one conversion step away from it. Retinol is two. Those conversions vary between individuals, while the formulation also affects delivery and tolerability. This is why percentages on retinol, retinal and tretinoin labels cannot be compared directly, and why seemingly similar products can behave very differently on different faces.
Stronger is not the goal. Well tolerated and used consistently is the goal, and a gentler retinoid you stay on all year does more than a stronger one you abandon every November.
Should you stop using retinoids in winter?
No. Reduce the frequency, buffer the application, and support the barrier around it. Stopping means losing the tolerance you have built and going through the adjustment period all over again.
Not everyone needs to change their winter skin routine. If your skin is comfortable, carry on. The adjustments below are for when it isn’t.
Retinoids are the most evidence-backed ingredient most people have in their routine, and consistency over years is where the benefit actually comes from. Three months off every winter is a significant proportion of the year to lose.
What to change instead:
- Lower the dose. If you are on a prescription formula, ask your prescriber to adjust it for you. If you are using something over the counter, drop to a lower concentration rather than stopping.
If changing dose isn't a readily available option, drop the frequency rather than the product. Alternate nights, or two nights in three, until the skin settles.
- Apply to completely dry skin. Retinoids penetrate more readily on damp skin, which sounds efficient but is the fastest route to irritation.
- Don’t stack other actives on the same night. Use vitamin C in the morning, and use exfoliating acids either in the morning or on evenings when you are not using your retinoid. Some acids, particularly AHAs, can increase sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, so daily broad-spectrum SPF is essential.
- Use less than you think. A pea-sized amount for the whole face is genuinely enough.
- Buffer it as a temporary measure, which is where the sandwich comes in.
Why does skin get drier in winter?
In winter, cold air and indoor heating reduce the humidity around your skin, encouraging more water to escape from its surface. Sebum levels may also fall in colder conditions, leaving less natural oil to slow that water loss.
Wind, frequent cleansing and long, hot showers can place the barrier under further strain by disrupting the lipids that help hold it together. Products that felt perfectly comfortable in summer may then begin to sting or irritate.
A compromised skin barrier is the main reason I see products suddenly begin to sting in clinic. The products haven’t changed. The skin they are going onto has.
What is the sandwich technique?
Moisturiser, then your retinoid, then moisturiser again. Supporting the skin barrier on either side can make a retinoid easier to tolerate when you are starting treatment or when your skin becomes dry or irritated.
It may sound as though you are diluting the treatment, but the aim is simply to make it more comfortable to use. A retinoid you can tolerate consistently three nights a week is more useful than one you apply aggressively and abandon in November.
Allow the first layer of moisturiser to settle before applying your retinoid. Once the retinoid has absorbed and the skin feels dry, usually after a few minutes, apply the final layer of moisturiser. Avoid rubbing the products together immediately. Use a plain, unfussy moisturiser without exfoliating acids or other potentially irritating active ingredients.
Which moisturiser suits winter skin?
Usually, something heavier than you were using in summer, and something that supports the barrier rather than only sitting on top of it.
Aestura Atobarrier 365 cream and SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore are the two I always come back to when skin needs a bit more support.
Everything I recommend is kept in one place, so you can see the full list rather than piecing it together.
The ingredients worth looking for do two different jobs. Humectants such as glycerin and hyaluronic acid draw water into the upper layers. Barrier ingredients such as ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids help the skin hold onto it. Panthenol and squalane sit usefully between the two. A good winter moisturiser does both, and in dry weather the second job tends to matter more than the first.
One caution about using hyaluronic acid on its own: it is a humectant, not a complete barrier routine. Although it can help hydrate the outer layer of the skin, it does not replace the emollient and occlusive ingredients that help reduce water loss. I usually advise applying a hyaluronic acid or hydrating serum first, then following with a moisturiser to support the skin barrier and seal in hydration.
If your skin is genuinely struggling, you may benefit from layering a hydrating serum beneath a richer moisturiser at night.
Do you still need SPF in winter?
Yes. UVA levels are far more stable through the year than UVB, and UVA passes through window glass. It is the wavelength most associated with ageing and with pigmentation.
The thing that tends to change in winter is the burning risk, not necessarily the ageing one. Sunburn is largely caused by UVB, which tends to drop off sharply in a British winter. UVA does not tend to drop off nearly as much, and it reaches you on a grey day, through cloud, and while you are sitting next to a window.
If you are using a retinoid, sun protection matters more, not less. Retinoids can make the skin more sensitive to sunlight, particularly when they cause dryness or irritation. A broad-spectrum SPF should remain part of your morning routine every day, all year round.
Dr Nabil’s top tricks for getting ahead of winter
None of these require a large investment, and between them they prevent most of what I end up treating in January.
- Change the moisturiser before the weather does, not three weeks after. Most people switch once the barrier is already struggling, which means starting from behind.
- Use two moisturisers if needed rather than one heavier one sparingly. Something light in the morning under SPF, something richer at night. A single heavy cream all day can understandably be uncomfortable and isn't always necessary.
- Damp skin for moisturiser, completely dry skin for the retinoid. The order matters more than the products do.
- Take a fortnight off exfoliating acids at the first proper cold snap, then reintroduce one, once a week. Almost everyone is over-exfoliating by November without realising it.
- If you use a humidifier, put it in the bedroom rather than the living room. This gives your skin seven or eight hours in a less dry environment especially if the heating is on. Keep it clean and well maintained to prevent bacteria or mould from building up.
- If needed, use a thin layer of a bland occlusive overnight on small areas that become very dry or cracked, such as the corners of the mouth and sides of the nose. Be cautious around the eyelids and use only a product suitable for that area and your skin type. Avoid applying an occlusive over your retinoid, as this may increase penetration and irritation.
- Turn the shower temperature down. A hot shower may feel wonderful at the time, but prolonged exposure to hot water can disrupt the skin’s surface lipids and worsen dryness. Keep showers warm rather than hot, and apply moisturiser shortly afterwards.
- If you are planning a treatment with downtime, autumn can be a practical time to book it. UV levels are lower, sun avoidance is often easier, and the diary may be more manageable before the winter rush. The right timing still depends on the procedure and your skin.
- Do not introduce anything new during a flare. Settle the barrier first, then change one thing at a time.
When is it more than winter dryness?
Most winter skin settles within a fortnight once the barrier is supported properly. If it does not, or if any of the following applies, it is worth having looked at rather than treated as a seasonal nuisance.
Redness that does not settle within a few days.
Skin that stings with a plain, fragrance-free moisturiser.
Flaking around the nose and mouth that spreads rather than resolves.
Anything that feels more like a rash than dryness, particularly if it is itchy or has a defined edge.
A sudden change over days rather than weeks.
Cracked or weeping skin anywhere, which needs seeing rather than moisturising.
None of those is necessarily serious. All of them suggest something other than the weather, and several common conditions flare in winter and get mistaken for dryness, which is why guessing at it with richer creams tends not to work.
If you are on a prescription retinoid
Go back to whoever prescribed it rather than stopping or reducing it yourself. Prescription strengths can usually be adjusted, either the formulation, the strength or the frequency, and it’s normally a small change rather than a stop.
Stopping without telling anyone is the most common reason people lose months of progress and then find they can’t tolerate it again in the spring.
If we prescribed it, tell us and we’ll adjust it.
And if your routine has simply stopped working and you are not sure what to change, arrange a consultation. We will look at what your skin actually needs rather than adding another product on top of it.
This article provides general information only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice. What suits your skin depends on your medical history, skin concerns and current routine. Prescription treatments are recommended only after an appropriate consultation and individual assessment.
New patient offer
New patients can currently arrange an initial consultation with Dr Nabil at 50% off. A consultation is the starting point for any treatment: it is where your skin is assessed, your options are explained, and a plan is agreed around what is genuinely right for you. Offer availability depends on diary space at the clinic.
Where to find us
The clinic is at 120 Pall Mall, St James’s, central London SW1Y 5EA, a short walk from Piccadilly Circus, Green Park and Charing Cross.
Patients visit our central London clinic from the surrounding areas, across the UK and internationally, and skincare plans are built around what your skin actually needs rather than a fixed list of products.
Frequently asked questions
Should you stop using retinol in winter?
No. Reduce the frequency and buffer the application temporarily instead. Stopping means losing the tolerance you have built and going through the adjustment period again, and consistency over years is where the benefit comes from.
What is the retinoid sandwich technique?
Applying moisturiser before and after your retinoid. It is a temporary measure that can slow absorption slightly, which reduces irritation without meaningfully reducing how well the retinoid works.
Why does skin get drier in winter?
Cold air holds less moisture, indoor heating lowers humidity further, and sebum production can slow in the cold. Skin loses water to the drier side of it, which in winter is the air around you.
Do you need SPF in winter in the UK?
Yes. UVA levels are much more stable through the year than UVB and UVA passes through window glass. It is the wavelength most associated with ageing and pigmentation, so daily broad-spectrum protection stays in the routine.
Which moisturiser is best for winter?
One that both draws water in and helps the skin hold it: humectants such as glycerin alongside barrier ingredients such as ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids. In dry air the barrier ingredients matter more.
Where is Dr Nabil Jetha’s clinic?
The clinic is at 120 Pall Mall, St James’s, London SW1Y 5EA, in central London. It is a short walk from Piccadilly Circus, Green Park and Charing Cross, and easily reached from across the West End and the City.
If your routine has stopped working and you are not sure what to change, the next step is a proper look at your skin before you buy anything else.
The product links in this blog post are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Only products Dr Nabil uses and recommends himself appear here.
Written and edited by Dr Nabil Jetha and his clinic team. Dr Nabil Jetha, MBBS, BSc (Hons), PGDip (Aesthetics), GMC 7751313, central London. For educational purposes only; individual results vary and any treatment depends on personal assessment.