Dr Ginni Mansberg, Co-Founder and CMO of Evidence Skincare (ESK) is a well-known celebrity doctor in Australia. She is a Sydney GP on TV with Embarrassing Bodies Down Under (Channel 9), Sunrise & Morning Show (Channel7), as well as Medicine or Myth (SBS) She hosts much loved podcasts including Things You Can’t Talk About on TV and Drivetime Medical. She’s also a speaker, author, and Board member of the Influenza Coalition, The Jodi Lee Foundation and a Foundation member of The Asia Pacific HPV Coalition.
We chat to Dr Ginni about all things winter skin.
Winter is notorious for wreaking havoc on skin and drying it out. Why does the cooler weather have an impact on our skin, and what skin conditions might some of us experience?
Winter can be brutal on skin. That often means increased redness, dryness and irritation. In fact, according to ESK’s data in Australia, we see those three concerns peak in August and September and are at their lowest between December and February. Redness peaks as a concern for about 60% of users (vs 50% in summer); Sensitivity at 39% (vs. 27% in summer) and Dry skin at 29% (vs. 19% in Summer). There is a strong link between those concerns. Dry skin often has a compromised barrier, which makes it more sensitive and often results in Redness (an inflammatory response). And in winter because the air is colder it can hold far less moisture than the warm air in summer. So winter air tends to be drier and going back to school science that increases the moisture gradient and means more water loss from our skin (or Trans epidermal Water Loss – TEWL). Couple that with wind and our skin cops it. But when you add long hot showers and baths into the mix, that can result is a lower oil content on the surface of the skin so the surface of our skin has less of a protective shield to start with
How do we maintain our skin’s integrity when confronted with so many environmental irritants, such as heaters and blue light?
The three tricks to looking after skin in these sort of conditions are 1) avoid things that compromise the skin barrier, that means protecting from UV rays and given that UVA (aging rays) are there in winter too, that means every day of the year. It also means avoiding long hot showers and baths, spending too long in front of a heater to warm up and avoiding putting things on the skin that can irritate or dry it. The most common culprit is soap (because of its high pH). 2) Use moisturising ingredients which help the skin retain water. There are 3 types of moisturising ingredients which can either attract water (humectant), form a smooth film on the skin (emollient) or block water loss from the skin (occlusive). In winter, you will need a “heavier” moisturiser which has more emollients and occlusive ingredients. “Heavier” is not a scientific term, but often you can feel whether a moisturiser sticks around for a while after application (heavy) or it feels like there is nothing there. Not the most scientific way of choosing a moisturiser for winter, but practically it usually works. These moisturising products may come in the form of creams or oils. The form doesn’t matter, only the function does. And 3) use ingredients that help the skin improve its natural ability to retain more moisture like Lactic acid and Vitamin B3.
Speaking of irritants, many of us are working from home. What impact does stress have on our skin?
Writing this with half the country in lockdown. So while we are dealing with a dry winter environment, we may also be dealing with increased levels of stress. And while the exact mechanism isn’t understood, increased stress can see our skin freaking out with Acne, Eczema and Psoriasis flaring up.
Should we adopt a winter specific skincare regimen or can our favourite summer products be just as effective all year round?
Winter might see us wanting to change our skincare regime a little by looking for a more moisturising version of the products we use, or adding an additional moisturiser. It also may mean that if our skin gets dry it may become more sensitive and some ingredients (like Glycolic acid) may irritate the skin, where they wouldn’t in more humid months. If that happens, cut those ingredients out until your skin settles down. But as for active ingredients most help us with skin conditions where treating them is a marathon, not a sprint. That goes for aging, acne and pigmentation, where slow and steady with year-round use, is the way to go. One active that may be a useful winter addition are Ceramides, which are showing real promise for helping settle skin with compromised barrier function and may be a great winter addition to your routine.
There is a misconception that we can forego certain skincare products, like SPF, during winter. Why is it important to continue using SPF during the cooler months?
With so much focus on SPF and using sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun’s UVB rays and there from burning, there isn’t enough talk about UVA. UVA – the sun’s aging rays are there year-round from sun up to sun down and they penetrate glass! And give that UV exposure is estimated to account for 80% of premature skin aging, a broad-spectrum sunscreen should be the cornerstone of every skincare regime. And if we need another reason to use board-spectrum sunscreen every day of the year, based on a study of Melanoma rates in countries which regulated UVA protection in sunscreen with those that didn’t, it seems that a lower levels of protection from UVA rays in sunscreen may be associated with higher rates of Melanoma too.
Is winter a good time to combat pigmentation in prep of the warmer months?
Managing pigmentation is often really hard, regardless of whether the job falls to skincare or in clinic treatments. It often takes a long time (3 months or even longer) for results to start showing and hard fought gains can easily be lost. While there isn’t fundamentally a good or bad time to start targeting pigmentation, if you are thinking of in-clinic treatments, some of them will leave your skin particularly sensitive to UV, so depending on your lifestyle it might make sense for you to do those treatments in winter.
Many Australians generally avoid topical oils in fear of clogging their pores and breaking out. Is winter a good time to experiment with face oils – and if so, what oils are good for the skin?
There are so many different types of oils, with differing levels of comedogenicity (risk of causing breakout) and emollient and occlusive moisturising properties. To our mind, it isn’t important whether one is using an oil or a cream, so much as the effect it has on your skin.
Lip care is often overlooked. What can we do to maintain a healthy pout?
For many of us, the part of our face that suffers the most in winter are our lips. The skin on our lips is actually different from that on the rest of our face, it’s a continuation of the skin inside our mouths. While there are limited studies on the topic, the general recommendation for looking after your lips is to use a moisturising ingredient which locks water into the skin. The best we can suggest is avoid licking your lips and trying different balms until you find one you like… It’s an area where we would love to develop an evidence based product.
What skincare products are you currently enjoying at the moment?
So obviously it’s going to be one of my ESK products. But unlike kids, I do have favourite products and this is a three way tie. Between our Reverse C Serum – A Vitamin C Serum in an oil base. It’s moisturising, it brightens the skin and its one of my favourite anti-aging ingredients. The second is our Enlighten a depigmentation product, which has a beautiful feel, it’s moisturising, gentle and the longer I use it the more I love it. You don’t get amazing results as quickly as many of our other products, but the gradual improvements really do reward patience and persistence. And the third is our Ultimate A. With Retinal (Vitamin A) and Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) it is our hero product for a good reason. Not only do those ingredients have great anti-aging and depigmentation properties, but Retinal is unlike almost all other forms of Vitamin A. Fir reasons that I don’t understand, it’s hardly ever used in skincare and that is despite the fact that It has really good evidence for Aging, Acne, Depigmentation and Rosacea and it is really well tolerated. My Rosacea prone skin not only tolerates this product – it loves it!
Any last tips on how we can put our best face forward during winter?
If you are starting out on a skincare journey, your needs will be particular to your skin type and concerns. So investing a little time up front to personalise your regime will pay dividends. And if you do start a new regime your skin may take some time to settle in. Expect help with both choosing and settling in to your regime. But once you get settled in, quality products should not only deliver real results, but should also be a pleasure to use.
To find out more about ESK, please visit www.eskcare.com.
