Why You Get More Acne in the Winter

Why do some people have more acne breakouts during the wintertime despite having no problems with pimples for the rest of the year? It’s simple really – the air is much dryer in the winter. When the air is much dryer, your skin’s sebum, or natural lubricant, can sometimes go into overdrive to overcompensate for the reduced moisturization. What happens then is you get skin cells that are much more clumped together, resulting in clogged pores, and subsequently acne breakouts.

Sebum production is mostly found around your face’s T-zone. This comprises of your forehead, to your nose, and down to your chin area. This part of your face contains glands that produce your skin’s natural lubricant, and is the area that’s most prone to acne breakouts. Another thing that cold and dry air tends to exacerbate is your skin’s tendency for inflammation. Besides overproduction of sebum, inflammation is also one of the culprits as to why acne breakouts occur. The same can be said during the winter, not just during the summer, so it’s important to treat inflammation when you start noticing it.

The sudden exposure to cold weather can also contribute to pimples suddenly appearing out of nowhere. The fact of the matter is that you’re submitting your skin to physical stress and shock, which in turn  increases your skin’s inflammatory response, making your more prone to breakouts.

So what can you do to avoid winter breakouts if you are prone to pimples? Despite oil-based moisturizers being more suited for winter, you still might want to avoid them. With your skin already producing a lot of sebum, you don’t want to overload it with even more oil. Switching to a mild cleanser to lessen the tendencies of inflammation also works, and also opting for a gentle chemical exfoliation method over an exfoliating scrub will prevent your skin from drying out even more.