The winter season in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the most “yin” time of year. Yin moves inward and in winter everything contracts. Trees and plants bring their life force inward to their roots and center to keep it safe until spring. Fish and insects wriggle down into the mud and sleep, while animals bury themselves in their dens and burrows, hibernating to conserve energy.
Our life energy also moves inward, driving us to stay indoors, warm, cozy, quiet, and protected in the wintertime.
Our Skin in Winter
Winter skin is working hard to adapt to the changing environment. Cold dry air, wind, or forced heat, can leave your skin painfully dry, or even trigger flare-ups in eczema, TSW, and psoriasis.
It’s definitely time for soothing moisturizers and barrier protection for your skin, especially for any skin exposed to the elements. And when you are outside, please wear gloves and wrap a scarf loosely around your face to keep skin covered from the worst of the wind and cold air. When you are indoors, use a humidifier or vaporizer to keep the air in your home moist and comfortable.
Another stressor for skin is rapid changes in temperature. If you’ve just been outside and your skin is cold, it’s best to wait a bit when you get indoors before plunging your hands under a hot faucet. Wash with lukewarm or cool water – not hot – if your skin is feeling dry or has just been exposed to the cold. Overdoing very hot baths and showers in the winter can also dry out your skin. Consider warm baths and showers if you suffer from skin conditions, and always moisturize after bathing.
Cold weather can prompt your sebum glands to produce more sebum to protect against dry skin. This can lead to more acne flare-ups in the wintertime. That’s why regularly cleansing your skin is still important in the winter – along with gentle exfoliation if you need it – followed by plenty of nourishing moisturizer.
Minding Our Internal Health
Our skin is only one part of our complete health profile. The condition of our skin can reflect how balanced or imbalanced our internal health status is.
Now, more than ever, is the time to nourish the deeper internal organ systems with vitamin-rich soups, stews, and herbal teas. Soups and caffeine-free teas also keep your body and skin hydrated. Dehydration is just as much of a problem in the winter given the dry air and the work our bodies do to stay warm.
It’s also important to model nature and allow yourself to rest and relax more, conserving your energy so that your body can protect itself from stress or illness.
Inner Work During Winter
Since everything contracts and moves inward, this is also part of the reason some people are prone to depression in the wintertime. Daylight is scarce, there is less activity in nature, and we can feel more isolated or stuck as everything slows down. It takes more work to stay positive or to reach in and pull out the motivation we need to get outside, or call someone to stay connected.
Many who suffer from skin conditions can also struggle with depression, so wintertime can be hard. Please seek the help of a mental health counselor if you feel like you have more than just the winter blues.
Going inward in the winter can also mean it’s a good time for inner work. Now is a time for reflection, journaling, taking stock of our goals and dreams for the future and making a list of what changes we might need and what steps we can take to become who we want to be.
Winter is also a great time to take up a meditation practice, or meditative and restorative movement like yoga, qigong, or tai chi. These practices are slow, relaxing, and help you stay centered while offering tremendous health benefits.
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About the Author
Olivia Hsu Friedman, LAc, Dipl.OM, DACM, Cert. TCMDerm, is the owner of Amethyst Holistic Skin Solutions and treats Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, and TSW. Olivia treats patients via video conferencing using only herbal medicine. Olivia is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Acupuncturists, serves on the Advisory Board of LearnSkin, and is a faculty member of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Group sponsored by the National Eczema Association.