Winter tends to be a trying time in the skincare department. With dropping temperatures, less moisture in the air, and more time spent inside with the heater blasting, dry, red, and flaky skin can feel impossible to avoid. If you’re 40 or older, the age at which your skin is generally considered mature, then these issues can have even more of an impact on the overall health and integrity of your dermis.
Although anti-aging is the buzzword thrust upon femme-identifying humans the second any new creases appear on our faces, we’re firm believers in the power and beauty of all people at every age. But of course, there are things we can do to keep our skin looking healthier, fresher, and, by proxy, more youthful into our 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. To get the scoop on the products and practices that best support mature skin during the winter, we tapped Olga Lorencin, celebrity facialist and founder of her eponymous skincare line, to tell us what’s what. She’s the skin master credited for keeping Halle Berry’s complexion bright and youthful all these years, so yeah, we’d say she knows what she’s talking about.
Keep scrolling for Lorencin’s favorite products and tips for the best winter skincare for mature skin.
We’re well aware that overexfoliation is especially prevalent in the winter when the skin is at its most vulnerable, but it’s still important to encourage cell turnover to ensure your skincare can do its job. “First and foremost, continue to exfoliate,” Lorencin instructs. “Ageless Facial in a Box is an absolute must! It will exfoliate, hydrate, and plump without stripping the skin.” She calls out its ingredient succinic acid as a hydrating hero and an absolute must for any mature skincare regimen.
“Dryness, sensitivity, and redness can be caused by exfoliating with acids that are too strong,” Lorencin says. But for those who do not have sensitive or sensitized skin, she says her signature Red Carpet Facial in a Box is appropriate to use. It’s a bit more intense, but its potent mix of AHAs can help to detox the skin and leave it visibly smoother after just one treatment. “It is important to exfoliate but not overexfoliate,” she warns. “Oftentimes, skin is dry in the winter and lacks natural oils in the skin, so it’s easy for it to become sensitive and red.”
These two-step peel pads are soaked in lactic, mandelic, and citric acids. Though the brand’s Universal Peel Pads are often touted as the go-to, these gentler ones are great for anyone dealing with age- or season-related sensitivity who stills wants to stay on top of their exfoliation regimen.
Lactic acid is another gentle acid Lorencin says is perfect for mature skin. She says it’s unique in that it also hydrates the skin, so your chances of experiencing dryness from using it are even lower.
On top of the external factors that can lead to dry skin, Lorencin says that drops in certain hormones can trigger dryness as well. “During the winter, it would mean you need to use a richer moisturizer,” she explains. She recommends this one from her eponymous skincare line that has tons of nurturing ingredients like ceramides, olive leaf extract, and Siberian ginseng root extract.
This affordable cream defends against premature aging using an antioxidant called coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, and beta-carotene to protect against free radicals and deeply moisturize the skin.
Instead of drowning your skin in ingredients that just overwhelm it, this moisturizer helps your skin cells thrive using the brand’s patent-pending Hydra-Siren Capsule technology to deliver ingredients only to damaged cells. It features five different kinds of hyaluronic acid, vitamins C and E, peptides, alpha hydroxy acids, and a blend of luxe oils to deeply hydrate and nourish the skin.
This beloved moisturizer is packed with fats and ceramides that keep the skin bouncy, plump, and deeply moisturized.
Lorencin says that, for mature skin, doing all you can to maintain moisture is the name of the game during the winter. She suggests mixing a few drops of oil into your moisturizer to help on this front and emphasizes the importance of selecting high-quality oils to ensure a healthy glow. This one boasts a powerful blend of organically sourced olive oil and organic olive leaf water to plump and nourish the skin.
A good marula oil is always a good idea.
Squalane is a super-lightweight oil famous for its ability to mimic the oils naturally present in the skin, thereby helping to regulate oil production and mitigating the risk of clogged pores.
This best-selling oil calls in hydrating ingredients from the sea to seal moisture into the skin.
Since collagen production and cell function in the skin become less efficient as we age, Lorencin points out that it’s important for those with mature skin to have products in their regimens that help support those functions. “Peptides are one of my all-time favorite ingredients because they signal to your cells to repair themselves and also help produce collagen,” she says.
This clean formula supports the driest, most reactive skin types with nourishing plant extracts and a pro-grade peptide complex that supports collagen production.
Lorencin also calls out stem cells as a staple ingredient for replicating healthy cells. “While not too many stem cells have the ability to enter your skin, they are still helpful in replicating your healthy cells,” she explains. She says this serum by AnteAge is her favorite.
This spendy cream became an instant cult favorite as soon as it hit the market a couple of years back because of TFC8, the brand’s proprietary technology that helps to reawaken dormant stem cells in the skin. If you want to give your skin the best chance at repairing itself and glowing brighter than ever, try this.
No matter the question, water is pretty much always the answer. This is especially true when it comes to skin, so serums like this one are great for attracting and holding water inside of it. It has some of the best hydrating ingredients, including silver ear mushroom and hyaluronic acid, which Lorencin says are some of the most powerful tools for combating dehydration in mature skin.
And if you want to take an extra step toward optimum skin hydration, Lorencin recommends keeping a humidifier in your bedroom. This one is portable, so you can encourage moist, dewy skin anywhere, anytime.
Thousands of Amazon reviewers agree that this sleek humidifier is perfect to keep at your bedside because it’s super quiet. Plus, it looks so dang chic.
When in doubt, drink some water! Up next, This Often Overlooked Makeup Hack Practically Guarantees Glowing Skin at Any Age
