A winter routine that survives air conditioning

Air conditioning is a dehydrating environment in the most literal sense: it removes water from the air, and the air takes it from wherever it can. Skin that behaves perfectly well on a humid evening can feel tight and flat after eight hours at a desk.

Hydration is not the same as moisture

The distinction matters because it changes what you reach for. Dehydrated skin is short of water; dry skin is short of oil. Oily skin can be — and frequently is — dehydrated. If your skin is shiny by midday and still feels tight, you are probably in this group.

The practical answer is to put water somewhere it can be held, then stop it evaporating. A humectant layer on damp skin, followed by something with a little occlusive weight.

The product that works is the one you will actually use twice a day, every day.

What that looks like

• Cleanse without stripping — if your skin squeaks, it is too much
• Apply a watery serum to skin that is still damp
• Seal with a moisturiser matched to the weather, not to the season on the calendar
• Sun protection every morning, regardless of whether you go outside

None of this is complicated, and none of it needs to be expensive. The most common mistake we see is not using the wrong products but using too many of them, changed too often to ever tell what is working.