10 Winter Skin Updates for Women Over 50

4. Give your neck and chest TLC. 

The neck and chest areas often get no special winter skin care. Not a good thing, since the skin of your neck and décolletage are thinner than body skin, have few sebaceous glands and are constantly affected by fluctuating intense outdoor cold and indoor heat. As home base to scarves and winter sweaters, the neck and upper chest are prime real estate for irritation in addition to the usual wrinkles and saggy skin. There’s no need to splurge on neck and décolletage creams — the same nourishing products you use on your face (again, not those with retinol or AHAs) can be applied from hairline to bra-line now. Try applying an overnight face mask like the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Overnight Rehydrating Mask ($45, bloomingdales.com) or the Olay Deep Moisture Slugging Mask with Shea Butter, Fragrance-Free ($27, walgreens.com) to these spots. It’s a great tip for a winter party or wedding when you’ll be wearing a bare neckline. Those with sensitive winter skin should avoid spraying fragrance directly to the neck, where it can be a potential irritant at this time. Try a warm spicy hair mist such as the Phlur Vanilla Skin Body & Hair Fragrance Mist ($38, sephora.com) or use your signature scent to mist hair and clothes instead.

(Left to right) Pharmaceris Redness Special Soothing Dermo-Cream, Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream and Cetaphil Eczema Restoraderm Rapid Relief Cream.

AARP (Walgreens, Target, CVS)

5. Deal with sensitivity and redness. 

Rosy cheeks can make you look healthy when produced by exercise, a walk in cold air or a creamy blush, but red irritated winter skin is another story. Those prone to rosacea or eczema know the drill, but if you’re new to seasonal redness, opt for a gentle fragrance-free cream with anti-inflammatory ingredients like niacinamide, colloidal oatmeal, licorice root or green tea extract. Many women forget the lubricating value of emollients here, too. Any ingredient that’s a butter, oil or fatty acid works like a topcoat to repair tears and cracks between the cells that encourage irritation. Some effective formulas are the Pharmaceris Redness Special Soothing Dermo-Cream ($26, walgreens.com), the Cetaphil Eczema Restoraderm Rapid Relief Cream ($20, cvs.com) and the Eucerin Eczema Relief Cream ($14, target.com). You can apply any face-soothing cream at chafing spots like necklines, bra bands, and straps and waistbands too. And a final tip: If you haven’t already done so, opt for fragrance-free laundry detergent and dryer sheets, too. Scented laundry products can quietly exacerbate rashes and itch.

(Left to right) Shiseido Urban Environment Fresh-Moisture Sunscreen SPF42, Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum SPF50+, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Moisturizing Face Sunscreen Serum SPF 60, and Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF40 Sunscreen with Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide.

AARP (Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target, Sephora)

6. Update your sunscreen. 

Winter sports and outdoor activities require serious sunscreen. Even on overcast days UV rays are whispering ... gotcha! Winter is a good time to revise your protection strategy and add a hydrating sunscreen to your everyday life, too. Many women skip it, thinking, “The sun is too weak to do any damage.” Wrong: UVA rays penetrate clouds and glass (even when you’re driving or working in front of a window) regardless of the weather. Look for soothing serums like the Kiehl’s Better Screen UV Serum SPF50+ ($45, nordstrom.com) and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Moisturizing Face Sunscreen Serum SPF 60 ($14, target.com) that work under and even over makeup, moisturizer/sunscreen hybrids that nourish aging skin such as the Shiseido Urban Environment Fresh-Moisture Sunscreen SPF42 ($38, macys.com) and moisturizing sunscreen/primers like the Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF40 Sunscreen with Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide ($38, sephora.com), which comes in four radiance-enhancing skin tone tints. All do the job and look subtly glow-y, they but don’t feel greasy or heavy, so you can even wear a cashmere sweater, silk blouse or suede jacket without panicking about stains.

(Left to right) Moroccanoil Body Polishing Scrub, SheaMoisture100 % Virgin Coconut Oil Body Lotion, Naturium The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Butter.

AARP (Kohl’s; Target, 2)

7. Revise your shower and bath strategy.

Every winter, health experts, aestheticians, your neighborhood dermatologist and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) insist we cut out long, hot showers and steamy soaks in the tub, saying they encourage dryness. The pros suggest short five- or 10-minute (max!) lukewarm versions of these small aaah-getting daily luxuries. Let’s be honest — most women over 50 pretty much ignore this advice. The solution? Cut down on heat just a little, shorten your bathing by five minutes, and splurge on a few special emollient products to sweeten the deal. Swap your usual body wash or soap for nourishing creamy formulas and oils and apply body moisturizer immediately to damp (not soaking wet) blotted skin to seal in the moisture (it’s the same ritual as facial moisturizer). Try a gentle fine scrub like Moroccanoil Body Polishing Scrub ($32, kohls.com) with argan, avocado, sweet almond, safflower and grapeseed oils, and follow with a rich body butter such as the Glo by Ganz Dreamsicle Body Butter ($75 for 6.7 oz, globyganz.com) with shea and cocoa butter, coconut and sweet almond oil, or Naturium's The Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Butter ($20, target.com), rich in shea butter, squalane and glycerin.

8. Pay special attention to your nose and lips.

Move in for a close-up. Flakiness and redness on and around your nose and lips can be caused or exacerbated by the weather but also by colds, flu, COVID and other respiratory situations common in winter. Nighttime and indoor time alone are prime slots for applying a thick coat of ointments like the Aquaphor Healing Ointment with No-Touch Applicator ($12, walgreens.com) to nose and lips to lock in moisture and speed healing. Chapped lips are not only painful but are compounded by a cycle of licking your lips. Burning, stinging and tingling are a signal to check your balms and lip products for any that contain camphor, eucalyptus, menthol and flavors like cinnamon, mint, citrus, menthol and peppermint that may be irritating to compromised lip skin. Look for soothing balms such as Hello Sunday's The One For Your Lips SPF50 Hydrating Lip Balm ($12, sephora.com) with hyaluronic acid and squalane, the Nivea Moisturizing Lip Balm ($6 for 2, cvs.com) with jojoba and avocado oil, and the Chapstick Honey Nourish Lip Balm ($9 for 3, target.com) with avocado butter, shea butter and honey. Try adding a humidifier like Hey Dewy Portable Facial Humidifier ($35, heydewy.com) to increase moisture in rooms where you work, sleep and spend most of your time.

(Left to right) SkinFix Eczema+ Ceramide Hand + Foot Relief Cream, Aveeno Skin Relief Hand Cream Intense Moisture, and O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream.

AARP (Sephora, CVS, Target)

9. Keep hand cream in every bag and near every sink.

COVID taught us a lesson in hand care. You simply can’t overdo hand creams when you’re using drying hand sanitizer, washing often or skipping gloves. Mature hands are dry to start with, and it’s easy to develop small cracks, fissures and irritations that require therapeutic hand creams rather than the more appealing fragranced kind. Like sunscreen, the correct hand cream is the one you’ll actually use. Choose a cream that absorbs quickly so you can use your phone and laptop instantly and have no problem doing up zippers or buttons. Three toughies that get consistent raves are the Aveeno Skin Relief Hand Cream Intense Moisture ($10, cvs.com), nongreasy and fast absorbing, the SkinFix Eczema+ Ceramide Hand + Foot Relief Cream ($25, sephora.com) with colloidal oatmeal to soothe and lipids to heal, and the O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream ($8, target.com) with glycerin and urea (a humectant that also softens the skin and breaks down dead cells).

The Crème Shop Moisture Repair Foot Mask (left) and Patchology Rosé Toes Renewing Foot Mask (right).

AARP (Macy’s, Ulta)

10. Pay attention to crusty elbows and heels. 

Some women develop extremely rough, scaly elbows and dry cracked heels in winter. These tend to be thicker-skinned spots, but the issue is exacerbated by friction (you lean on your elbows and heels get the rub in boots and closed shoes). A word of caution: Sometimes patchy, inflamed elbows are due to psoriasis — see your doctor if in doubt. Though gentle use of a body scrub can help while showering or bathing (you can even use leftover face scrub for this, too), the best solution is consistent softening and reduction of the buildup. There are several simple solutions. You can try one-shot disposable foot mask booties like The Creme Shop Moisture Repair Foot Mask ($12, macys.com), infused with almond oil and shea butter, or the Patchology Rose Toes Foot Mask ($10, ulta.com) with shea butter and strawberry oil. Leave them on 20 minutes and massage in the excess or opt for a foot cream with urea like the Beauty Pie Footopia Super Softening Foot and Heel Cream ($30, beautypie.com) that softens and exfoliates dead skin when applied overnight. The easiest and cheapest solution, though, is to apply any cream (body or even leftover face cream work) to clean elbows and feet, and then apply a topcoat of an occlusive ointment like Vaseline Healing Jelly Original or Aquaphor to lock in the moisturizing and softening benefits while you sleep. Just be sure to wear an old clean long-sleeve cotton tee and thin cotton socks as coverage while you snooze to a smooth finish.