Avoid these common pitfalls and keep your skin healthy this season!

Red in the face

Cold air can cause flare-ups of rosacea, an inflammatory disorder that results in redness, visible blood vessels and bumps on your face.

The solution:

Cover your face with a scarf outdoors and try some food-based face-fixers.

If rosacea sets in, ask your doctor for a cream containing azelaic acid. President of the South African Melanoma Advisory Board and dermatologist Dr Dagmar Whitaker recommends clearing up the initial flare-up with oral medication (either Minocycline or Isotretinoin) and then controlling future breakouts with a product called Skinoren. This can be used to prevent rosacea but is not strong enough to effectively treat a severe flare-up. The advantage is that Skinoren does not make your skin photosensitive, so it can be used in winter and summer.

Stressing out

During winter cold sores can surface when tension, fatigue or flu sap your immune system. 

The solution:

In this case, Whitaker recommends that prevention is better than the cure. To prevent cold sores from erupting, try to boost your immune system by eating healthily and getting lots of exercise.

Immune boosters containing echinacea and other herbal boosters also may help. If the cold sores still occur, then consider an oral anitviral medication. However, Whitaker recommends this as a last resort. The medication is expensive, it doesn't always shorten the duration of the breakout and can't prevent a future flare-up.

Working in an office

Central heating wrings water out of the air, making dry skin and chapped lips worse. 

The solution:

Eat fatty fish (like salmon and tuna) to repair your skin's outer layer from the inside, and use a humidifier at home to replace what you can’t soak up on the job. Plus, sleeping in 35-percent humidity — where viruses can't survive — cuts your cold risk by 20 percent. Moisturise your face regulary with a moisturising hydrator like Nickel's Super Speed. Try and escape corporate life every now and again.

Saving your scalp

Your scalp releases more oil to protect itself from the cold, which makes skin exfoliate faster. 

The solution:

Scrub your scalp twice weekly with a zinc pyrithione shampoo, such as Head and Shoulders, to help break down skin cells. Lather up and leave in for five minutes, then rinse. Head and Shoulders Classic Clean. Then eat foods that benefit your hair.