It may keep us cosy, but central heating wreaks havoc with our skin

The higher we turn up the heating, the drier the air becomes. Result? Water harnessed on the surface of our skin quickly evaporates. Lacking in lipids, our skin dries out at a rate of knots. And when we have dehydrated skin, its protective sheath can no longer do its job. What's more, when we step outside, our skin can suddenly be confronted by temperature drops of 20°C. Which is why it stings and reddens. As winter wears on, small blood vessels in our skin have to bear the brunt of central heating turned on full blast.

The hotter it gets, the quicker our skin dries out and cracks. Dry as a bone, it feels tight, whilst wrinkles and crow's feet deepen. Some people may find that red patches crop up on the sides of their nose. Particularly those of us with fair or thin skin. In short, our naturally transparent epidermis will show up the slightest wintertime flaw. Central heating also damages our pout. Lip skin doesn't have sweat glands, meaning it can't keep itself hydrated and becomes easily chapped.

Radiator humidifiers work a treat. They'll raise the humidity in a room and prevent your skin from drying out. But sometimes that's not enough. Our skin needs lipid-rich, regenerating care for its protective barrier to function. How? In a nutshell moisturise like you've never moisturised before! Apply moisturisers suited to your skin type.

Oily skin? Go for a moisturiser that's gorged with water rather than oil. Normal to dry skin? Opt for water-based emulsions that contain oil. As your skin's prone to drying out, it needs to be pumped full of fats AKA lipids. You can also give your skin a wintertime boost by applying moisturising face masks that will deeply hydrate your epidermis. Treat yourself to an overnight face mask - you'll wake up to supple, comfy and, most of all, deeply moisturised skin.