Winter is already around the corner and with it, the drop in temperatures that is slowly beginning to be perceived in most of Spain. A drop in thermometers and a change in environmental humidity that generally affect the texture of our skin.

This is one of the main reasons why with winter also we need to make extra effort in our facial routine and therefore those classic redness normally appear in the area of ​​the cheeks, nose or ears. Redness that can sometimes even end in eczema, itching or simply redness and that normally appear when we move to warm indoor spaces after the cold outside.

They appear more frequently in people with sensitive, clear and thin skin. We will tell you the cause of this redness on the skin due to the cold and why it usually affects young children and women over 25 years of age to a greater extent.

Why does skin turn red in the cold?

To understand the reason for this redness of the skin with low temperatures, it is important to first understand that human beings are not made to withstand the harsh winter conditions that other living beings can endure.

Evidence of this is that to survive during the winter season, human beings need warm clothing so that the heat generated by our own body does not escape to the outside, thus preventing our body temperature from dropping drastically.

Precisely so that this does not happen, Our body activates a defense mechanism with the drop in temperatures. to maintain a certain body temperature that allows the body to continue carrying out vital functions without difficulties.

One of the best-known mechanisms that our body puts into operation to control this temperature is shivering. An action that causes the muscles to do work and generate the heat they need to compensate for a possible drop in temperature in our body.

But this is not the only mechanism to control it. In fact, another of them is directly related to that redness of the skin typical of the winter season.

A redness that normally It usually affects the area of ​​the ears, cheeks or nose, while the rest of the body turns pale. Something that is directly related to the redistribution of blood and to that second method of the body to avoid losing heat. To achieve this, the body causes vasoconstriction of the small blood vessels in the skin, the capillaries, which when they contract reduce the flow of blood, thus preventing the loss of body heat.

As blood flow is reduced, cells receive less oxygen and nutrients, causing the skin to pale, become more fragile, or even become dry and cracked.

Redness, on the other hand, usually appears when we go from a cold place to the warmth of somewhere insidethe reason this happens has to do with the fact that with heat the capillaries dilate again, increasing blood flow again.

The fact that this redness occurs first in certain areas of the face such as the cheeks or ears, is directly related to the fact that it is in these areas where there are more blood vessels, this is the main reason why these areas stand out above all. all the others. It is in them where there is a greater blood supply after having gone through the opposite effect of the cold.

Why is it more common in women and children?

This redness of the skin when we go from cold to heat is usually more visible in thin and fragile skin and is normally accompanied by heat or a feeling of tightness.

Normally this is a temporary redness, but this can also occur long-term in some cases; This is one of the main reasons why it is important to adequately protect the skin in order to avoid other related pathologies such as erythrosis, couperose or rosacea, among others.

This type of redness appears more frequently in people with thin skin and more sensitive skin, being common in young children due to their thinner skin and in women with sensitive skin and a tendency to vasoreactivity, especially after the age of 25. This type of redness can also occur in men but less frequently.

How to protect your skin in winter?

If you have thin and sensitive skin, the best way to take care of it during the cold months and prevent redness from getting worse is to provide your skin with a series of essential care in your daily routine:

• Cleanse the skin with micellar water, gels or soft milks that help hydrate and soothe.

• Use a toner without alcohol or irritating products.

• Hydrate and nourish the skin with serums and moisturizing creams that restore the skin’s protective barrier, hydrate and soothe.

• Don’t forget sun protection in winter either.

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