Monsoon to Winter: 5 Skincare Swaps to Make This Month

If your face has started to feel tight after washing, or your lips are cracking, your skin is telling you the season has changed. October is the awkward month: still warm in the afternoon, dry and cool in the morning, and nobody knows what to put on.

You don't need a whole new routine. Five small swaps are enough, and our winter routine guide goes deeper once you've made them.

1. Gel moisturiser to a slightly richer cream

The thin gel that was perfect in July may stop being enough. Move up one step, not two. Look for ceramides, glycerin, hyaluronic acid or panthenol. If you're prone to fungal acne, richer creams are where triggers hide, so check the label in the pore-clog checker or see which ones passed in our moisturiser scan.

2. Foaming cleanser to a gentler one

A cleanser that felt fresh in humidity can strip skin in dry air. If your face feels squeaky and tight afterwards, switch to a milder cream or gel cleanser, or wash only once a day in the morning.

3. Cut back on exfoliation

If you've been using an AHA or BHA daily during the sweaty months, drop to two or three nights a week, or pause for a few weeks. Dry skin plus frequent acids is a recipe for a damaged barrier. Retinol users can keep going, but buffer with moisturiser and use it less often if you feel dryness.

4. Add a humectant layer

A hyaluronic acid or glycerin serum on damp skin, followed by a moisturiser, works better in dry air than a moisturiser alone. Humectants pull in water, and the moisturiser stops it evaporating. In very dry air a humectant with nothing on top can actually make skin feel drier.

5. Keep the sunscreen

Sun in winter is lower but still there, and UVA doesn't disappear. See do you need sunscreen in winter?. If your summer gel sunscreen feels drying, try a cream formula.

It depends on your city

• Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh: dry and cold; make the swaps now. See city routines for your skin type.
• Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata: humidity stays high for longer. You may only need swap 2 or 3 until December.
• Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad: mild. Add a little more moisture at night and that's about it.

Don't change everything at once

Make one swap every few days. If you change cleanser, moisturiser and actives at once and your skin reacts, you won't know which one caused it. Patch test anything new for a day or two.

Quick answers

When should I switch to a winter routine?

When your skin tells you. Tightness, flaking or rough patches after washing are the usual signs. The date matters less than the symptoms.

Do I still need a night cream?

You need a moisturiser at night. It doesn't have to be a separate "night cream".

My skin is oily. Do I need any of this?

Probably only swaps 2 and 4. Oily skin still loses water in dry air.