Winter is coming and with it the various stereotypes of grunting masculinity that’s about as #woke as a Google Meet invite to Mr Harvey Weinstein’s suite. Instagram, for one, turfs up plaid flannel shirts aplenty, against a wilderness backdrop as if most of us have the Rocky Mountains on our doorstep, and rugged bearded fellows in shaggy knitwear surveying the terrain like Canada Goose-clad shaman. It might not fit this outdated cliché to fret about your skin in winter, but as anyone who has traversed glacial city streets with nose streaming and raw, lips chapped and skin wind-whipped and ruddy. There’s a difference between the quaint rosy cheeks of a Mr Norman Rockwell vignette and looking as if your current living situation is a Siberian gulag.

First up is your moisturising routine, which one reader recently probed us for. Despite the damp weather, skin dries out in winter. This is because of the humidifying effect of the central heating cranked to full and because the colder temperatures strip it.

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What products should I use in the winter?

@joeyolive, via Instagram

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If you’re a regular user of lightweight lotions, now is the time to invest in a heavier moisturiser that provides more of a defence. Your skin cells, much like other extremities if you’ve ever taken up ice swimming in Speedos, literally shrink in cold weather, which makes your skin tighter and irritated. This means you need a heavier kind of cream to absorb into it and provide more dehydration. In particularly extreme cases, this shrinkage can manifest as eczema and psoriasis flare-ups – if you’re prone to such conditions, a sensitive cream with shea butter can help ease such matters.

The colder months can also lead to the exceptionally unglamorous sounding “lip licker’s dermatitis” – see, winter isn’t all about cosy sweaters and dancing firelight – which is effectively eczema on the lips caused by constant licking to moisturise them in the drier air. It’s not a good look in the meeting room, so alongside your wallet and your keys, set off every clear blue morning with a lip balm and apply it regularly.

Your hands are the next stop. I have a friend who works in landscaping and whose hands in winter become a brittle map of rosy fault lines, but even if your day-to-day is more corporate, the cold can take its toll. Start with your hand soap, switching out astringent versions with soap that contains moisturiser in it, and then apply hand cream in the evening (if you’re particularly prone, keep a miniature bottle by your desk).

And just because it’s positively arctic outside, don’t forget the harmful effect of the sun. There are just as many UV rays on a crisp, clear winter’s day as there are in summer, but your skin is at greater risk because you’re less likely to clock the sun and apply an SPF. Make sure your moisturiser contains SPF or add a layer yourself.

Finally, and as a slightly more indulgent note on the theme of winter grooming, it’s worth a shift in gear in your fragrance routine, too. Winter’s the time for richer, darker scents with vetiver, oud and spicy accents. Just add a crackling fire and a warming cocktail.