One of my favourite things about running FATSKN is when people reach out with questions.
My goal has never been to position myself as someone who has all the answers. It’s to help people see the connections between the inputs we’re exposed to every day, so they can start asking better questions themselves.
Teach a man to fish, right?
So let’s talk about why your skin might suddenly be “asking for more,” and why that doesn’t mean anything is wrong — with you or the product.
Your Skin Didn’t Change. Your Environment Did.
If you live where I live — Calgary — the environmental shift from early fall to early winter is not subtle.
In mid-October, we had:
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Around 10 hours and 40 minutes of daylight
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Daytime highs near 9–10°C
By mid-December:
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Daylight drops to under 8 hours
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Average temperatures sit well below freezing
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Overnight lows regularly hit the –10s
That is a massive swing in a very short period of time.
And skin is not separate from that environment. It is embedded in it.
The Most Overlooked Winter Stressor: Indoor Air
People tend to focus on the cold outside, but the bigger issue for skin is often inside.
Cold air holds very little moisture.
When that air is heated indoors, humidity plummets.
Most sealed homes and condos in winter sit around 20–30% relative humidity — which is comparable to desert air. When I moved in with my husband he was in a condo and that first winter the building humidifier was broken and I kept getting sick and I blame the 20% humidity. The next year it was fixed and I got one cold that winter. Crazy.
Low humidity means:
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Water evaporates from your skin faster
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Barrier repair struggles to keep up
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Redness, tightness, and reactivity increase (hello rosacea, eczema and psoriasis flares)
So when someone tells me they suddenly need to reapply more often, my first thought is not “dependency.”
It’s: your skin is living in a completely different climate now.
Why Less Daylight Matters (And Not for the Reason You Think)
We often think of nighttime as repair time. Darkness triggers melatonin release, and melatonin plays a huge role in cellular repair, inflammation control, and barrier rebuilding.
So here’s the important distinction:
Shorter days don’t mean less night repair.
They mean weaker signals going into the night.
Daytime light does critical “setup work” for the body:
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It anchors circadian rhythm
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It sets the timing and strength of nighttime melatonin
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It supports mitochondrial energy production
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It helps skin synthesize the building blocks it uses later for repair
You can think of it this way:
Day builds the materials.
Night assembles them.
When daylight shrinks (especially if we’re indoors more) nighttime repair still happens, but it often happens less efficiently.
That shows up as skin that feels like it needs more support.
Skin Is an Energy-Dependent Organ
This part is easy to forget because skincare is usually framed as cosmetic.
But skin:
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Maintains a lipid barrier
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Regulates immune responses
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Manages inflammation
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Communicates with the nervous system
All of that requires energy.
Cold, dry air increases water loss.
Shorter days reduce photonic input.
Indoor lighting disrupts circadian signaling.
So the same product that felt “enough” in September may feel insufficient in December — not because it stopped working, but because your skin is working harder just to stay balanced.
A Note on Deuterium (A Hypothesis, Not a Claim)
This is where I want to be very clear and honest.
What I’m about to share is a hypothesis, one that I find biologically coherent and worth considering, but not something I present as settled fact (even though I make choices as though it is haha).
If someone:
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Lives at a high latitude
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Loses significant sunlight in winter
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Continues eating mostly imported foods year-round
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Doesn’t shift seasonally toward warmer, fattier foods
Then it’s reasonable to wonder whether a higher deuterium load combined with lower light exposure could add stress to mitochondrial function.
Why might that matter for skin?
Because barrier hydration isn’t just topical water, it’s also metabolic water, produced by healthy mitochondria.
If energy production becomes less efficient, repair becomes less efficient.
That doesn’t mean deuterium is “the problem”, it means seasonal mismatch might be one of several background stressors.
This isn’t about restriction or fear. It’s about alignment and asking better questions.
Why Needing More Product Isn’t a Failure
Using Copper twice a day in winter isn’t a sign your skin is dependent.
It’s a sign your skin is responding appropriately to:
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Increased water loss
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Reduced repair efficiency
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A more hostile environment
Think of it like clothing.
You don’t wear the same layers in July that you do in January and assume something is wrong with your body when you need a coat.
Skincare should work the same way.
What You Can Do (Beyond Applying More)
Topicals matter, but they work best when the environment stops fighting them.
Here are some high-return changes that actually help:
1. Prioritize Morning Light
Even cold, even cloudy. Outdoor light early in the day strengthens circadian signaling and improves nighttime repair. I do it before I apply any cream so I'm not dulling any signals.
2. Humidify Your Space
Especially your bedroom. Aim for 40–45% relative humidity if possible. This alone can dramatically reduce perceived dryness.
3. Avoid Overheating
Warm yourself with layers instead of blasting heat. Overheated air accelerates moisture loss.
4. Eat With the Season (Gently)
This doesn’t require extremes.
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More saturated fats
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More warm, cooked foods
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Fewer imported fruits and juices in deep winter
Think support, not rules.
5. Apply Strategically
Apply Copper before going outside.
Use heavier fats when wind exposure is high.
The Bigger Picture
I don’t want people to rely on FATSKN forever because they’re afraid not to.
I want people to understand why their skin behaves the way it does — so they can make better choices, ask better questions, and use products as tools, not crutches.
Winter isn’t a failure state.
It’s a different operating environment.
And when you support your skin in context — light, air, food, temperature — everything works better.
Including the products.
If you’ve got questions, keep asking them.
That curiosity is the whole point.