It’s the season of holiday cheer and dry skin. Winter has a way of making you acutely aware of your own mortal coils — the cold settling into your bones and the air turning arid on your skin. It asks for a little more care than the rest of your year. But when it comes to skincare, what do you look for? The industry is increasingly influencer-led and trend-driven, pushing new launches faster than we can buy them which is antithetical to how skincare actually works — you often need weeks of consistency with a product to see it’s results.

That’s where Homegrown's Winter Edit comes in. In this article, we’ve pulled together a list of Indian skincare brands that have one simple goal: to give you the best of skincare centred around hydration. Everything here is NAFE-safe, meaning no added fragrance, no essential oils, and no common irritants that tend to flare up sensitive or compromised skin. The only exception is lip care, where some oils and flavours are part of the format, but always used in low, skin-safe concentrations. Whether you’re a skincare nerd or a beginner trying to build your routine this winter, this guide will help you choose wisely instead of getting swept up by the hype.

Cleansers, by design, rely on surfactants to do their job — which means some degree of dryness is unavoidable — but in winter, the goal is to choose formulas that clean without stripping your skin. The Minimalist Oat Gentle Cleanser is built around oats, which are known for calming irritation and reducing redness — useful when your skin is already stressed by cold air and indoor heating. The brand also just launched a Ceramide & Vitamin B5 Delicate Cleanser for babies that you can try. The Peace Host Cleanser by Dab To Fab works in a similar spirit, cleaning your skin without leaving it feeling tight. If your face feels dry after washing it, these are the kinds of cleansers that won’t make things worse.

Winter routines benefit from an extra layer of hydration before you move on to serums. This is where milky toners and essences come in. Conscious Chemist’s 7 Ceramides Milky Toner has lipids and barrier-supporting ingredients that immediately makes your skin feel more cushioned. Plum's Cerasense Milky Toner is loaded with ceramide-complex, peptides and probiotics for intensive repair. Minimalist just came out with a new Vitamin B12 + NMF 03% toner with humectants natural moisturizing factors as well. Hyphen’s Hydrating Ceramides Toner-Essence reinforces the skin barrier so the rest of your routine performs better.

Morning routines in winter still need antioxidant protection, especially if you’re dealing with dullness or uneven skintone. Vitamin C helps with that, but gentler formulations are easier to stick to in colder months. Minimalist’s 10% Vitamin C uses a stable derivative that brightens without the sting, making it suitable for daily use. Deconstruct’s Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid Serum adds an extra layer of protection, with ferulic acid helping stabilise the formula while supporting pigmentation control over time.

If hyperpigmentation is a concern — whether from acne marks or sun exposure — winter is actually a good time to address it as the low humidity allows you to layer more products. The Derma Co’s Kojic Acid and Alpha Arbutin Serum targets dark spots directly and works best with consistent night use. Minimalist’s Tranexamic Acid Serum takes a slower, more barrier-friendly approach, focusing on uneven tone without aggressive exfoliation. Hyphen’s Advanced De-Pigmentation Serum brings multiple brightening ingredients together, making it a longer-term option for those who want gradual but steady results.

Dark circles often look worse when the under-eye area is dry, which is why winter eye care is as much about hydration as it is about treatment. For mornings, Chemist At Play’s Hydrating Under Eye Cream focuses on moisture and smoothening, while 82°E’s Rose Boost aims to refresh and de-puff. At night, Minimalist’s Vitamin K and Retinal Eye Cream works more like treatment, addressing fine lines and dark circles while you sleep.

Plum’s Rice Extract and Niacinamide Moisturizer is lightweight but effective, especially if your skin leans combination. Minimalist’s Vitamin B5 Moisturizer is one of the best in repair and hydration, making it useful after actives or retinoids. Dot & Key's new Blueberry Hydrate Barrier Repair Intense Moisturizer brings antioxidant-rich blueberry extract and five ceramides together to intensely hydrate and soften dry, flaky patches while strengthening your barrier. Hyphen’s 2% Cica Exosomes Oil-Free Moisturizer provides hydration for acne-prone and oily skin, and so does 82°E’s Cucumber Quench.

The sun feels especially good in winter — there’s real warmth in it, and most of us enjoy sitting out and basking in that heat — which is exactly why sunscreen remains important. The idea that winter sun is harmless is a misconception, because UVA and UVB rays don’t take any days off. 52 Sundaze’s SPF 50 Sun Milk Crème is designed with dry skin in mind, offering protection while doubling up as a moisturising step. You can also try their Body Glazing Milk with the same sun protection. SEREKO’s 24H Hydration Sunscreen focuses on long-lasting comfort, making it easier to wear through dry days. Moody’s DermaSoothe Mineral Sunscreen is a safer bet for sensitive skin, relying on zinc oxide for broad-spectrum protection. You may not see some popular names like Wishcare or Aqualogica here but that's only because these brands are superior in their advanced filters.

Exfoliating and using retinoids can both be drying in winter, so formulation really matters — exfoliants help clear away dead skin and buildup, while retinoids drive skin cell turnover and remain the hero ingredients for signs of ageing, hyperpigmentation, acne control, and honestly anything else you can imagine, which is why they’re still a must-have when used thoughtfully and kept to the night.

Foxtale’s Smooth Sailing AHA-BHA Serum gently improves texture without overdoing it, while Deconstruct’s Salicylic Acid and Niacinamide Serum is useful if you have clogged pores. For retinoids, Deconstruct’s Retinol and Peptide Serum and Foxtale’s Retinol Night Serum are easier entry points, designed to minimise irritation. Earth Rhythm’s Intense Repair Retinol Night Cream and Conscious Chemist’s Retinol Serum work well if your skin prefers richer textures and stronger anti-aging options.

It’s worth flagging that there’s still a noticeable gap in the Indian market when it comes to truly hydrating overnight masks without added fragrance. Dr. Sheth’s Haldi and Hyaluronic Acid Sleeping Mask focuses on hydration and calming inflammation, while Orimii's Overnight Reset Facial Mask is aimed at restoring moisture and strengthening the skin barrier overnight.

Lips are literally one of the first places you’ll feel winter’s bite because the skin there is so thin — just a fraction of the layers you find on the rest of your face — and without oil glands to protect it, they dry and chap faster than anywhere else, which is why dedicated lip care should I really be step number one but we saved the best for the last.

The 82°E Pomegranate Lip Oil combines lightweight oils with ceramides and light SPF, making it useful for daytime hydration without needing a separate balm. Deconstruct’s Hyaluronic Acid Lip Balm (that comes with a night version too) is a straightforward humectant-heavy option that pulls moisture into dry lips and works well as an overnight layer. Earth Rhythm’s Hyaluronic Acid Lip Butter is thicker and more occlusive, better suited for severely chapped lips that need moisture sealed in. D’you’s Tender Lip Nectar focuses on barrier repair with ceramides and emollients, making it a good choice when lips feel raw or over-exfoliated.

If you're looking for a makeup-skincare hybrid product, Hyphen’s Vitamin-Infused Peptide Lip Balms combines peptides with conditioning oils, aimed at maintaining lip softness with regular use. Indē Wild’s Dewy Lip Treatment is oil-based and long-wearing, designed for sustained nourishment with some fun and unique flavours like Masala Chai and Hot Sauce. Vilvah’s Filter Kaapi Lip Balm relies on plant butters and oils for everyday hydration in a simple, no-frills format. The Conscious Chemist’s Peptide Lip Balm is nourishing with some added sun protection, Simply Nam’s Sweet Kisses Lip Balm uses shea butter and vitamin E to support hydration and Kiro’s Ceramide Squalane Drip focuses on sealing in moisture and reducing transepidermal water loss, which is why it works better as a long-wear lip layer.

Happy Winter! and feel free to gift any of these as a thoughtful holiday present to your friends and family.

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