Jack Frost has officially arrived, and unfortunately, when Winter temperatures start to take a nose dive, so does your skin’s moisture. The cooler months bring with them our favorite boots, the greatest of Wool accessories, and the type of cold that chills your bones, chatters your teeth, and unambiguously embezzles any and all remaining moisture from our otherwise properly tended for skin. While we are busy baking the most delicious of cookies, decorating our trees, and hanging the stockings with care, we are unbeknownst to us, sometimes overlooking one of the most important seasonal switches that needs to occur; the editing and shifting of your skin care products and regimens to adequately reflect our skin’s needs for that season. You are not alone in feeling that your skin is more dry, red and chapped in the Winter…but if the switching up of our skincare products is the tradeoff for that magical feeling that seemingly permeates the air alongside the falling snow, we’ll take it! Mirabella Mag has come up with some great tips to make sure that your skin doesn’t feel the cold sting of the Winter months.
- Although hot showers feel especially amazing in the Winter, by partaking in this practice, you are inadvertently stripping so many oils from your skin. Washing your face with lukewarm water is recommended.
- Change your cleanser. Some cleansers can be too drying during the Winter months. If your regimen includes glycolic or salicylic acids, now is the time to rotate with cleansers containing more moisturizing ingredients.
- Don’t skip the sunblock! Winter sun can be just as, if not more, damaging than the Summer sun.
- Look for moisturizers containing humectants. They include but are not limited to: glycerin, sorbitol, and alpha-hydroxy acids. Humectants have the properties to attract moisture to your skin.
- Try not to leave cleansed skin naked for more than one minute. Immediately apply a hydrating toner followed by a moisturizer to avoid dehydrating the skin.
- Edit your makeup arsenal. Swap out powder foundations and blushes for their liquid or cream counterparts. Keep a primer with neutralizing green tones handy for when skin inevitably reddens out.
- Leave the peels in the Summer! Avoid harsh peels, masks and alcohol based toners. All strip vital oils from the skin. Instead, opt for a cleansing milk, foaming cleansers, alcohol free toners and deep hydrating masks.
- Don’t neglect your lips! “Aquaphor is the ultimate lip fix” David Bank, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Columbia University/Presbyterian Hospital. The corners of the mouth crack when saliva gets trapped there. “The digestive enzymes in saliva break down the skin” says Bank.
- Consider equipping your home with humidifiers (particularly in the bedrooms.) “As soon as you turn the heat on indoors, the skin begins to dry out” Bonnie LaPlante, esthetician at the Canyon Ranch Resort says. “It doesn’t matter if you heat your home with oil, wood or electricity. The skin is definitely going to dry out.”
We encourage you to try to make skin care changes part of your New Year’s Resolution! Time to focus on you! As for the gym…you’re on your own there!
