Brrrr… It’s getting cold outside! With any seasonal change it’s a good idea to tailor your skin care to the changing climate, and with winter now upon us you want to make sure you protect your skin against harsh winter dryness.
Winter poses a double threat: icy cold conditions outside combined with dry indoor heat. This makes it difficult for your skin to regulate and harder for the skin to repair itself. Moisture loss causes small cracks in our skins’ protective barrier, these cracks can create an inflammatory response which can make skin more susceptible to flare-ups of psoriasis and eczema.
To help with this, you should be adding some moisture rich treatment products to your skin care routine. Here are some winter skin care tips and tricks to get you through the season.
For your face
Gentle exfoliation
It’s not unusual, and is actually advisable, to exfoliate more regularly in the winter as we tend to have a build up of dead skin cells as a result of winter dryness. You don’t want to over exfoliate dry skin however, so it’s important to use a product that gently exfoliates either daily or 2-3 times a week. Eminence has amazing exfoliating cleansers that use smooth, rounded particles for mechanical exfoliation or natural astringents for enzymatic exfoliation & toning. For oily skin try the Citrus Exfoliating Wash, and for dry skin try the Blueberry Soy Exfoliating Cleanser.
Use a heavier moisturizer
Up your daily moisturizer by switching to a heavier cream moisturizer. Even if you have oily or problem skin, you need a little extra moisture kick in the winter so opt for an oil-free moisturizer like the Sugar Plum Oil-Free Revitalizer to hydrate without clogging your skin. For normal to dry skin, the Coconut Age Corrective moisturizer is absolutely luxurious! You can (and should!) add a night cream to your bedtime routine no matter what your skin type, we suggest the Blueberry Soy Night Recovery Cream to repair your dehydrated skin.
Don’t forget your lips
Everyone hates dry, chapped lips! Before you reach for your usual chap stick however, be aware that certain ingredients in conventional drug store chap stick actually make your lips worse. The usual culprit is petroleum – a petroleum based lip balm won’t deeply treat dryness… in fact they make it worse which is why you need to apply it 50 times a day to get relief. Switching to a petroleum free lip treatment like the Eminence Citrus Lip Balm will make a world of difference because it absorbs fully and deeply moisturizes your lips. You can take it one step further and give your pucker a mini facial complete with exfoliator and masque by using the Eminence Lip Treatment Trio.
You still need SPF
People have a tendency to forget about sun protection in the winter. Just because the rays aren’t blazing hot doesn’t mean the UV is less damaging to your skin! You can easily keep this up by using a daily moisturizer with SPF like the Red Current Protective Moisturizer.
For your body
Exfoliate
Have you noticed a reoccurring theme here? Exfoliation is so very important! We have discussed the advantages of sugar scrubs vs. salt scrubs in another article about summer skin care, and this applies here as well. A delicious Eminence sugar scrub will clear away dryness and help treat those problem areas like elbows, knees, and feet.
Layering
Layering is not just for your wardrobe in the winter time! Get long lasting moisture by layering your products: use a moisturizing body wash in the shower and follow with a hydrating body oil that will lock in moisture all day long!
Extra tips & tricks
Here are a few little extra tips that you can use to banish winter dryness and keep your skin baby soft:
- Use a non-alcohol hand sanitizer – keep the cold bugs at bay without drying out your hands (Tea Tree & Mint Hand Sanitizer)
- Treat with product at night, and seal it it – apply product to trouble areas (i.e. hands & feet) and seal it in by sleeping with cotton socks or gloves (even just keeping socks or gloves on for 30 minutes after applying your product can make a big difference).
- Pick the right PJs – natural fabrics are less irritating for sensitive skin types, especially those eczema. Stay away from itchy fabrics like wool or synthetics.
- Tone down the hot showers – Hot water is tempting when it’s cold out, but this can actually pull the moisture out of your skin. Always moisturize immediately after your shower or bath.
- Moisture on the go – keep hand cream in your purse so you can zap dryness while you’re out & about.
So there you have it! Bundle up and keep warm this winter, and don’t forget to take care of your skin too 🙂 Don’t want to head out into the cold to go shopping? We’ve got you covered – You can shop for Eminence Skin Care in our virtual store and get your products delivered directly to your home!