Winter Skincare Routine: 5 Things to Do Right Now!
The temps have dropped and we’re pulling our winter puffers from the back of our closets. Yep, it’s that time of the year, winter is here, and that means in addition to changing up your wardrobe, you’ll also need to make some changes to your skincare routine. Here’s what that means for your skin.
It’s Time for a Thicker Moisturizer
That lightweight mattifying moisturizer you relied upon in warmer months isn’t going to do the trick once the weather starts to change. When it’s cold enough to crank up the heater in your home, it creates a dry environment that leaves your skin feeling parched. This is when it’s time to invest in a luxe moisturizer—and we don’t mean high-end, we mean thick.
Choose an option that has intense hydration without clogging the pores. We recommend looking for a moisturizer with ceramides, which replenish the fatty acids in your skin and help rebuild your skin barrier. This is important, because when your skin barrier becomes weakened, you can experience dryness, irritation, and eczema.
Scale Back on Exfoliation
Fall and winter aren’t the best times for scrubbing the heck out of your skin. Even though it can be tempting to exfoliate when your skin is dry and flaky, it can further compromise your skin barrier, causing an endless cycle of more dryness and inflammation. This applies to physical exfoliants and chemical exfoliants—although some chemical exfoliants are okay to use, as long as you reduce the frequency.
A glycolic acid mask can be safely used once a week, provided you follow the directions on the jar (i.e., don’t leave it on your face for two hours while you do yoga in your pajamas).
Use a Humidifier
If you don’t have a humidifier in your home, it’s time to buy one! And if you work in an office that’s dry AF during the winter months, you can even buy a desktop-sized humidifier that plugs into the USB port of your computer. These little humidifiers add moisture to the air, which is then absorbed into your skin, helping prevent dryness, flaking, and irritation.
Don’t Forget About Your Body
Your face isn’t the only skin that needs some TLC in the fall and winter—you also need to show the rest of your body some love, which means slathering on body lotion or butter as soon as you get out of the shower. This will go a long way towards preventing dryness, itching, and irritation. Here are some more tips to help you avoid winter skin.
Consider a Sleeping Pack
A sleeping pack, or overnight mask, is a great addition to your nighttime skincare routine in the fall and winter, especially if you have dry, sensitive, or aging skin. Despite the name, they’re not a mask in a traditional sense—instead of something like a clay mask that sits on top of your skin until you wash it off, sleeping packs are more like a super thick face cream.
These masks bring a whole new meaning to the phrase “beauty sleep” by working to moisturize, replenish, and rejuvenate your skin overnight. You’ll wake up to plump, dewy skin that’s intensely hydrated.
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