Hello winter and welcome dry, flaky, red skin that’s currently giving you a headache. Don’t you just love the cold weather and how it practically sucks life away from your face and makes you look dull, grey, constantly tired? Where’s that sexy summer glow? Where’s that fresh, dewy look and healthy plumpness? Well, don’t worry. Winter didn’t take it all away, and all your skin need is some tender loving care to get its radiance back. To help you, we’ve prepared a few handy tips that you can use to nurture your skin and make it look amazing.
Avoid long showers
Long, hot showers feel downright luxurious, but they’re not very good for your skin. The heated water can dry it out significantly and even irritate it, so reduce your shower time and rub in a moisturizing lotion immediately after you’ve bathed.
Exfoliate
The grime and dead skin cells tend to pile up more easily during winter, so a weekly scrub is necessary if you want to keep your skin smooth. This will also help it soak in the products you use better and feel soft to touch.
Change your cleanser and moisturizer
You can get away with a light moisturizer in summer, but winter requires something a little heavier, more nourishing. Use a mild cleanser that won’t strip oils away from your skin, and something like St. Ives Timeless Skin Facial Moisturizer that will lock in all the moisture and keep your it velvety. If you have oily or combo skin you can stick to Garnier’s SkinActive Moisture Bomb which is grease-free and won’t clog your pores.
Humidify your room
Central heating dries out the air and can cause irritations and make your face feel rough. To solve this, get a humidifier and keep it in places where you spend the most time, particularly in your bedroom so you could benefit from it overnight. Additionally, humidifiers reduce the risk of infections and diseases because viruses can’t travel as easily through the air, so you might actually avoid getting the flu for this season.
Quality makeup will bring that glow back
Even makeup can be good and nourishing for your skin, and you want to pick a foundation that will cover up imperfections and give you that luminous, blemish-free appearance. Something like Pola Silfique Cream Foundation is a great choice because it has good coverage and hydrates your skin, so it won’t look tired and dull. We recommend that you turn to warm-toned eyeshadow paletteand use shades, such as brown, bronze, gold, and cranberry to complement your skin and bring back some of the summer’s essence.
Hydration on the go
To add a dose of healthy moisture to your face while you’re on the go, keep a can of soothing thermal water with you. Brands like Avene and Uriage offer a travel-sized version of this product so you can easily keep it in your purse and spray it a few times a day to hydrate. This is also a good way to refresh your makeup because the mister spray is so fine, so you won’t have to worry about smudging your mascara or foundation and making it runny.
Less coffee and more water
Coffee is dehydrating, and given that we also tend to drink less water during winter, our skin can dry up pretty quickly. Up your water intake and cut down on coffee a bit to retain more moisture.
Pay attention to nutrition
Beauty comes from the inside because pretty much everything we eat will affect the appearance of our skin somehow. The holidays usually bring some unhealthy eating habits with them, so we consume more spicy, salty, and processed food than usual, and that Christmas candy doesn’t help either. Try eating more fish and nuts which are full of healthy fats, more veggies so you’d get all the necessary nutrients, and other healthy food that will balance your body and keep your skin lush.
Don’t forget sunscreen
Yes, we know it’s winter. Sun damage doesn’t stop once summer ends, and we need to keep our skin protected from the harmful UVA/UVB rays even on the cloudiest of days. This is especially important if you want to avoid wrinkles, as about 80% of them are caused by the sun. It’s also extremely important to pay attention to this step if you are very fair, or have a history of melanoma in your family.
Use facial masks
Winter is the time to pamper ourselves a bit more than usual. Sheet masks once a week are a good way to keep your skin as smooth as satin, but you can also feel free to simply use DIY versions and save yourself some money. Here’s a good recipe: 1 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp of Greek yoghurt, ½ of mashed avocado, and 1 tbsp of aloe vera gel. Mix it all together in a bowl, apply to a freshly-cleansed face, and leave it on for 20-30 minutes. Your skin will be silky soft and glowy after it.
The biting cold and the bruising winds are no fun at all, but it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a bad complexion during winter. Try these tips and your skin is sure to stay happy and healthy even during the coldest of days.
Mia Taylor is a fashion and beauty enthusiast from Sydney and writer for www.highstylife.com. She loves writing about her life experiences. Travelling and enjoying other cultures and their food with her husband is a big part of her life. She is always on the lookout for new trends in fashion and beauty, and considers herself an expert when it comes to lifestyle tips.
Twitter | Facebook