Tips and Tricks to Combat Dry Winter Skin

As the weather gets colder, our skin gets drier. During the winter, it can seem like a constant battle to protect our hands and lips from cracks caused by dry skin. It requires a lot of lotion to keep our legs smooth and not dry or flaky. Dry skin isn’t sexy, and it can hurt. The wintertime requires extra-heavy artillery to combat dry skin, so here are some tips and tricks to help you.

Drink Lots of Water

It’s so important to drink enough water to keep your body hydrated, and most of us don’t consume the recommended amount, which is an eight-ounce cup eight times per day. During the winter, you need to drink that much, and possibly more. Water keeps your skin hydrated, and hydration is the opposite of dryness. Drinking lots of water gives you healthy, glowing skin.

Get Your Healthy Fats

Healthy fats, or essential fatty acids, are required by your body to stay in tip-top shape. Not all fats are good, of course, and you should limit your intake of fats, no matter what kind. You should make sure, however, that you’re getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. Fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel are good sources of omega-3s. Oils also contain healthy fats, and the best choices are cold-pressed flax oil or hemp oil. Try drizzling them over your salad or vegetables, or using them instead of butter.

Use Natural Lotions

Moisturizer is, of course, essential for the wintertime, but the moisturizer you choose can make a big difference; some are much more effective than others. Natural moisturizers that use few or no chemicals, preservatives, and alcohol are preferable. It can be hard to find natural moisturizers in the stores, though, so you can create your own. Oil-based lotion is the best, and you can get its smoothing effects by just rubbing your skin with pure, cold-pressed oils, such as grape-seed or almond oil, among many others.

Treat Your Skin

Skin conditioning treatments can be bought in stores, but all you need to do is use one of the oils as suggested above at home. To treat your hands and feet, rub your skin with oil, and then put on mittens and socks. Wear them for at least 15 minutes per day, or even overnight if possible.

Moisturize the Right Way

How you lotion your skin can also make a big difference. The best time to apply moisturizer is after your shower, because warm, damp skin will absorb the lotion the best. Rub lotion into your skin in a circular motion. Tap your skin lightly to stimulate your skin cells. Do this at least once per day. Use a very small bit of oil for your face, because your face is more prone to build-up.
It is possible to have soft, smooth skin in the wintertime, so long as you make an effort to keep your skin hydrated and healthy. Best of all, you can follow these tips all year-round.

Make your skin glow! Simple at-home skincare tips for Radiant skin

The skin is our biggest organ, and it’s the one we expose to the outside world the most, so it’s important to take care of it. Sometimes it can be hard to develop and stick to a skin-care routine, so here are a few simple things to do to make sure your skin gets the care it needs to stay soft and healthy.

Water, Water Everywhere

This is a really simple one you could easily fit into your daily routine – just keep a bottle of water in your bag or on your desk, and drink from it regularly. In addition to water, you should also keep your skin hydrated on the outside, use a moisturiser morning and night to help your face keep a dewy glow. You can also keep moisturiser in your bag or on your desk, so it’s always available if you forget to put it on before you leave the house in the morning. And if you want extra protection, go for moisturisers that have SPF in them, preferably 30+, to protect your skin from the sun.

You are what you eat

If you hate break-outs, or just want a nice, glowing complexion, fruits and vegetables are you best friend. For health reasons, it’s always good to avoid fatty, over-processed foods in general, but they should be avoided in particular if you want good skin. Instead, it’s best to gravitate towards berries, dark leafy vegetables (or really, any kind of vegetable), and fish like salmon, tuna and sardines, as they are high in protein and contain lots of properties that contribute to the well-being of your skin.

Slip, Slop, Slap

The sun can get pretty harsh in the summer (and sometimes even the winter sun can do damage to your skin!), so it’s important to protect your skin from UV rays. There’s a good, alliterative way to make sure you’re covering all your bases when it comes to sun protection – slip, slop, slap:  slip on a long-sleeved shirt, slap on a wide-brimmed hat and slop on some sunscreen.

It’s always better safe than sorry

If you’re noticing your skin is breaking out more often, or getting a bad rash, take a look at what you’re feeding or putting on it. Sometimes its worth going to your doctor and taking an allergy test to see if you are allergic to anything that may be affecting your skin, or your health in general. You should also examine the products you’re using to clean your skin – soap, body wash, and sometimes even shampoo could be causing your skin discomfort. You may be allergic to certain ingredients in your body wash, or have a bad reaction to soap itself. All is not lost though; there are soap-less cleansers you can use while bathing, and body wash for sensitive skin.