Winter Skin Savers

Do you have the winter skin depression? Is the impatient and flaking driving you crazy? Don worry; you can take steps to look after and soothe your body’s major organ. With proper care, healthy, glowing skin is attainable during winter. Whatever your age, follow these helpful guidelines during the season.

No matter how dark your skin, you still need to protect it from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. Choose a sunscreen with SPF of 15 or more. Sunscreens having Titanium Dioxide tend to remove darker skin tones seem “ashy”. A sunscreen gel is preferable and it absorbs invisibly into your skin.

I know it’s alluring, but taking long, hot showers drain necessary moisture from your skin, leaving it dry and deficient in water content. Limit your showers to about 5-10 minutes. (Tip: Use a leave-in conditioner, so you don’t have to spend as much time washing your hair, but still be able to keep it conditioned.)

Wash your hands and face using tepid, not hot, water.

This winter, opt for a non-foaming cleanser which cleanses but does not deprive your skin’s natural moisture barrier. You don’t want that squeaky clean feeling you get with cleansing gels, which can leave your skin feeling dry and tight.

Put into a great hand cream: it will help to be your hands soft and smooth. If probable, avoid washing your hands often. Apply hand cream to your hands straight away after washing them to seal in moisture.

Your lips have no natural defense against the elements. Wearing a lip balm with SPF is essential even through winter months. Your lips tend to dry out faster during this time of the year, so ensure to re-apply as necessary. Licking your lips can cause them to dry out faster, too. As the saliva on your lips evaporates, so does your lips’ natural moisture.

In general, and in particular during winter months, avoid skin care products containing Alcohol. Not only is Alcohol an irritant, but it is drying, too.

Instead of exfoliating with AHAs, (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) wear a good water-based moisturizer to hydrate your skin and maintain it from flaking. AHAs can be a great way to de-flake the skin’s top layer, but they typically tend to dry out your skin. If you plan to use them anyway, don’t overuse them.