Winter is here, and it is in full dreary effect. Sub-zero temperatures, sleet, snow, ice, wind, well, and let’s not forget the heating in your home and office dries the air out even further. Our skin is responding. The results? Dry, ashy, sometimes itchy skin, chapped lips, Brittle nails, and scaly, cracked heels. Furthermore, environmental changes can trigger some skin conditions, including eczema and rosacea for those of us with sensitive skin.
Dr. Nava Greenfield, a board-certified dermatologist with Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City, observes that winter months are marked by several months of colder and drier environments.
Our skin will suffer if we don’t adapt our skincare routine to the changing environment. The eyes, lips, elbows, and hands are parts of the body that bear the brunt of winter skin stress.
These skin locations are exposed to irritating stressors such as water and soap or are the most delicate and thin skin locations (eyelids} that need special attention. Using products that are hydrated and more occlusive and using them more often will go a long way toward protecting the skin.
The bottom line? Your skincare regimen is adequate. You moisturize daily and use sunscreen, but you know it’s time to take your TLC game up a notch and intentionally include other body parts for a moisture surge. We’ve turned to the experts to outline five tweaks to go from adequate to maximum moisture, strong, supple strands, and glowy skin!
Maintain your mane.
Cold air, indoor heating, and lack of humidity all suck the moisture out of your hair and can leave it brittle.
Keep your hair healthy during the frigid season by tweaking your hair care routine. The key is hydration, says Dr. Kari Williams, Trichologist, Celebrity Hairstylist, and Director of Education at Cecred Haircare.
Look at a moisturizing conditioner loaded with moisturizing oils and butter, hyaluronic acid, and other hydrating ingredients. These penetrate deeply into the hair, providing mega moisture and smoothing the cuticle to maintain hydration levels. Use weekly and leave it on for 10-30 minutes for best results.
Our faves:
Cecred Moisturizing Deep Conditioner, $39, with lush ingredients of shea and murumuru butter blend and bioactive keratin ferment, softens curls and helps maintain definition throughout the colder months.
4 U By Tia Deep Conditioning Repair Mask, $13. This intensive treatment is powered by vegan protein and Hemi 15, a proprietary blend of deeply nourishing ingredients.
Care for your kisser.
Chapped lips are dry lips. Prevent dry, cracked lips with a non-irritating lip balm. It sounds like a no-brainer, but according to the American Academy of Dermatology, many people mistake discomfort such as burning, stinging, and tingling as a sign that the active ingredients in the product are working. Noo! You are actively irritating your lip.
Ingredients to avoid if lips are chapped include camphor, eucalyptus, lanolin, menthol, and oxybenzone.
Ingredients that heal lips include castor seed oil, ceramides, petrolatum, shea butter, and hemp oil. Are you planning on spending time outside? You know the drill: an SPF is a must, even in your lip balm. The AAD suggests you slather on a non-irritating lip balm with an SPF of 30 or higher while outdoors. Apply every two hours.
Look to:
Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Hydrating Lip Sleeping Mask, $16. Delivers intense hydration courtesy of hyaluronic acid while you sleep for softer, smoother lips upon waking up!
Avon Beyond Glow Lipcerin Hydrating Tinted Lip Care, $20. It is replete with moisture-boosting ingredients, including ceramide, plumping peptides, and soothing shea butter, and it comes in six tantalizing tints for a kiss of color!
Cay Skin Isle Lip Balm SPF30, $16. It is available in six different tints and contains soothing ingredients like shea butter and aloe.
Invest in a humidifier.
The experts all agree that to revel in your skin, you must add moisture to the air at home. Humidifiers add moisture to the air, and they are an effective way to combat dry winter air. Atlanta-based dermatologist Patricia Oyetakin, MD, FAAD, states that the humidifier can be a game changer. It adds more moisture to the air and is very helpful when dealing with eczema. It also helps soothe the skin and addresses inflammation, and if there are breathing issues, it can help with the breathing. She suggests that the humidifier be placed in the bedroom or living space, wherever you spend the most time. Use the cool mist setting during the winter months. Aim for a humidity level of 30-60%. Too high can encourage mold, and too low won’t help your skin.
Consider Levoit OasisMist 450S Smart Humidifier, $80.It offers smart setting control, wide room coverage, and 45 hours of continuous mist for fewer refills.
Double down on skin protection with Ectoin-fueled products.
When you get used to looking for hyaluronic acid and peptides, another powerful ingredient comes along. Dr. Greenfield explains that ectoin is part of a protein structure derived from molecules found in certain bacteria that live in high-stress environments and functions to protect the bacteria from environmental stressors. It can also help protect human cells in the skin barrier by attracting numerous water molecules and creating an effective physical film layer to trap water and prevent water loss. This helps strengthen the skin and its natural barrier function and can produce visible results when used in skincare. Turbocharge skin protection with ectoin-fueled serum/moisturizers:
The Inkey List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum, $15 This lightweight serum delivers multi-level hydration and strengthens the skin barrier within 15 minutes with the help of hyaluronic acid and ceramides.
Grown Alchemist Hydra -Restore Eye Serum, $50 Banish the look of stress and fine lines. The multi-tasking eye serum brightens, hydrates, and reduces the appearance of dark circles and fine lines with the help of gentian root extract, which promotes collagen.
Safeguard your body with indulgent moisturizers.
Fine-tune your moisturizer situation by upping the ante. Instead of just slathering on cream after bathing, try layering, as offered by Dr. Corey L. Hartman, founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s best to layer multiple products with hydrating ingredients (think hyaluronic acid, glycerin, shea butter, cocoa butter, squalane, and ceramides) at each step. After gently patting the skin dry, apply body oil ( we still rock with Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil). Follow up with a sumptuous cream. General skincare best practices call for products to be applied from thinnest to thickest. For more information on great moisturizers, see this story.
Tula Skincare Barrier Balance Ceramide Body Moisturizer, $32, is clinically proven to hydrate all day and bolster skin’s protective barrier from moisture loss. It is infused with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and a trio of great butters, for the softest, plumpest skin.
Heal cracked hands and feet.
in order to prevent dryness and keep your hands and feet moisturized, Dr. Oyetakin suggests that you wash your hands for about twenty seconds with lukewarm water and preferably a gentle, non-fragrant soap. Apply moisturizer-like ointments and/or creams immediately afterward. Use rubber gloves when washing the dishes.
At night, repeat and add a petrolatum-based ointment; look no further than Vaseline Healing Jelly Original to help seal the water content in the skin—Slip on white cotton gloves for hydrated, baby-soft hands in the morning. The extra step further reduces water loss and allows for better penetration of moisturizers. Dr. Oyetain’s treatment for feet? Apply moisturizers with urea for hydration and alpha hydroxy acids for gentle exfoliation and hydration or petrolatum daily, especially after showering or bathing. Don’t forget to dry thoroughly! Reach for clean, thick socks during the day.
Slather away with these hardworking faves:
Necessaire The Hand Cream, $28 Chock-full of ceramides and peptides for hydration and marula butter, all help to treat dryness and plump up skin for softer, younger-looking hands.
Skinfix Hand Relief Cream, $25: This cream relieves dry, cracked, and sensitive skin and soothes eczema on hands and feet with shea butter, ceramides, and calming colloidal oatmeal.
AmLactin Foot Repair Cream, $13, uses a fast-acting multitasking formula that intensely hydrates to help heal splits and cracks. Meanwhile, 15% lactic acid, a gentle yet effective AHA, exfoliates dead skin cells and promotes skin cell turnover.
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