Because winter is coming.
Winter is such a fun time for your
skin. During those few frigid months of the year that seem to last
forever, your precious skin suffers from
(A) dryness,
(B) flakiness,
(C)
dullness, or
(D) all of the above.
Oh, and don’t forget breakouts too!
Zits never really take a holiday.
Because winter is actually the worst, I reached out to dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara
for advice on how to deal with some common and really annoying winter
skin concerns. Thankfully, she shared her secrets, and I gathered a few
other good-to-know tips so you can all properly prepare yourselves for
the winter skin storm forecast ahead.
If your skin is dry AF...
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| Kathleen Kamphausen/Katie Buckleitner |
1. Choose body moisturizers that come in tubs or jars instead of ones that come in bottles with pumps.
This isn’t always the case, but more often than not heavier
moisturizers like creams come in tubs rather than pump bottles. Creams
often contain more oil than water content, so while they’re more
hydrating than lotions (which is great when temperatures drop), their
thick formula is harder to feed into a pump.
2. Add oil to your daily routine to really hydrate your skin.
Coconut oil is great for your body and hair, but if you have sensitive
skin or you’re prone to breakouts, opt for a noncomedogenic oil like
argan oil. And if you’re nervous to put oil straight on your skin, mix
it with your usual body or face moisturizer.
3. Apply a hydragel mask right before bed to hydrate your skin overnight.
Masks
are always great, but using one right before bed is even better for
your complexion, since your skin is naturally working at night to
regenerate and exfoliate itself. See, beauty sleep is real! Dr. Gohara also suggests layering a hyaluronic acid serum, like SkinMedica HA5, under a hydrogel mask to amp up hydration.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
If your skin is itchy...
4. Take an oatmeal bath.
Grind a cup of plain oatmeal in a blender to the texture of a fine
powder and add it to a bath full of warm water. The oatmeal helps calm
inflammation and soothes itchy winter skin — plus, a bath in the winter
always feels nice.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
If your skin is dull...
5. Mix a liquid illuminator or highlighter into your moisturizer before applying it all over your face.
All you need is a tiny drop of shimmer added into your favorite face
lotion to breathe life — and a nice glow — into your dull complexion.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
If your skin is red or sallow, or if you have a purple cast under your eyes...
6. Use color correctors to combat the rainbow of colors that come with winter skin.
In the winter, your skin tends to turn weird, unflattering shades (red
cheeks or nose, blue under-eye circles, a yellowish tinge all over). To
hide these hues, L’Oréal Paris ambassador Sir John suggests
blending color correctors on target areas to neutralize the shades and
get your skin back to where it’s supposed to be: even and glowing.
If your skin is peeling or flaky...
7. Use a barrier repair cream.
That
sounds fancy but let me explain. If the barrier of your skin is
compromised (because your acne products are stripping your skin, you’ve
been over-exfoliating, the soap you use is too harsh, etc.), the skin
weakens and can even crack. When that happens, bacteria can enter the
tiny cracks, causing irritation, which can result in moisture loss.
One way to figure out if the barrier of your skin
is effed: If you start to notice flaky bits on your skin, it’s
compromised. To fix it, find a product with the words "barrier repair"
or "restore" on the label, like SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 Cream,
which Dr. Gohara recommends to her patients. These types of creams
replenish lost lipids (a science-y way of saying molecules that help
hydrate your skin) and moisture to help you get your glow back.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
8. Use a physical or mechanical exfoliator.
In the winter, Dr. Gohara says you’ll most likely need to physically
exfoliate your skin (as opposed to chemically exfoliating it) to remove
any dry, flaky, dead skin cells that are still hanging around (gross, I
know). To do so, use a washcloth and circular motions (rather than
scrubbing back and forth) to gently (key word) exfoliate any
dry patches away. Using light circular motions is always best, since the
motion isn’t too harsh on your skin and is more effective when it comes
to actually removing the dead flakes from your face.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen/Katie Buckleitner |
9. Make yourown lip scrub with kitchen ingredients.
Kourtney Kardashian swears by a homemade mixture of coconut oil, manuka honey,
and raw sugar to prep dry, flaky lips before applying any lip color.
Simply apply the blend, move it around with your fingertip, again with
circular motions, and then wipe it off with a warm washcloth before
applying a balm and your lip color of choice.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
If you deal with breakouts even in the winter...
10. Wash your face with a moisturizing cleanser, so you don’t have to use a super-thick moisturizer.
Dr. Gohara says washing your face with Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash
(Yes, body wash!) will moisturize your skin while it cleanses it, so
you don’t have to apply heavy, breakout-causing moisturizers on top of
your acne-prone skin. If your skin is sensitive to fragrances though,
opt for a wash that says "fragrance-free," so the synthetic fragrances
in the wash don’t cause further irritation.
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| Kathleen Kamphausen |
11. Mix your acne products with your face lotion to treat your breakouts without drying your skin.
This is good for any topical retinoid (a common treatment used to treat
wrinkles or acne) or any other acne treatment, since they can cause
dryness and even make your skin peel. Bonus: Mixing the two also helps
speed up the getting ready process, since you don’t have to wait for
your serum to dry completely before applying your face cream.
