The Secrets of Winter Skin Care
Dry, chapped, dull, cracked… winter skin. Keeping your skin from turning “shades of dull” during the dry winter months can be a daunting task!
Here are five simple winter skin care tips that will have your visage glowing in no time…
- Keep Your Showers Short and Snappy
The harsh winter elements can have a severe drying effect on your skin, especially if you spend time outdoors every day. And, while it might be tempting to spend long moments in a hot shower on winter mornings, it’s not great for skin since hot showers can dry it out further.
Protect your skin from exposure to outdoor cold and indoor heat or it can quickly lose the moisture that keeps it healthy and vibrant:
- Try to keep your showers warm (as opposed to hot) and remember that shorter showers also save water.
- Above all, remember to nourish your skin after showering by generously slathering on body lotion or oil.
- Nourish with Oil
Most body lotions and creams are emulsifications of oil and water. While the water aspect of the cream will often evaporate, your skin drinks in the oil for moisture and nourishment. So why not cut to the chase and use oil to nourish your skin this winter?
- Gently massage some oil into your skin every day to keep it moist and supple, and to tone the underlying muscles. Plus, oils infused with herbs have many other emotional and physical rejuvenating properties.
After each shower, try a five minute body massage with an infused oil or a nourishing, organic vegetable oil like sesame or almond. If you don’t have enough time for a full routine, focus on your face, hands, and feet. You’ll be thrilled with the results in just one week.
- Drink Plenty of Water
While you might not feel overly thirsty during the cold winter days, the truth is your skin needs water now more than ever. Drinking plenty of water keeps your skin moist, radiant, and less prone to chapping.
Ice cold water has a negative impact on digestion, especially during this season.
- Try drinking your water at room temperature, or even slightly warmed. Experiment with mixing hot and cold to get to exactly the right temperature.
- Most importantly, drink plenty of it—at least six to eight glasses a day. The good news is that come spring time, you’ll be hard pressed to kick the habit!
- Prepare Your Own Winter Skin Scrub
Scrubbing the skin might not be your first line of thought when it comes to protection… but if you want to keep it looking fresh, it’s important to exfoliate dead skin cells that arise from chapping and dryness.
Commercially prepared exfoliating scrubs often contain harsh chemical ingredients like sodium lauryl sulphate, a foaming agent that can cause further dryness and mild skin inflammation.
Make your skin care routine more effective by preparing your own winter skin scrub in three simple steps.
You’ll need:
- 5-6 almonds
- 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream (organic is best!)
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
Preparation:
- Soak the almonds in milk cream overnight.
- The next day, add the sesame oil.
- Grind this together into a course mixture and rub into the skin with large circular motions. Wash off with cool to tepid water.
- Winter Season Face & Neck Massage
Massaging your face and neck not only moisturizes the skin—it also helps to penetrate facial oils to strengthen the underlying tissue, countering the ill effects of rain, snow, and bitterly cold winds. Self massage is ideal for a daily or weekly winter skin care routine.
Try this invigorating massage process with a moisturizing cream or oil:
- Apply oil or cream from the bridge of the nose over the cheeks and out to the ears.
- Rub temples in round motions. Then, move in circles up to the hairline.
- Rub from the center of the eyebrows upwards and outwards over the forehead.
- Move from the center of the upper lip, outwards under the cheek bones to the ears.
- Rub over, around, and outside nostrils in circular movements. Then move outwards from the nostrils to the ears.
- Massage in front of and around the ears. Massage the ear lobes and inside the ears.
- Move fingers to under neck area, manipulate area in a piano playing motion, on the throat and under the neck and chin with gentle but firm pressure.
Article Contributors: Reenita Malhotra Hora
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