Yes, that's right. The white stuff is coming, and soon! Can you already feel your skin shriveling up and drying out? Then comes all the flaking and itching next. Yikes! Don't worry, we have you covered! We will go over all the things you can do to keep the Winter Itch away.
Tip #1 - Add Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic Acid can be your best friend. It's this amazing ingredient found in skin care that will suck the moisture out of your surroundings and pull it into your skin! Hyaluronic Acid will hold up to 10x its own weight in water!
You can find this amazing ingredient in serum form so you can add it to your moisturizer or put it directly underneath your moisturizer.
Tip #2 - Use a Healthy Oil
Have you ever seen a picture of the dry, dessert floor? It's all cracks and crevices. This is what happens to your skin when we turn on the heaters in our homes, offices and vehicles. The dry, warm air pulls moisture out of our skin leaving tiny little cracks. Then as time goes on, those tiny little cracks expose the deeper layers of our skin so more moisture escapes. The result is the flaking, white patches we see when our "glue" has evaporated that holds our skin together. The downside of this is now that we have deeper cracks in the skin, when you put a cream on to try to help, it sinks in way deeper than it is meant to and starts to irritate our skin and sting! Add healthy oils to your face and body routines in the fall and winter to minimize the dryness. Best applied right out of the shower when your skin it still damp to lock in that moisture! Follow with a body or face moisturizer to lock it all down for the day.
Tip #3 - Vaseline
Yup, you read it right. Vaseline. You have probably seen it all over social media. It's called Slugging. Normally this is something I would abhor, but in the fall and winter, it can be a life saver.
Vaseline is an occlusive gel. What does that mean? It means it is a waterproof barrier. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. In the winter, I recommend to my clients to put a thin layer on their hands and feet when they go to bed to help keep in moisture overnight. You don't need a lot, just a little will go a long way. Where else can you put Vaseline? On any dry spots! Lips, cuticles, eczema patches. Just make sure to wash well with something gentle in the morning.
Tip #4 - Change out your products
Just like we have a summer wardrobe and a winter wardrobe, so should you also have different products for face, body and hair. Gather up all your summer skin and hair care products and put them away until spring. No, do not finish them up. Put them away now. If you continue to use your summer items now then you will just speed up the drying process we are trying to avoid. They will be waiting for you in the spring, don't worry. Find a great little box or container and mark it with Spring Skincare.
Now reach for the thicker, more moisturizing, more hydrating ones. Add a tablespoon of Olive Oil to your bottle of Hair Conditioner, Body Wash and Body Cream. You can thank me later. Olive Oil is one of the closest oils to our own natural body oil. You can heat up a bit and put through your hair as a treatment before you wash it. You can soak your fingers in hot olive oil as a treatment for dry cuticles.
Tip #5 - 60% at Home
Keep your humidifier at 60% and your showers too. Check the humidifier on your furnace and make sure its set for 60%. That's all you need to keep the air in your home moist enough this winter to hydrate the outer layer of skin while you're in your home. Make sure to cover exposed skin when you go out to prevent that moisture from being sucked out.
Hydrate your personal space with a diffuser. This will add moisture to the immediate surroundings depending on the size so keep one beside you. The added bonus of adding essential oils to the diffuser will make your space a scented luxury to be in.
Watch the showers. Hot showers can feel wonderful on a cold, snowy morning but once you're in the shower and warmed up, turn the water temperature down a bit. It doesn't have to be cold, nice and warm is good. Comfortable doesn't have to mean red, hot skin. Super steamy showers lead to overheating and sweating and losing more of your natural moisture.
Winter Wonderland
Just by adding these few tips now will save you from the dreaded dry, itchy winter skin. Prepare now so you can enjoy this winter. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out. We love answering your questions.