In India, there is a festival for everything. We are currently celebrating the end of the winter solstice and the start of longer days (Makar Sankranti).
However, its still shockingly cold in North India, Dubai, Toronto and London. Here a few suggestions to help your skin through the continuing harshness of winter.
1) More fluids is always the correct answer
Its tempting to have more hot fluids (copious amounts of tea/coffee) to stay warm in that office that could/should be a cold storage unit.
We have all done that.
This dehydrates your skin. Better substitutes include light soups and herbal teas (green, hibiscus and rooibos). I am attempting matcha tea at the momentt (wish me luck)…
In your daily diet, incorporate more fruit and vegetables that are rich in water, such as oranges, coconut water, tomatoes and bell peppers.
Before I forget please try and cut back on smoking and alcohol. Both are invitations for free radicals to come and prematurely age your skin and in the winter months they aggravate dehydration.
2) Ditch the hylauronic acid
Hyaluronic acids main function is to retain water – which is NOT the same as hydration. If you are dehydrated then the Hyaluronic acid (which occurs naturally in your body) removes water from the deeper layers of your skin. This causes skin to feel more dry and it may even start to peel off. Don’t use Hyaluronic acid if you are dehydrated. The pee test is the best way to tell if you should be increasing your water content. And its still a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day…
I did a quick-search on cultbeauty and over 200 products contained Hylauronic Acid as there main ingredient. I know yikes..
For the unsuspecting Forest Essential’s Tejal balancing water also has Hylauronic Acid…
3) Save the planet, limit shower times, moisturise
An extremely hot shower is the answer to many problems during the winter. Hydration is not one of them. Limit your shower times and please ALWAYS moisturise after your shower in the winter. I am using these products at the moment:
This smells amazing, but importantly the shea butter is magic.
If you live outside India, please use Nykaa and then Shop & Ship. Its ridiculous that Kama charges an extortionate premium for customers that are not residing in India.
Bath oils are also a great idea if you are the Queen, because someone does have to clean out the bath-tub.
My go-to-bath oil (if there is such a thing):
For the avoidance of doubt, this was a gift. I would rather eat a rubber slipper than spend US$ 69 on an oil that has negligible hydration value to my skin.
4) ALWAYS wear sunscreen
When I worked in London the grey, gloomy weather also made me wonder when I’d next see the sun…The sun’s visual absence should not be viewed as permission to STOP wearing sunscreen. UVA levels remain pretty standard throughout the year. Here is a gentle reminder about the damage caused by long-term exposure to UVA.
I would avoid zinc based sunscreens as they can be quite drying. Please see my Top 5 sunscreens for further recommendations
Use a mild cleanser
During the winter our facial skin takes a real battering: if you live in Canada, your home is heated and insulated to counter the -25 C outside. But you still have to step outside.
Hopefully you and I will will have to deal with less extreme weather, but the fluctuating temperature difference does make your skin barrier very sensitive. Be kind to your skin and use a mild cleanser or lesser amounts of your existing cleanser. This blog has a few suggestions for mild cleansers.
Use an overnight face mask
An overnight face mask adds more hydration to your skin without much effort. At the moment, I am using Chanel’s anti-ageing overnight face mask, but for younger folk (less than 35 years), I would stick to the Hydra Beauty range. Needless to say the cheapest place to buy Chanel is the duty free…
Closing
I would love to hear what your “go-to” winter skin treatment is…Please leave a comment below or drop me a line at email@happyskindays.com or please leave a comment.
Credit: Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels