IT’S OFFICIAL.

It’s getting dark at 4pm, the Christmas trees have been switched on all around, we are 27 days away from the new year and the cold weather is here to remind us that it’s time for a new beginning.

We usually have so much to deal with this time of the year, everybody is extremely busy and a tad stressed sometimes (the stress hormone Cortisol is not good for anti-ageing and dryness.  Between this, the cold air, lower humidity and the indoor central heating you skin get dehydrated by the second. To top it off the dinners, parties and late nights mean more makeup than normal and less beauty sleep. Considering how much everyone has on their plate it can get easy to forget to look after the skin properly.

Thinking about that we decided to create the perfect winter skincare guide to make your life easier, so print this out and have it by your dresser and follow these steps:

AVOID SCALDING HOT SHOWERS

Waking up in the morning to a nice warm shower is part of a lot of women’s routine. It’s always good to start the day feeling clean and nice for the work day ahead but when you do take that shower, make sure the water is warm and not scalding hot. Not everyone knows this but extreme hot water dries out the skin, so it should be a big no no if you’re trying to keep the skin as moisturised as possible.

STAY AWAY FROM THE FOAM

Whenever choosing your cleanser, make sure to stay away from the foamy ones and choose the plant oil based ones, even if you have oily skin. Foaming cleansers can cause irritation if you have sensitive skin and they usually strip the skin of its natural oils which makes your sebaceous glands understand that you need more oil, so it produces more, contributing to an even more oily skin. As we have explored this theme to exhaustion in this blog and on our youtube channel (read blog post here and watch video here) oil fights oil..

SWAP TONERS & MAKE SURE YOU ARE DEFINITELY USING ONE

If you’re still using astringent toners you should read this carefully, put down the Clinique No 2 bottle.  As with our friends the foaming cleansers, astringents strip the skin of its natural and protective oils. Don’t miss this step out of your routine, watch this toner video to learn why you need a hydrating toner. We offer a great one here.

DON’T FORGET THE SPF 

In the winter, you might be asking yourself. Yes. Even in the winter, the levels of UVA is significant to age your skin, so, don’t forget that sunscreen.

YOUR LIPS NEED MOISTURISER TOO

You can’t forget the part of your body that is exposed to the cold the most and is more affected by it, your lips. It’s ok to use physical exfoliators on your lips though. You can make your own by mixing sugar with a little bit of water and scrubbing it on your lips.

Never forget to put an organic lip balm (not carmex or Vaseline) in your hand bag before leaving the house to moisturise throughout the day. This is very important because your lip skin doesn’t have the sebaceous oil glands the rest of your skin has, hence why they get so frequently chapped. We have an entire video explaining why your lips crack and the natural ways you can fix it overnight. Watch it here.

YOUR HANDS ARE IMPORTANT TOO

Another body part that gets very dry very quickly is the hands..

Don’t forget to wear gloves when you’re outside to prevent them from being in touch with the cold air, and have always a hand balm or moisturiser on you. Actually, have several. Leave one on your desk at work, one on your desk at home, one in your handbag, one on your night stand and moisturise on.

DITCH THE FACE WIPE

To be honest this should be the case at any time of year but you especially start to see the drying damage they cause in Winter. Those wet damp wipes in that pack should ultimately go mouldy, just imagine the level of drying preservatives they contain to stop the mould. Do you really want that on your skin? Watch here our quick skin tutorial all about wipes and why you should avoid them.

IF DAMP, DON’T GO OUTSIDE 

Don’t go outside with damp skin, the harsh weather will chap your skin.

STAY HYDRATED

Let’s not forget that health starts inside out. In order to compensate for the extra dry weather, you need to drink loads of water. Having green tea, acai or pomegranate juice is also a good idea. They all have an awesome anti-oxidant effect. So, drink up!

GET A HUMIDIFIER

A good way of trying to reverse the dryness indoor heaters have in the air is humidified. That will help you get less dry and if we’re hopeful even help moisturise a little bit.

TAKE BATHS

Taking baths is extremely positive. It’s relaxing, which helps you get rid of the skin-damaging stress hormones. It will also help keep your skin hydrated if when you get out you pat yourself dry and then coat yourself in your body lotion or body balms to trap and make sure your epidermis absorbs the damp water layer.

DON’T MISS THE BEAUTY SLEEP HOURS

Having a healthy and nice eight to nine hours of sleep will nourish your skin so, GO TO BED!

BUY SOME BALM

Pinks Boutique is building a loyal following and brand based on our beautiful balms and there is no better time for these than winter. Cleansing balms to make sure you are moisturising even at cleansing stage one (watch tutorial here), our face balms which help barrier and protect the skin and trap moisture and actives from serums and moisturisers on your skin (get them here) and our body soufflé balms (get them here). No excuses for any dry legs or knees under those thick tights!!