Beauty Care - Winter Skin Tips

It¡¯s cold and blustery outside, with snow, rain and freezing temperatures. Okay, maybe not here in sunny southern California. But, even our temperatures have dropped into the forty¡¯s. Brrr¡­

I know, I¡¯m a cold weather wimp. You may be experiencing more severe conditions than I, and along with it, dry, itchy, irritated skin and chapped lips. Here are some tips for moist, beautiful skin, even in winter.

Why is winter hard on the skin?
The cold winter air in many climates is low in humidity, pulling moisture from the skin. In addition, our indoor environment is hard on our skin. The furnace is blasting hot air keeping us warm and toasty, and speaking of toast¡­it¡¯s a good example of what is happening to our skin! We also tend to exercise less so our skin is not as ¡°active¡± at eliminating toxins and may produce less natural body oils.

What can you do?
Start from the inside out ¨C what you drink and eat helps your skin and entire body:

The care and feeding of dry winter skin:

• Hydration and healthy diet -- drink plenty of pure water and eat lots of fresh greens, veggies and fruits. It does wonders for the skin.
• Avoid sugar ¨C it depresses the immune system, including affecting skin function, causing more wrinkling.
• Cut back on coffee, tea and alcohol -- they dehydrate your body. When you do drink them, drink extra water to make up for the dehydrating effect.
• Essential Fatty Acids and good fats -- Omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids are important for healthy beautiful skin. Olive, flax and sesame oils are good sources as well as walnuts and purslane (a wonderful ¡°weed¡± you¡¯re probably pulling out of your garden). More good fats are avocado, and coconut.
• Fish ¨C although it¡¯s not good to eat too much fish (especially if pregnant) because of high mercury levels, if you can find a source of non-contaminated fish like wild-caught salmon, this will give you good quality fats that are great for the skin.
• Vitamins and minerals ¨C if you eat a variety of greens, vegetables, fruit, whole grains and healthy fats, you¡¯ll get most of the nutrients your skin needs. However, it¡¯s sometimes hard to eat large enough quantities to get the optimum amounts needed. For this reason, a high quality ¡°superfood¡± mixed into fresh juice or a smoothie can help meet nutritional needs. A food-based multi-vitamin (versus a synthetic-made vitamin) can help too.

Skin care tips for dry winter skin:

• Wash your face with warm water and pat dry ¨C water that is too hot dries the skin.
• Eliminate chlorine -- it¡¯s a great idea for all year round to put a filter on your shower to remove chlorine.
• Exfoliate ¨C remove dead skin cells so the younger skin cells coming to the surface can drink it in the moisturizer you put on your skin (and you¡¯re not wasting it on dead skin cells). Also, your own natural body oil production is stimulated to provide protection for your skin.
• Dry Skin Brushing ¨C makes the skin more active, and helps exfoliate. Do this before your shower.
• Humidifiers ¨C adds moisture to the air, making skin more comfortable and less dry and itchy.
• Indoor plants ¨C they bring live green color to a gray winter world and help clean pollutants from stale indoor air. Place them in saucers of water with pebbles added (to keep plants from getting wet feet) to humidify the air. Helps plants AND you.

Skin care product tips for dry winter skin:

• Moisturize skin often -- after bathing, apply when skin is still damp.
• Don¡¯t use harsh cleansers for face and skin ¨C only gentle, vegetable-based soaps, bath gels and facial cleansers.
• Facial Serums ¨C different seasons require different skin treatments. Use serums with ingredients like hyaluronic acids, peptides and antioxidants that are anti-aging and boost skin health and moisture.
• Facial Moisturizers ¨C among ingredients that nourish skin are almond oil, green tea oil and shea butter. Exotic ingredients like Sea Buckthorn Berry oil, rich in Omega 3, 6, 7 and 9 essential fatty acids and anti-oxidants like CoQ10 and vitamin C are other ingredients that feed the skin.
• Body Butters ¨C thicker than lotion, and great for wintertime, you can find these in yummy ¡°flavors¡± like vanilla, mango, and coconut. Use on body, hands and feet.
• Hand Wash ¨C look for products with gentle non-drying cleansing ingredients like Decyl Glucoside. Anti-bacterial soaps (especially with triclosan) are not necessary and can be harmful to you and the environment.
• Lip balm -- the best ones use beeswax and healthier oils like coconut, olive and hemp seed oil, with healing herbs added.
• Bath salts or oils ¨C Add your favorites to your bath water.

More help for dry winter skin:

• Exercise ¨C get a healthy glow going. Exercise increases blood flow to the skin, bringing nutrients with it. Perspiring helps detoxify skin and body too.
• Fresh air and sunshine ¨C if weather is not too bad get outside and away from forced air heating.
• When outdoors, cover skin with layers of clothing, scarves and hats to protect from cold, drying winds.

Taking care of your skin is worth the effort and can be fun too. Think of it as pampering yourself and find the joy in caring for your winter skin.