2021 Winter Skin Guide: Dressing Your Skin For Cold Weather

Baby, it's cold outside! We’re big Christmas lovers over here - Michael Bublé gets solid airtime and our coziest sweaters and boots have been in heavy rotation. While there are many things to love about the holidays, eczema flair-ups, increased rosacea symptoms, and raw chapped noses don’t make the list. Cold weather can wreak havoc on the thin outer layer of our skin, and cracked dry skin can create an invitation for bacteria and potential infection. We’ve put together a guide for a simple daily routine to help combat the almighty winter rash.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
Drink plenty of water. How much? The Mayo Clinic recommends 3.7L of fluids a day for men, and 2.7L for women. So get out your sparkly Christmas mug and start hydrating. Ps. herbal tea counts!

Run A Humidifier
The drier the air, the drier your skin! As the air becomes drier outside, we tend to create even drier climates indoors by cranking the thermostat. Running a humidifier is a great way to add moisture to the air around you and keep your home and skin more balanced. For added effect, pair this with lowering the thermostat to avoid drying out.

Avoid Long, Hot Showers
As tempting as it may be to take a scolding hot shower to thaw out from the cold, anytime extremely hot water is in contact with our skin it can lead to skin irritation and surface dehydration. Try for lukewarm, or at the very least, use lukewarm water when cleansing your face, and be sure to apply your body lotion straight out of the shower while your skin is still a little damp to lock in that moisture! We love 100% Pure’s ultra-rich body butters.

Layer Your Skincare

When you’re looking to increase hydration in the skin you can double-up on your moisture intake by adding an additional layer. In the winter, we suggest following these steps: cleanse, exfoliate, tone, serum, oil, moisture/balm/cream, and SPF. By adding one or two more layers to your daily skincare routine you can dramatically increase the look and texture of dry facial skin. Consider using a richer cream or balm in place of a lighter moisturizer and add an oil serum for an extra drink. When it comes to moisture, our crowd-pleaser for all skin types is CV Skinlabs. They are backed by scientific research and a team of leading holistic chemists, dermatologists, toxicologists, and doctors. Their same gentle formula is used to make a rich Restorative Balm that is excellent for winter use. Another bomb balm - Josh Rosebrook’s Vital Balm puts flakey skin to rest. His products are fueled by the potency and efficacy of plants and botanicals. Exfoliating is often overlooked in the winter but is an important step to slough off those dry skin cells and allow products to be better absorbed. Here are some of our favs.

Pucker Up
Applying a nourishing product to treat and prevent dry, cracked lips will assist with regeneration overnight. The holy grail product for providing lips with a hydrated and plump feel is Fitglow Beauty’s Night Serum (check out some of our customer reviews). This serum contains plant ceramides and pomegranate sterols which will increase lip volume and diminish fine lines. On a budget? Our GK lippy will add a nice protective layer with its hydrating plant oils and butters.

"Life Changing" - Customer Madeline on Fitglow's Night Serum 

Keep On SPF'ing!
If you’re as lucky as we are to call the Pacific Northwest home, then you’d agree the sun is hard to find these days. Don’t be fooled. Protection against harmful UV rays is needed rain or shine, year-round. Check out our clean, green SPF options here as your final step.

Eat In Season
Be conscious of where your food is coming from. Our main squeeze Mother Nature intends for us to eat foods that are produced at certain times of year, to nourish the body in different ways for different seasons. During the winter, increasing healthy fats and oils to your diet is a great way to nourish your body and feed your skin. (We love this creamy butternut squash winter soup). When eating this way, food is generally more affordable, easier to digest, and taste better than foods that have been pumped with preservatives, treated with ripening agents, frozen, and shipped. To learn more about seasonal produce, click here.

Don’t Forget Your Hands
Our paws are taking quite the beating these days - extra dryness is to be expected. Something to watch out for is ensuring your hand sanitizer is natural and contains skin moisturizing agents. We love our GK Apothecary Hand Sanitizer for its simple formula (WHO approved), its glass refill bottle option, and its clean, natural fragrance. 

Get the best moisture for your skin type this winter by chatting with one of our Green Kiss Educators today.