Winter Proof Your Skin!

A while back lovely Orange Rabbit requested a winter skin routine and since we’re officially in winter in the northerm hemisphere, I figured it was the time to do it!

This will sound a bit obvious but the first suggestion I have to all of those with sensitive, dry or dehydrated skin is: drink LOTS of water! I know everyone knows this, but it’s sometimes hard to put it to practice. You should really make a mental note, or if you’re one of those people who reeeally can’t remember, set an alarm. It sounds silly, I know, but it’s so important to drink loads of water. If your body’s dehydrated, there’s no skin care routine that will rescue you from that. For those of you on the go all day long, I suggest getting one of those amazing foldable water bottles. You can easily stash them in your bag and fill it up throughout the day anytime you see a water fountain. I keep one in my bag at all times!

Alright, on to skincare!

CLENSERS & TONERS:

My favorite cleansers are by NUXE. Unfortunately they have been reformulated and I haven’t finished mine, thus I haven’t tried the new versions. They have a rose micellar water as well as a cleansing milk and toner. They are all great for dry sensitive skin but I won’t go on much about them since you can’t buy those anymore and I haven’t tried the new ones to make sure they’re as good. The links above are for the new versions and I’ll let you know if I get to trying them.

Recently I have been won over by the Dr. Hauschka cleanser as well. I’ve only used it for about 4 weeks though (versus a year of NUXE), but it does seem to balance out my skin very nicely cleaning it very thoroughly at night, removing all make-up and leaving my skin feeling comfortably moisturized (without any greasy film left!) instead of stripped. This one’s gonna become a permanent part of my cleansing routine.

Bioderma’s micellar water is definitely a favorite, but since it’s hard to get a hold of it in the States for a  reasonable price, it doesn’t make it into my yearly routine, but it’s a favorite for winter. It’s an easy one-step makeup remover and cleanser that doesn’t require water which is both practical and good for your skin since in some parts of the world the water can be over-chlorinated, or in other places the bigger problem is hard water, which is a known skin irritant and a big culprit in dermatitis and eczema. Bottom line is that regular tap water can be more harmful than good for your skin. 

MOISTURIZER:

My staple moisturizer is Dr. Hauschka’s Rose day cream. You can read the full review here. This is the best moisturizer for dry, dehydrated, sensitive skin I have ever used and since I found it, I haven’t felt the need to substitute it. Occasionally I feel a bit guilty because of the price. But it’s so efficient at moisturizing and soothing my constantly irritated skin as well as toning down any redness that in my opinion, it can’t be beat. In fact, since I do like NUXE, I tried one of their 24hr moisturizers but found it super weak compared to the Rose day cream. The NUXE cream didn’t hold up in the NY winter and even though I finished it because it was gentle on my skin, it just wasn’t moisturizing enough for my super dry skin.

MAKEUP REMOVERS:

The Dr. Hauschka cleanser is a great one step, makeup remover and cleanser for me. However, if I’m not using it, my trick for removing makeup is using pure Almond or Jojoba oil. I use enough to remove all my make with a cotton pad and then massage whatever is left into my skin and I wake up with baby skin the next morning.

DEEP NOURISHING, REPAIRING TREATMENTS:

For winter, I have another oil that is my ultimate favorite (just too expensive for year round, and too hard to get a hold of in the States). These are the Weleda Smoothing Facial Oil Capsules. This is a dynamite cocktail of anti-oxidant-rich, repairing oils that come in individual capsules that you burst open to get the oil out and massage it into the skin. During the winter, I use these every night after I cleanse and tone. Unfortunately WELEDA USA has stopped making these so I have to stock up on them every time I go to Europe.

I’ve also mentioned this before (here) but for irritated skin, my favorite product is Dr. Hauschka’s Soothing Mask. This is another unbeatable product and the only thing that can tame my sensitive skin when all hell breaks loose and I look like a patchwork of red and white.

When my skin isn’t irritated but just very dry I like using Weleda’s Wild Rose Smoothing Mask. It’s very nourishing and makes my skin feel plumper and less dehydrated. It does also truly smooths out some of the lines on my face.

LIPS:

Another recent hit from Dr. hauschka is from their Med line. It’s the only product I’ve tried from this subline of Dr. Hauschka's and I would love to try the others but unfortunately they are not sold in the US. I picked this up during a recent work trip to Europe and wish I had gotten more! It’s their Labimint Acute Lip Care. While I was there I picked up a few other lip balms which were great for moisturizing the lips, but this was the best thing for cracked lips. It both soothes and repairs. AND it’s 100% natural. If you’ve read my best lipbalms post, my favorite lip balm (Nuxe Reve de Miel) is not 100% natural and that always bothered me. I still wouldn’t say I found my holy grail because this is amazing for soothing and repairing cracked lips but if you have pathologically dry lips like I do, this isn’t gonna be enough to keep them plump and moisturized.

BODY WASH & LOTION:

Ever since discovering the Cetaphil Restoraderm line(you can read more about it here) that’s been my go-to body wash and moisturizer. They’re both very plain, no special scent or anything, in fact they’re fragrance free. But they are the best all-around everyday body care for sensitive skin. The moisturizer comes with a pump, which makes it really convenient to use. It’s fast absorbing a really nourishing. I’ve been using it everyday several times a day for months and it has trumped any other moisturizer I own for my everyday needs. When I feel like using something a little more luxurious, I still love my Pacifica Body Butter, but it’s more expensive so for everyday, Cetaphil Restoraderm is unbeatable! The body wash is really gentle on my skin and cleanses without stripping my skin so I get out of the shower without so much of that tight feeling all-over my body. Again, when I feel like pampering myself, it’s the Pacifica body wash that I go for but for everyday, Cetaphil Restoraderm is my go-to body cleanser.