WINTER SKINCARE: ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND LIFE HACKS FOR GLOWY SKIN
It’s the middle of winter. Your lips are constantly chapped, your hair is dry and frizzy and your skin has been paling by degrees ever since November. It seems that despite copious applications of chapstick and layers of spray tan nothing seems to be doing the trick.
Perhaps it’s about time you adapted your beauty regime. With shorter hours of daylight, a natural craving for carb-laden meals and a daily wardrobe that covers up most of your skin, you need to find alternative ways to look after your body during the colder months. As always, it’s not just about the skin products you use: you need to ensure that you are eating foods rich in vitamin D and maintaining some level of exercise if you want that super healthy looking, glowy skin!
While every body is different, this winter beauty list can act as a starting point on your path to looking beautiful all year round.
Keep hydrated
This goes without saying. You hear it all the time but in winter, when it’s cold and rainy it’s difficult to swap your morning latte with a cold glass of H2O. After eight hours of sleep, your body needs to replenish. A glass of water with lemon (to make it more bearable) as soon as you wake up can brighten the skin and boost your immune system.
Vitamin D supplements
Our body creates vitamin D from sunlight on our skin when we are outdoors. From around late March to the end of September, most people are able to get all the vitamin D we need from direct sunlight. For the rest of the year, however, the lack of sunlight and the fact that we are covered in jumpers and blankets means that we don’t get enough vitamin D. Supplements can be bought in most health food shops, supermarkets and pharmacies. We also get some vitamin D from certain foods such as oily fish or eggs. Signs of vitamin D deficiency can manifest themselves in colds, tiredness and weak bones.
Winter Beauty Moisturisers
Moisturiser should be your best friend. A deeply nourishing moisturiser such as Clinique’s Dramatically Different lotion is lightweight but rich. It’s suitable for all skin types so it’s a good place to start if you’re looking for a winter balm. A little goes a long way with this one so don’t lather it on.
Lip Balm
This is a tricky one. Our lips become reliant on lip balms once we start using them. So if you don’t already use one stop reading now. For the rest of us lip balm addicts, it’s a good idea to use a lip balm that really works. Elizabeth Arden’s 8 hour repair cream works wonders on sore, chapped lips. It comes in a handy round tub which can be kept in your bag at all times.
Hand Cream
Aesop’s hand creams have become cult classics. And with good reason. Available in three sizes and costing between 23€ and 80€, they are the best hand products on the high street. Plus: The cream works wonders for your cuticles too.