Tips To Tame Winter Skin

It’s that wonderful time of year again.  From holiday shopping (and stressing) to trading in your itty, bitty, teeny bikini for cute booties and swapping that sweat-soaked glass of refreshing iced tea for cuddling up with a hot, steaming mug of peppermint-laced cocoa, the wows and woes of the season are once again upon us.  But, there’s more than just updating your wardrobe when temps begin to dip.  It’s time to ditch your summer skin routine and give it a much-needed update, like swapping this for that and switching things up to keep your skin baby-soft and super-sexy from head to tippy-toe.  Here are some simple steps you can take to put dry, flaky, itchy winter on ice -STAT!

1. Get Steamy

Between battling the sub-degree wind chills from outside and the indoor heat from your home or office, your skin takes a beating during the “most wonderful time of the year.”  In order to keep your lipid layer on lockdown during the colder months, be sure to add a humidifier to your office or bedroom.  The warm, vaporizing, skin-soothing mist will add moisture to the air while quenching thirsty, parched skin. 

2. Keep Bath and Shower Time Short and Sweet

While the mere thought of soaking in a tranquil tub filled with warm, bubbly water, while listening to your go-to meditation music, or staying put under the steaming-hot stream from the showerhead for an hour sounds mentally comforting and calming on a cold winter night or morning, your skin has other thoughts.  Contrary to popular belief, excessive exposure to water depletes skin’s vital moisture levels, while overexposure to extremely hot water leaves skin red, irritated, and dehydrated.  Though tempting, avoid shower time past five minutes (don’t worry, you got this!) and limit bath time to no more than 15 minutes - max!  Be sure to suds up with a moisture-rich, creamy shower oil or body wash and add a cupful of a body-beautifying botanical oil, such sweet almond, jojoba, coconut, or argan to your bubble bath pre-soak.  If you’re a fan of exfoliating with those skin-sweet, sugar-infused body scrubs, limit to no more than twice weekly to keep skin from becoming red and irritated.  You know, too much of a good thing.

3. Do the ‘Dew

That lightweight, water-based moisturizer you were slathering on during the sun-drenched days of summer is not going to hold its weight in water come wintertime – literally.  Instead, you’ll want to reach for a ceramide-rich cream loaded with hydrating hyaluronic acid and antioxidant powerhouse vitamins A and C to keep complexion moist, protected, and preserved.  Try MD vitamins C and E -infused Glam’s DMAE Antioxidant Day Moisturizer pre-makeup and sunscreen to prettify, plump, and perfect from desk to dancing.  The weightless, yet ultra-hydrating, stem cell, and squalene -fortified formula will keep makeup from having a midday meltdown while leaving complexion comfortable and dewy.  Before bedtime, diligently drench skin with MD Glam’s Hyaluronic Acid Night C-Complex cream brimming with a complexion-perfecting cocktail of vitamins A, B, C, and E, as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid and glow-getting glycolic acid to seal skin with succulent, long-lasting moisture throughout the entire night.  When you sleep, your skin goes into a restorative mode to repair and reverse the day’s damage, so give it an added, skin-perfecting boost of moisture, vitamins, and other anti-aging ingredients to combat wrinkle-inducing dryness.  Pro tip: Be a wrinkle warrior and slumber on satin and/or silk pillowcases to keep complexion from crinkling and creasing throughout the night.  Forget your lines.

4. Do Damage Control

Before applying your MD Glam DMAE Antioxidant Day Moisturizer, you’ll want to give your skin a daily defense against all the free radicals flying around by applying a potent vitamin C serum.  Not only does this virtuous vitamin promote skin-supporting collagen and impart antioxidant power, it lightens, brightens, tones, and tightens with every delicious drop. C for yourself.

5. Get an Eye for Beauty

The skin around the eyes is the thinnest on the entire body, so you’ll want to treat it with some extra special TLC, especially during the cooler months.  Using your ring finger, gently dab your orbital eye area with a pinch of MD Glam’s Retinol-C Intense Eye Serum to soothe, soften, correct, and protect those precious peepers.  Imbued with collagen-boosting retinol and brightening vitamin C, Dr. Cat’s proprietary, the eye-opening blend will keep the susceptible skin around the eyes soft and smooth while lifting and firming.  Seeing is believing!

6. Don’t Skip Sunscreen – Not Now, Not EVER!

Just because the sun disappears early each day and you’re not on the sands soaking up the rays or surfing the salty seas doesn’t mean you have the green light to commit one of the biggest cardinal skin sins – skipping sunscreen.  Don’t leave the house sans SPF just because you see snow and not sun, irrespective of your zip code.  Sun’s harmful, unforgiving rays still penetrate through clouds on dismal, dreary days and bounce off the snow that’s on the ground, lending to a more intense impact on your skin.  Go undercover with MD Glam’s anti-aging, antioxidant-rich Sunshout Sunscreen 50 SPF for the ultimate UVA/UVB broad-spectrum protection.  And, if you’re going to be outdoors, reapplication every two hours is non-negotiable. 

7. Clean Up Your Act

Keep exfoliation, whether manual or chemical, to a once-weekly minimum.  Like with body scrubs, excessive exfoliation of the upper dermal layers can strip skin of its natural, protective oils that keep it lubricated and beautifully-balanced.  Also, switch your daily go-to cleanser to a gentler, more hydrating formula that will not only remove the day’s dirt and debris, while purifying pores but will retain your skin’s natural oils.  Keep MD Glam’s gentle, detergent-free Deep Pore Foaming Cleanser by the sink for a comfortable cleanse that clears and calms without leaving skin slick or sticky. 

8. Pucker Up to Protective Moisture

Keep a purse-perfect pot or tube of emollient-rich lip butter on-the-ready.  A lip balm/butter packed with luscious, pout-pampering shea and cocoa nut butters, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and vitamin E will smooth and soften lips, preventing them from splitting, chapping, and bleeding.  And, if you’re one to hit the slopes this season, you’ll want to make sure you swipe that pout before heading downhill to avoid dreadful windburn. Ouch.

9. Oil Aboard!

Before emerging from bath or shower, while skin is still damp, liberally slather body with a beautifying botanical oil, like jojoba, sweet almond, apricot kernel, macadamia, coconut, or grapeseed to instantly lock-in long-lasting, luscious moisture from top to bottom.  In the summertime, it’s understandable you’d want to grab your lightweight lotions and potions, but the winter calls for some serious hydration.  Due to their lack of water content, botanical oils don’t evaporate from the skin, protecting the lipid layer from moisture loss and imparting an illuminating glow to the skin. 

10. Kick Dryness to the Curb with this Handy Helper

If hands and feet become dry, cracked, and itchy during the cold months, you’re not alone.  Give dry, cracked palms and sore soles the boot by applying a humectant-rich foot and hand cream/balm all over clean hands and tootsies before bedtime. Then, slip on cotton gloves and socks to deeply infuse all the finger and foot-friendly moisture.  Come morning, your soles will look and feel baby-soft and your hands super-smooth and youthful-looking.  Hands down.