Winter skincare routine: How to keep skin hydrated during winter

I love to take care of myself and part of my morning routine is to take care of my skin. It’s July and being in South Africa that means wintertime.

Why does our skin get so dry in winter?

In winter our skin is left dry. The cold air, dry indoor heat, low humidity and harsh winters can strip our skin of moisture. I love when my skin is dewy, moistured and clean so I wanted to share some tips on how to have your skin feeling moiturised in the wintertime. I’ll be breaking it down into 3 categories: budget-friendly, face, and body.

Budget-friendly for winter skin care

As someone who loves skincare, I know it can be expensive. I’m currently not in a position in my life to afford high-quality skincare. If you reading this and in the same position as I am, I’m making this part of the blog for you. how can we take care of our skin and keep it hydrated during wintertime, but can still work for our pockets?

Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!

I know it’s winter and it’s only natural to make yourself a cup of hot delicious coffee just to warm you up. Unfortunately, coffee, caffeine, and even alcohol can cause dehydration which can have an effect on our skin leaving it dull and dry. It’s important to keep up with your water intake this winter and drink water. Rather, swap that hot cup of coffee for a hot cup of lemon water. What I’ve been loving as well is ginger tea. I love it so much. It’s anti-inflammatory, hydrating, great for our skin and budget friendly! All you do is boil water with few slices of ginger on a pot until hot. Also been green tea. Add some slices of lemon and ginger. There’s definitely some options if you not keen on a glass of plain water.

Diet

Diet plays a huge role in the look of our skin. What you put in is what you get out. It’s easier said than done but it’s important to remind yourself what’s the goal here. A diet rich in healthy fats is essential in keeping your skin healthy, glowing and moisturised.

An example of a food rich in healthy fats is avocado. There are different ways you can add avocado to your diet.

• You may have avocado on toast for breakfast.
• You may add it to a smoothie,
• You can have it on the side with your eggs.
• Eat it as a snack. Sprinkle some salt and pepper for flavour and you’re good.

You can get avocado for 4 for R25 at Food Lovers Market.

Avoid hot showers.

I know, I know. All you yearn for in winter is a hot shower to keep you warm. The heat feels phenomenal during winter time, but heat strips our natural oils from our skin leaving it dry. I’m not saying take a cold shower (if you can yay!) but adjust your tap this winter and stick to warm water. Try to shower for 5 minutes so you are not over-showering and stripping your skin.

Reminder: Pat dry when stepping out of the shower and leave skin damp. After this, moisturise immediately so you can lock in that moisture and keep your skin hydrated while still damp.

Add occlusive to your routine

This is part of the list where I share what kind of moisturiser you should add to your routine but are still budget-friendly. Occlusive. Occlusives are ingredients that create a physical barrier on top of the skin to keep the skin moist and hydrated. They tend to be heavy, greasy, and often sticky. Shea butter, cocoa butter and jojoba oil are examples of occlusive.

Petroleum jelly is one of the best examples of an occlusive ingredient that creates a barrier between our skin and the outside environment, keeping our skin moist. You can apply these after moisture cream for extra hydration.  Another example is the Vaseline cocoa butter, which smells soo good!

Winter skincare for your face| Face Care

Here are some tips to keeping that skin hydrated:

Apply sunscreen.

When it’s winter we tend to think we can get away with not putting sunscreen on because it’s winter, the sun is not out. I know I’ve been guilty of thinking like this. The reality is the sun still shines in winter, meaning there is still harmful UV light that can stress our skin barrier. Make sure to keep your skin hydrated but also protected by applying some sunscreen. It’s important to not miss this step in your routine during winter. A sunscreen I’ve been loving lately is the Derm Opal sunscreen. Lovely benefits:

• It’s SPF 30+
• It’s a moisturising sunscreen
• Its fragrance free!!!
• Its helps prevent blemishes.  As someone who has acne-prone skin, this was something I looked forward to and I definitely saw results. Adding sunscreen to my routine has been life-changing for my skin.
• It helps prevent premature skin ageing
• Provides maximum sun protection

Get rid of dead skin by lightly exfoliating.

Moisture can’t penetrate to your skin, if dead skin is on top. A solution is a light exfoliation, and I mean light. I remember a year and a half ago I got an exfoliant cleanser. I used it every day and boy did I break out. At the time though I couldn’t figure out why I was breaking out. Eventually I found out it was because the cleanser was just too rough for my skin and I was actually exfoliating every day. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did so use light exfoliates to remove the dead skin, so moisture can penetrate and leave skin dewy and hydrated this wintertime. Use for about 1-3 times a week.

Avoid harsh cleansers

Harsh cleansers especially those that include ingredients like fragrance and additives dry and deteriorate your skin barrier and strip your skin from its natural oils and affecting your overall moisture. This winter and in general use light cleansers that are ideally fragrance-free. A cleanser that I love is the Pure cleanser. I used this about 2 years ago and it was love at first sight. The Pure cleanser has moisturising blend of ingredients that does not include parabens, skin-drying SLS. It’s fragrance-free, 400ml so the bottle lasts! It lasted me for about 6 months maybe even more. It’s very light and gentle on your skin. I haven’t been able to buy it again (even though I’m dying to!)  because it’s become expensive, but it’s a great product. Alternatively you can get the PureSoap bar soap to wash you face for R24.

Reminder: when washing your face, stick to cold or warm water to maintain the moisture on your skin. Avoid hot water.

Put on a hydrating sheet mask

I mean who doesn’t love a sheet mask? They are so much fun.  Sheet masks aim at hydrating, balancing, moisturizing, calming and brightening your skin. They are made of fabric that absorbs the serum so when put on your face, your skin soaks the serum in the mask. This helps get rid of all underlying dehydration and dryness.

A sheet mask that I love and is perfect for wintertime is the Neutrogena HydroBoost HydroGel sheet mask. It’s enriched with Hyaluronic Acid. Leave it on for 15 – 30 minutes and your skin will feel purified, soft, and hydrated and your complexion looks healthy. According to Neutrogena, one mask is equal to one month’s usage of a serum.

Did you know: Hyaluronic acid is a skincare ingredient most highly recommend because of its benefits? It does an excellent job when it comes to moisturizing the skin. It also minimizes signs of ageing, since plump, hydrated skin makes fine lines and wrinkles less visible.

Winter skincare for your body| Body Care

When people think of skincare they always think of their face but can neglect their body skin. It’s the largest organ in your body and also needs to be taken care of, especially in winter times.    Many tips above can be applied as well to your body care routine this winter. Next, I want to mention the ones usually exclusive to your body.

Exfoliating gloves. 

So far I’ve mentioned warm water when taking a shower and which products you can use. To wash your body use exfoliating gloves to gently exfoliate your skin to remove dead skin so moisture can penetrate better on your skin.

Avoid harsh soaps

Harsh soaps strip your skin of its natural moisture and should be especially avoided during winter. Harsh soap usually contains fragrance. Also, you’ll know it’s harsh when the PH is above 11. Rather use gentle soaps. Gentle soaps are much less drying. Example of gentle soap that I have used is the Pure soap

Invest in a humidifier

Humidifiers are the best investments this winter as keeping the air moist can keep your skin from drying out. Instead of heaters as they dry the air, humidifiers restore moisture into the air as they release vapor. This is ideal for keeping your skin hydrated. Bonus, they can last up to years! If you have a few bucks to spend give it a try, I’ve heard great things about this for your skin. You can get one for your bedroom, or a smaller one on your desk in your work environment.

Conclusion

Part of our morning routine is nurturing our skin whether that is shower or bath time, skincare or body care. This is important especially in winter time because the cold air, indoor dry heat and low humidity can leave our skin dry. Knowing how to keep your skin hydrated in winter with simple yet effective steps can leave your skin thanking you. Follow these basic skincare steps to leaving your skin glowing and moisturized even in winter.