Cold weather has descended upon us and with it, dry, flaky and chapped skin is showing up. Many of my clients have noticed a change in their skin and women are flocking in for creams and serums. So since I help clients in my skincare practice, I wanted to share this info I would give you if you were seeing me in person for a facial, or seeking my advice for skincare products. Here are my cool weather skin care tips! Thanks for reading!

Important! These tips are for women with combination, dry or very dry skin types. Those with oily skin, acne or sensitive skin conditions should get specific recommendation from your preferred beauty counter, skin therapist or dermatologist.

Monica’s cool weather skin care tips

Bare minimum skin care steps for healthy skin…

• Cleanse with a gentle lotion or cream cleanser to remove makeup (save the makeup cloths for travel and warmer months).
• Skip the harsh gel cleansers. Use a light foaming or lotion cleanser to do a second cleanse at night to remove all makeup, sweat, debris and pollutants from the skin’s surface.
• Exfoliate twice a week. This means use a scrub or at home peel or at home resurfacing product. I like to use these in the shower so it’s easier to rinse off. A gentle circular motion is best. Your face doesn’t need the same pressure your tub needs during a cleaning. Don’t be too rough!
• Use a hydrating toner. Toners are one of the most skipped steps and are actually very important to use. They finish up the cleansing process and adjust your skin’s pH balance to reduce sensitivity. Make sure it is free of dehydrating alcohols that are often in medicated and pore minimizing formulas.
• Hydrate & Protect with a moisturizer that is suitable for the amount of moisture you need. Moisturizers are meant to hydrate the surface of the skin and provide a layer of protection in two ways; to keep your skin from loosing moisture and to add more hydration.

Overachievers, kick it up a notch and get even smoother and younger looking skin…

• Mask! Mask! Mask! – I love to use masks one or two nights a week. In the winter I normally suggest that any deep cleansing mask be followed-up with a hydrating and calming moisture mask, or a hydrating serum and cream. -OR-  Just use a hydrating mask twice a week if you don’t have a serum or time to do two back to back masks.

• Add a serum for day time. Serums are power houses when it comes to skincare. They are made to travel deeper into the skin than a lotion or cream and address issues like sun damage, sagging skin,fine lines, wrinkles. While many moisturizers on the market today claim to help address these concerns, the truth is you will get better results with a separate serum and moisturizer.
• Add a serum for night time. Just like day time serums, nighttime serums are best applied to clean skin prior to moisturizing. Typically resurfacing serums like enzymes, fruit acids, and retinols are recommended for night time use only. These products would not be suitable for day time use and often increase your skin’s probability of getting sunburned. So they are normally considered cooler weather products. You still need to be cautious about the amount of prolonged sun exposure you are getting. Just because you are in a coat and it’s cold doesn’t mean you won’t get burned. Keep this in mind if you enjoy snow or outdoor sports.

• Put a humidifier in your bedroom and main living area. You will thank me for this. This is a game changer for dry skin!!!! I have been doing this the last 8 years and sharing this tip. Every one loves their humidifier after they start using it! Benefits of a humidifier include more comfortable skin, fewer nose bleeds due to dry air, healthier hair and nails, less static in your hair and clothing, more comfortable sinuses. This will be a game changer for you. I believe I even sleep better with my humidifier running at night.

Want to order a humidifier now? Use my Amazon link to purchase one today. Links are a way to help me earn income for my family at no additional cost to you.

• Another good idea is too have smooth cotton or satin pillow case. Not only is this better for your hair, but it also means less tugging on your skin. This is especially helpful for stomach and side sleepers.

Ready for more skin care tips? Great! Keep on reading!

Lifestyle choices that negatively affect your skin.

• Too much alcohol. More than a glass or two, a night or two a week can really jack up your skin. And the bad thing is, it can take 3 days at minimum to recover! Here is the result of alcohol on your skin:  1. Hormone disruption from sugar, leading to hormonal imbalance and skin problems. 2. Inflammation. The internal inflammation that alcohol creates makes it way to the surface. This shows up as redness, breakouts and puffiness. 3. Dehydration. Everyone knows too much alcohol and coffee cause a diuretic effect and causes you to loose too much water that affects the look of your skin making fine lines and wrinkles deeper looking after a night of too many boos. 4. The acid in alcohol can disrupt your gut health and cause a flare up in existing skin conditions such as eczema.
• Keeping your house too warm. We keep our house between 65-68 in the cooler months. If you are going to keep it warm, you’d better have a humidifier running non stop to add moisture back into the air. Shop humidifiers here.
• Not drinking enough water. I’ve always heard to drink half your weight in ounces. So I weigh 140, so I should drink 70 oz of water a day.
• Eating too much fast food or take out. Salt heavy foods really parch you and your skin. Opt for steamed un-salted food and lightly salt it yourself if you have to get take out.
• Too little sleep. We all know this, but generally 8 hours is what we need to thrive. Your skin, along with the rest of you, suffers if you are not getting enough sleep.
• SKIPPING your nighttime skin routine! This is probably the cardinal skin sin! Just don’t do it. Always, always, always wash your face. No excuses. I have four kids and I do it. I have never went to bed with makeup on. You have to be faithful in your regimen if you want healthy beautiful skin. You just do.

Healthy skin habits to make you glow!

• Sticking to your skin care routine. Be faithful to it every morning and every night. Not sure how to properly cleanse your skin? Check out this blog too: Cleansing Basics
• Eating your veggies
• Drinking water and herbal teas. Drinking water can be hard to remember. I know for me personally, it’s not the actual drinking of the water that is the problem, it’s remembering to drink the water.

• Eating fish or taking a fish oil supplement. My kids and I both like liquid fish oil.  Lemon Creme Fish Oil . It tastes like lemon custard. It’s surprisingly yummy. They won’t let me forget to give it to them, they like it so much!
• Running your humidifier. Yep, you got to get one! This Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier  looks really cool and is on my wish list.
• DIY weekly facials This is simply a deep cleaning mask or scrub, followed by a mask suitable for your skin type. Then you would do your serums and moisturizer after the mask.
• Professional facials every 3 months at the least. It’s actually ideal to have a facial every 4 to 6 weeks. Facials make a huge and often immediate improvement in the health and beauty of your complexion. Plus they are relaxing too.

What makes me a skin care expert?

11 years as a licensed Skin Therapist (Esthetician).

Annual continuing education and licensing renewal with my state’s Department of Cosmetic Arts keeps me up to date.

This is a subject I study on a regular basis. All information is a collection of my licensing education, skin journals and articles I have read, as well as continuing education hours. I am passionate about helping people have healthy skin that they are confident in.

I am not a doctor and I do not diagnose or treat illness.

Would you do me a favor?

If you found this information useful, please share it on your favorite social media platform. Thank you so much!

Monica

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Keeping it real…as an affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases made through my site. Thank you for using the links for Amazon purchases and allowing me to help earn income for my family. The commission I earn is at no extra cost to you.

Monica 

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Originally published November 30, 2018.