Winter Skincare Routine
Winter is rough on your skin, but there are a few things you can do to help transition your skincare routine to help during the dry winter.
Rehydrate Your Skin
Use a Hyaluronic Acid serum. It acts as a humectant, helping your skin retain water throughout the day. The Ordinary has a good one. Whichever product you end up using, make sure to wait a few minutes between using it and applying your next serum or lotion. By applying another product at the same time it can break down the product (disrupting the ph balance) and effectively nullify the effectiveness of the product.
Opt for a heavier face cream in the winter, it really helps keep my skin moisturized. Even night creams are great during the day. I love Tortuga by Keys. It's a very simple product, but SUPER emollient.
Drink water! Staying hydrated during the winter is hard because you are just not thirsty, but hydrating your skin from the inside has way more benefits than a face lotion. For a quick hydration boost you can try Nuun hydration tablets. I use them for marathon running, but I started using them for a quick hydration while traveling or you just feel you can't drink enough water.
There is nothing worse than dry flaky skin in the winter. It's borderline frustrating and your skin can sometimes feel so dry that it's burning. It's important to keep exfoliating so your skin cells can rejuvenate. I love Acure Brightning Facial Scrub 1 or 2 times a week. When looking for a facial scrub look for a product with natural ingredients like charcoal. Some companies use micro plastic to exfoliate which ends up in ocean, which the fish will eat.. and then we eat the fish.
If you have sensitive skin try Skin ICELAND Nordic Skin Peel Pads.
Retinoid
Retinol is one of the most studied anti-aging ingredients on the market. Originally marketed as an anti-acne treatment in the 70s, retinoids quickly proved to have considerable anti-aging effects. Retinoids fights signs of aging, evens out your skin tone and actually improves acne. I recommend you start with a low dose and work your way up. If Retinoid is not for you, start with a AHA or BHA instead, it's gentler. Murad has a great Retinoid and for an AHA/BHA try Drunk Elephant Glycolic Serum.
Don't use Retinol and other serums like Vitamin C or Hyaluronic acid together. Serums work best when using them separatel or waiting a few minutes between application.. Why? Serums gets absorbed at a specific PH balance, if you disturb the PH balance it will breakdown the molecule and render the product ineffective.
Use Retinoid at night and Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid in the morning. They are not great together, but if you spread them out AM to PM routine it will benefit you the most. And don't forget to use SPF with these serums, EVEN in the winter. (30 SPF minimum)
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a great antioxidant that helps with fighting dark spots and under eye dark circles. It's the perfect time in the winter to clear up your skin from the summer skin damage.Vitamin C helps produce collagen (which keeps skin firm and reduces the appearance of wrinkles), and protects skin from sun damage and dark spots. I've really notices a skin firmness since I started using Murad Enviromental Shield Vita-C Glycolic Brightening Serum and my dark spots have definitely lightened.
Vitamin C is a very unstable molecule so make sure that you wait 2-3 minutes after application before applying anything else. I know Drunk Elephant has actually made all their products the same PH balance so you can apply all the products together, but it's actually the only skincare line I know that does that.
Overnight Mask
I love a good overnight mask to hydrate your skin while you sleep. It has really benefited me. Usually an overnight mask does not give you anti aging benefits but it will hydrate your skin and give you the healthy dewy skin you want. Try Paula's Choice Hydrating Recovery and Whish over night mask.
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