Retaining Your Natural Beauty During Winter’s Harshest Months
Regardless of where you live in the Northern Hemisphere, Winter can be an especially rough time for those focusing on keeping themselves looking healthy, happy, and carefree. Retaining your natural beauty can be effortless in the Summer months — but in Winter? It’s an entirely different story!
Know Thy Moisturizer
Find a moisturizer you like, and use it like crazy. Cary it in your car, your purse, and keep it at your desk. Moisturize before bed, when you wake up, and when you go out at night. Ideally, you’ll use a different moisturizer for your face, hands, and body — each of these areas have different needs and require different levels of strength in how deeply they moisturize. You wouldn’t slather a thick foot cream all over your face! When Winter comes, find moisturizers that offer “deep hydration” or “24-hour moisturizing,” and use them religiously.
Invest in Winter Sheets
You may be tempted to pick up a fluffy flannel or fleece for your Winter bedding. Instead, go the route of silk. Known for its heat-retaining properties, silk is great for when you want to stay warm, but don’t want layer upon layer of bedding at night. Additionally, silk does wonders for your skin. Silk whisks moisture away, keeping your skin wonderfully dry — regardless of the season. It’s also loaded with something called “sericin,” a naturally occurring chemical that keeps the silk cocoons bound together when they’re spun. It’s thought that sericin is quite beneficial for skin, as it contains multiple amino acids.
Protect Yourself
Clothing is a great way to shield your skin from harsh Winter winds and the dry air. Bundle up with scarves, ear muffs, and UV-repelling shirts to help keep yourself as warm — and protected — as possible. You can also splurge on a few goodies to wear indoors. Wear extra thick socks to wear at night after slathering your feet with lotion, and do the same for your hands with thick cotton gloves. Both routines will keep your skin soft and supple, regardless of how hard you play in the Winter.
Save Your Summer Gear
If you’re short on space, you may be tempted to pack up all your Summer goodies and haul out the Winter necessities — but hold off on putting everything away. There are two Summer must-haves that will translate into Winter, too — your sunscreen and your sunglasses. “It’s easy to associate winter with frostbite and windburn, but most people are unaware that UV rays can be every bit as damaging on the slopes as on the beach,” said Perry Robins, MD, President, The Skin Cancer Foundation. And those sunglasses will help keep you from squinting, and, therefore, acquiring more fine lines around your eyes. Keep both tools out year round!
How will your Winter beauty regime be affected? Any secrets you absolutely love? Share them with us in the comments!