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How To Get Your Skin Ready For Winter

I love winter for 3 reasons; the sky is like a giant diffuser light so my photos always look great, the air is like setting spray so my makeup always lasts long, and because coats and boots are my favourite clothing item!

HOWEVER, with all these positives come the negatives, a major one being that a lot more goes into maintaining healthy skin than during the summer time. Today, I’ll be sharing the 3 main things to focus on when building your skincare routine for the colder months of the year. These 3 categories are applicable to ALL skin types so don’t worry because there’s something for everybody.

Category 1: Exfoliation

Since the winter air can be harsh, cold, and dry, it is safe to conclude that the elements will strip our skin of its moisture and dry it out. This can result in dry, flaky, or patchy skin, regardless of your skin type. Before you turn to hydrate your skin, however, you must first exfoliate.

Exfoliation is the process of removing the dead, dry skin cells from your face and leaving behind newer, more radiant looking skin. Aside from that benefit, exfoliation allows your skincare to be absorbed better, as it won’t be working overtime to penetrate beyond the layer of dry, dead skin cells.

My favourite daily facial scrub is the Tea Tree 3-in-1 Wash Scrub Mask from The Body Shop. I love this face wash because the granules are gentle enough for everyday use and it leaves my face feeling squeaky clean, without stripping my skin of its moisture. It also has the added benefits of battling blemishes and excess oil. It’s a win on all fronts for me.

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For deeper exfoliation, my go-to product is the ExfoliKate Intensive Pore Exfoliating Treatment by Kate Somerville. This treatment is very intense so I recommend that you test it out for yourself before deciding to invest. It is very thorough and worth every cent in my opinion. The Papaya, Pineapple, and Pumpkin Enzymes naturally enhance skin exfoliation without over-drying. Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid, and Silica provide chemical and physical exfoliation. Finally, Aloe Vera, Honey, and Vitamin E help smooth and soften skin.

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Category 2: Hydration

Hydration is the most important step to healthy skin in any season. It’s especially necessary during the colder months because the air is dryer and harsher on the skin.

The 1st step in hydrating your skin is to drink water! You will save a lot of money when you drink sufficient water because your skincare won’t have to account for your lack of water consumption.

People preach a lot about how hyaluronic acid is the key to hydrated skin but they are only giving you half of the equation. Hyaluronic acid is amazing because 1 molecule can hold up to a 1000 times its weight in water. That’s wonderful to keep skin supple and soft but you have to supply the water that the hyaluronic acid will absorb, otherwise your skincare is working over time for you.

The first hydrating product I always recommend to anyone is the Vichy Minéral 89 Skin Booster (Gift set HERE & HERE). I love this skin-booster because not only does it fortify and make your skin more resistant to help protect against external aggressors like pollution and cold weather, it boosts hydration to replenish the skin’s moisture barrier as well!

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For additional ways of hydrating your skin, add a sheet mask to your daily skincare routine. You can also incorporate a facial oil to add and seal in the moisture you’ve infused into your skin. Finally, don’t forget to keep your lips moisturized! My favourite lip balm is the Lip Sleeping Mask by Laneige (gift set HERE).

Category 3: SPF

The final step to maintaining healthy skin throughout the colder months, is to use SPF. SPF is not just for the summertime, in fact, I would argue that its importance increases in the winter time. When it snows, the snow left on the ground reflects the sun’s rays and now you are protecting your skin from the elements above and below it!

SPF is so necessary that I compare neglecting SPF to pouring your expensive skincare down the drain. Your skincare will never do its job and give you lasting results if you don’t protect it with SPF and that’s a fact.

My favourite SPF is the Hydro Boost Water Gel Face Sunscreen SPF 50 with Hyaluronic Acid by Neutrogena. I LOOOOVE this sunscreen because it doesn’t leave an ashy residue on my melanin skin (yes, you still need sunscreen if you’re a black person), it’s very affordable, and it is super hydrating!

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Alright ladies, those are my nuggets of wisdom to keep your skin healthy throughout the colder months. Have you used any of these products? Will you be picking up any? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I will see you next week, same time, same place.

In the meantime, you can catch me posting daily on Instagram @ladiestakenotes & posting 3 times a day on Tik Tok @ladiestakenotes.

xx

Abby

  1. Adhiambo Cathy says:

    This was really helpful

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