Fashion
Dry Skin Fixes: 7 Ways to Keep Skin Extra-Hydrated This Winter
Y'all, I'm not sure my skin can take this "winter" thing anymore (yes, I say that every year; yes, it's true). I'm drinking water, I'm eating avocados, I'm applying facial oil every night, but my skin is just so-o-o dry. As Ke$ha once sang, I wake up in the morning feeling like Mrs. Havisham.
It's February, there's a polar vortex somewhere, and our winter skin has endured enough. It's time to ramp up the hydration factor in a serious way.
Facial Capsules
They may look like something you should be taking orally, but au contraire: twist off the narrow top and squeeze the luxuriously concentrated oil all over your face. Weleda recommends using one every night for 4 weeks for an intensive moisturizing treatment (YES PLEASE); if your face isn’t the texture of the Sahara desert, you can stick to 1-2 capsules a week.
Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Capsules, $40, weleda.com
All things lipids
Lipids are molecules like fats and oils that are found in your skin, helping to create the barrier that keeps moisture trapped in your pretty cheeks. Supplement your own precious lipid production with products like squalene or jojoba oil, which are similar to human sebum and absorb, wonderfully and non-greasily, into skin.
Pure Olive Squalene Oil, $19.49, vitaminshoppe.com
Moisturizing powder
We’ve all done the moisturizing foundation thing, but if your coverage is still leaving your face dry, swap out your powder for one that leaves you glowing and hydrated, not matte and parched.
Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder, $59, smashbox.com
Alcohol-free toner
If you’re using a toner with alcohol in it during these harsh winter months, I love you, but what are you thinking? Time to either abandon toner altogether or use a gently hydrating one that won’t suck the life (water) from your soul (face).
L’Occitane ‘Immortelle’ Essential Water, $27, nordstrom.com
A body serum
Welcome to the beauty future: we now have body serums. Before you dismiss this as yet another marketing gimmick, imagine applying a serum head-to-toe underneath your regular layer of body moisturizer. Goodbye, cruel chapped knees!
Lina Hanson Global Body Serum, $63, spiritbeautylounge.com
A mask that infuses moisture
When I was a teenager, a facial mask meant a layer of green clay that sucked all the moisture (and, hopefully, the breakouts) from your skin. Not anymore: now, a mask can calm, refresh, and infuse moisture right back into your wind-worn skin.
Fresh Rose Face Mask, $58, sephora.com
An oil soak
I just made that term up and I’m aware that it’s disgusting, but hear me out: on days when your face feels like a Greek tragedy mask (carved out of stiff leather and hardened into a grimace), pull your hair back, wash your face, and slather your face and neck with more oil than your skin can absorb. Olive, jojoba, argan, sweet almond, or some other type of natural oil — the more, the better. Take your oily visage over to the computer and spend a half hour Facebook stalking your college nemeses. Once your face has absorbed all the oil it can, wipe off the excess. Ahh — you can form normal facial expressions again.
Argan Oil, $9.99, pipingrock.com
An anywhere-salve
For seriously chapped lips, noses, cuticles, cheeks, and anything else that’s red, flaky, and driving you insane, a rich nourishing salve is your best friend. Slather it on wherever you need a little help.
MJ’s Herbals Calendula Salve, $12.99, spiritbeautylounge.com
