Can you see a sunny winter day without a cloud in the sky, temperature below 50 degrees? Not a drop of moisture? This would be considered a dry cold winter day. This type of climate will cause the skin to be really dry as the body may feel the cold from the temperatures and so does the skin. Normally if it is cold outside what happens indoors? The heater gets turned on. Again the sensation is super drying for the skin both indoors and outdoors. These factors, the heater indoors and the dry cold air outdoors, create dry winter skin. In this post I will discuss winter weather and tips for you to winterize your skin and suggest products you can use that aid in comfort in the cold temperatures.

Climate/Location

You may live in either a cold climate or a dry climate or both. Some places to consider that can make you really feel that dry cold climate is anywhere with desert or anywhere where it snows in the winter. No matter which one it is I will say it, the winter cold causes your skin to hurt. It pulls tight on the hands and face and you can experience pain.

Some of the dry climate criteria to look out for:

When the temperatures go below 50 degrees F.
Clear blue skies (no clouds)
A desert climate
A snowy cold climate

What tends to happen to the skin in winter is when the temperature drops the skin pulls tight. The main areas that feel it on the skin is in the face area that is exposed to the cold air and the hands. It can be a very uncomfortable feeling. You always want to make sure to moisturize your hands. I’ve been in climates where it doesn’t matter how much hand cream I use my hands still hurt. Just remember to use a moisturizing hand cream and I always suggest with some type of shea butter. My two go to hand creams would be my Unscented Body Balm that is 2.5 ounces, light weight packaging to carry in the purse and the first ingredient is shea butter. Another brand I love to use is from Bubble & Bee there organic body butter. This body butter comes in various natural scents but I love how it hydrates and is a little more creamy than my body balm. They also sell a travel size which can be good for the purse. Here is a link here you can check it out. https://bubbleandbee.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=368&feed=124

Speaking of your hands another thing you may want to consider is your dish soap if you are washing your dishes. I would suggest to use a more natural or gentle soap. One thing I learned the hard way is check if your dish soap says concentrated. What that means is that the dish soap is super strong and you can dilute it with water into a new container. Otherwise you will end up using to much of the product and loose your money down the drain. That super concentrated dish soap will wreck havoc on your hands unless you are wearing dish washing gloves. A dish soap brand I recommend is https://www.ecos.com/dishwashing/dish-soap-lavender/ If your hands feel really sensitive you can always consider using dish gloves while you wash the dishes too. Once thing I like to do is use vinyl gloves to clean the house and wash dishes and they last about 10 washes and then switch them out. These can usually be found in an 8 pack at Dollar Tree and I prefer the vinyl as they do not make your hands smell. Note this can also protect your manicure if you want the polish to last longer on your fingernails.

Boosting up your face cream to a more hydrating cream can help the skin on your face to not feel so tight. I always recommend my tallow cream as tallow is amazing for balancing the skin and giving the skin nutrients. Tallow is great for the skin year round as it comes from cows but if your not comfortable with that option then another product that I recommend for the winter skin is from Bloom Effects. This product is designed for those who have eczema. I personally do not have eczema but I do have very dry skin. The consistency of this product is almost comparable to honey. Originally when I tried the product out I didn’t care for it and was going to stop using it after about a month. Then one day I said what am I doing this product gives my skin a nice glow and fills in all the “cracks” or wrinkles so why would I not use it? You can check out the Royal Tulip Nectar with this link (not sponsored) https://bloomeffects.com/products/royal-tulip-nectar

A common issue that happens with winter weather is indoors you have a heater going. How drying does that feel to the skin and also your hair? Most heaters are either electric or gas powered. Although a heater is necessary to make you feel warm and toasty pay attention if you notice your skin may feel tight. One thing you can do is invest in a humidifier. This is always nice to bring a little moisture into the indoor climate. If you don’t have a humidifier or do not want to invest for the short winter months I can suggest boiling water on a stove with the lid off. If you want to add something to the water such as cinnamon sticks or essential oils that can work as a natural room scent. Again just be aware that you want to still hydrate the hands with a hand cream and use a stronger face cream in the winter months. Also pay attention to your cleanser in the mornings. With the cold crispy mornings you don’t want your skin to feel tight when you cleanse in the mornings. I can reference my article here https://elementlufu.com/what-your-acid-mantle-is-and-how-your-cleanser-affects-your-skin-pt-1/ on the acid mantle and balancing the skin.

Product Suggestions

If your hair is feeling dry? I always suggest a shampoo with the first ingredient being aloe vera. Any shampoo that is stripping or has the sodium laurel or laureth sulfate would be a no. A few brand suggestions for shampoos that are non drying to the hair and are moisturizing are:

Next on the winter proofing we do not want to leave out the lips. We always want a good lip balm when going outdoors. A lip balm that is natural and can protect the lips. Its good to have a lip protector on the lips. Remember the first signs of aging are shown on the hands and the lips. One of my favorite lip balms I like to use both when going outdoors and every night when sleeping is linked here. https://bubbleandbee.com/raspberry-vanilla-lip-balm/

Another suggestion for the dry heat and cold climates is to stay hydrated. You definitely want to stay up on your 64 suggested ounces of water a day. One suggestion is also herbal tea. Drinking a warm herbal tea can warm you up on the inside and the herbs can aid in internal hydration for the skin cells. I would suggest using a filtered water to make the tea. Here is a suggested link (sponsored) https://clearlyfiltered.com/?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=45f8c2c7dc6311ef83c513490a1cb827

Most the time if you consume a warming beverage or soup you can warm up internally. Another warming practice could be to consume a heated bone broth. I like to have mine with sea salt and black pepper. You want to try and warm on the stove in a teflon free pan as that is the more natural way to heat bone broth and maybe not ad microwaves to it. Also a quick recipe for your pulmonary function is Thyme water. You want to take the natural herb thyme and put into a tea strainer. You need a lot as in a bunch that you can purchase at the grocer. Place the herb in the tea strainer and then you want to boil your filtered water. Use a glass pitcher with a small enough opening to place the tea strainer. You can poor the boiling water over the tea strainer with the herb thyme in it. Let the tea strainer sit and the water will turn a light green color. You can drink this beverage warm or place in the refrigerator and drink cold. This is a great winter drink to help open up the pulmonary or (lungs).

Another way to warm up and condition the skin in the cold winter months is with a warm shower or a bath soak. Most important thing to remember when you shower is that you have a shower filter. You want one that filters out chlorine. Chlorine is very drying to the skin and since the skin is already feeling dry in a cold climate it would be better to use a filter so the skin does not feel more dry after the shower. Or you can always add the body butter immediately after. If you like to take baths in the cold weather a bath can really warm the body right up. If you have bentonite clay and you can add 1 cup to a normal size bath that should cancel out the chlorine in the bath water. If you want to use a natural bath soak for your warming bath here is a link here to find the bath salts that are homeopathic and mood enhancing. If you click the link and type in the search bar bath you can find the salt soak that is all natural and healing both physically and mentally. https://www.directlyfromnature.com/?Click=95171

Conclusion

Winter weather or cold weather is no fun on the skin. If you are aware and prepare yourself then your skin and your body will endure less pain and that “tight” feeling. Definitely you want cream cream and more cream on the face and hands. You would need your lip protector for outdoors and you want to stay hydrated with enough water intake. Fill up on warm soups and beverages and remember a nice hot bath or shower can always warm the body if you feel really cold. Just try to hydrate right after the bath or shower so that your skin doesn’t get more dry from the chlorine. I always like to mention to my clients when I’m giving a facial that if you do need to switch your facial hydration or cream due to cold winter weather it is okay. Sometimes people don’t think about switching up the cream when the weather gets cold. It is definitely something to consider as the skin cells are feeling a cooler element and it can switch up your ph balance. Hopefully these tips can help you to “Winter Proof” your skin and not have so much winter weather discomfort.