Keep Winter from Ruining your Skin

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Lotion can be a sticky and confusing solution to hydrating your skin. There’s so much competition in the industry that everyone claims to offer the best moisturizing product, but every bottle seems to leave you slimy for an hour and then as dry as you were before. There has to be another way! Fortunately, there are multiple options for people who want beautiful skin in the winter without constantly oiling up. Here’s how to stay hydrated when the temperatures drop.

Invest in a Humidifier

If dry, itchy skin makes you uncomfortable at home, it could be because there’s not enough humidity in the air. Investing in a home humidifier is a great way to boost the moisture in the air, benefiting your skin and your overall health.

Along with reducing discomfort of dry skin and chapped lips, humidifiers can also help prevent illness by reducing the spread of bacteria in dry air, and reduce the effects of asthma during the winter. Your skin will look great while your whole body feels great.

Pick Up Healthy Fats at The Store

Not all fats are bad, and investing in the right foods can give your body the natural oils it needs to keep your skin hydrated. Next time you’re at the grocery store, grab foods with omega-3 fatty acids like fish, nuts, and avocados. You can also make small changes to increase the positive foods you’re putting into your body. For example, replace the sugar in your tea with honey to enjoy its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Know What You’re Buying

Image via Flickr by shawncampbell

Do you see a long list of confusing ingredients when you look at your lotion bottle? If so, it might be time to throw it out. When you shop for skin products, avoid bottles that contain alcohol, which will dry out your skin. Instead, look for natural ingredients like witch hazel that have the same effect without the drying side effects.

Consider applying the rule of food consumption to your lotion use: when you read the label, if you can’t picture the ingredient in its natural environment, put it down. For example, you can picture coconut oil coming from the fruit of a palm tree, but you can’t picture red dye #4 in anything other than a science lab.

Skip the Long Showers

Most hair stylists caution against shampooing every day, as the chemicals pull away natural hydrating oils. The same concept is applied to your skin. By spending a long time in the shower (or taking exceptionally hot showers), you’re removing oils from your body and leaving the skin dry.

This doesn’t mean you have to start skipping showers — your co-workers probably won’t appreciate that — but you should be mindful about how often you shower (daily is enough), what temperature you use, and for how long you bathe.

Chemicals and dry air are typically the main culprits of itchy, flaky skin. By changing how you approach skin treatments, you’ll be able to solve the roots of your skin problems, not just lotion over them.