Best Skin Care Routine For Dry Skin: Winter Tips
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If your skin feels dry no matter how much you moisturize then it's probably dehydrated. And the way to fix this is to repair your skin barrier.
Dehydration is a very common side effect for dry skin when winter kicks in. The cold temperatures, drier air, and central heating (cranked up high!) can quite literally suck the life right out of your skin.
A little dramatic, I know, but it's important to pay attention to your skins' seasonal needs and adjust your beauty regime accordingly.
If you want glowing skin all year round here’s my advice. From my own experience with normal to dry and often sensitive skin, winter has always been a time for flaky rough patches and terribly dull skin. I would get so frustrated with my moisturizer... Was this some kind of trick? Why is my skin so dry when I moisturized two minutes ago?
Then I discovered the difference between dry and dehydrated skin. Bingo! This literally solved my dry skin problems overnight and got my skin glowing in days.
Five tips for creating a skincare routine to repair your skin barrier and maintain healthy, glowing skin:
Table of Contents
HOW TO GET GLOWING SKIN NATURALLY
Your skin barrier is the protective shield between your body and the outside world. Its main function is to keep moisture levels balanced to prevent dehydration and to keep environmental hazards like free radicals, UV rays, and bacteria out.
A healthy, strong skin barrier —or lack thereof, is the difference between glowing skin or dull skin.
BEST CLEANSERS FOR DRY SKIN
Avoid Harsh Detergents
The thing about a lot of cleansers and face washes —that claim to be hydrating for dry skin, is that they can contain harsh detergents that strip all the moisture out of your skin barrier.
Sulfates are detergents used in shower gel, shampoo, and face wash for their cleansing, foaming, thickening, and antimicrobial effects. Over time, daily use of these products is known to disrupt and damage the wall-like structure of the skin barrier, leaving your skin vulnerable to environmental damage and dehydration.
Harsh surfactants to avoid;
sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
sodium Laureth sulfate (SLES)
ammonium laureth sulfate
disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate
CLEAN BEAUTY PICKS
Trade your harsh cleanser and face wash for cleaner, kinder options. These cleansers remove makeup and dissolve daily grime without stripping your skin! Leaving it feeling nourished and hydrated.
A rich, velvety cleanser that gently melts away impurities — including makeup — while helping to replenish skin with moisturizing oils. Works for all skin types, but especially ideal for dry, normal, and combo skin.
A decadent oil cleanser, made only with nourishing plant oils, that removes makeup, dirt, and other impurities — for skin that feels soft and soothed, never stripped.
A satiny cream cleanser that gently detoxifies with tamanu oil, removing surface impurities without compromising skin's delicate barrier—especially ideal for sensitive and aging skin.
A balm-like cleanser that melts into skin to whisk away makeup, oil, and pollutants with pure plant extracts—skin is left baby-soft and refreshed.
A balm-like cleanser that melts into skin to whisk away makeup, oil, and pollutants with pure plant extracts—skin is left baby-soft and refreshed.
BEST TONERS FOR DRY SKIN
Alcohols are used in beauty products for a few reasons: to make formulas lighter, to improve the texture, as a preservative, or to help other ingredients penetrate the skin. But, there are good alcohols and bad alcohols.
Daily use of a toner that contains 'bad' alcohols is extremely drying for the skin., weakening the skin barrier, leaving your skin vulnerable to dehydration and environmental pollutants.
Bad alcohols to avoid;
benzyl alcohol
SD alcohol
denatured alcohol (alcohol denat.)
ethyl alcohol
isopropyl alcohol
Good alcohols, also known as fatty alcohols;
cetyl alcohol
stearyl alcohol
cetearyl alcohol
CLEAN BEAUTY PICKS
Choose alcohol-free toners if you want glowing skin. Here are my clean beauty picks for dry skin. These toners include hydrating, soothing, moisturizing, and anti-aging ingredients specially formulated for very dry skin.
EXFOLIATION FOR DRY SKIN
Glycolic Acid
Glycolic acid (AHA) is the best chemical exfoliant for dry skin. Not only does it brighten your skin by sloughing off dead skin cells, but it also has a unique ability to hydrate deeper layers of the skin, speed up cell renewal and stimulate collagen production. If used in combination with good skincare, it can help to repair the skin barrier transforming your skin in days.
Regular exfoliation is a must for your skincare routine if you have dry skin. Especially during winter!
Incorporate exfoliating acids into your daily winter skincare routine with either a cleanser, toner or serum. Or give yourself a weekly facial and use an exfoliating mask. Evolve Organic Beauty Miracle Mask contains glycolic acid and Peruvian maca to lift dead skin cells, hydrate and increase cell turnover.
If your skin is sensitive try Daytox Enzyme Peeling contains fruit enzymes and rice protein to break up dead skin cells on the surface of the skin to reveal smoother, softer, and healthier skin. Enzymes are potent but considered gentle and more suitable for easily irritated and sensitive skin types. However, they still combat a number of major anti-aging skin concerns.
HYDRATING SERUM
Now you've sloughed off your dead skin cells, it's time for hydration!
Humectants are magical skincare ingredients that attract moisture. Scientifically classed as hydrophilic (water-loving), they hydrate the skin by attracting and binding to water like a magnet.
Some, like Hyaluronic Acid (HA) can hold up to 1000 times their weight in water. This has an incredibly youthful effect on the skin by plumping and reducing fine lines and wrinkles. In fact, a winter skincare routine for dry skin is not complete without a quality hydrating serum!
Humectants to look for in your skincare;
Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
Saccharide Isomerate
Glycerin
Sodium hyaluronate
Hyaluronic acid
Sodium PCA
Sorbitol
Allantoin
Honey
Aloe Vera
Seaweed, algae
Humectants to avoid;
Propylene glycol
Butylene glycol
CLEAN BEAUTY PICKS
Serum is a vital step in your skincare routine if you have dry skin. And if you follow all of the other steps in this post it will give you glowing results, fast!
BEST FACE OIL FOR DRY SKIN
The benefits of botanical oils never cease to amaze me. If you are committed to a suitable skincare routine, then the right facial oil will help to speed up your skin glow goals.
The following oils will help to rebuild and repair your skin barrier. By speeding up skin cell regeneration and deeply moisturizing the skin. They are all high antioxidants, meaning they protect your skin from future free radicals and environmental pollution, making them perfect for dry, damaged, and mature skin types. They also have soothing and healing benefits for sensitive skin types that suffer from eczema or other dermatitis related skin conditions..
Squalane, sea buckthorn and marula oils are a few I use all year round!
These oils help to repair the skin barrier, preventing further damage and dehydration:
One of the world’s most antioxidant-rich oils, marula oil is able to protect the skin from free radicals, neutralizing the effects of oxidative stress which prolongs skin cell health and delays the aging process. It is a very hydrating oil that is high in vitamin E which stimulates collagen synthesis, helps to promotes skin elasticity, and reduces fine lines, wrinkles, and scarring.
NIGHT CREAM FOR DRY SKIN
If you have dry skin then night cream is a crucial step in your skincare routine. Especially during winter!
Besides containing nourishing and moisturizing ingredients, a good night cream will also contain occlusive ingredients.
Occlusives prevent the skin from becoming dehydrated by creating a barrier on top of the skin that ‘seals’ and ‘locks’ in moisture. This makes them a vital part of your skincare routine.
Commonly used by clean beauty brands, natural occlusives such as oils and butters are wonderful skincare ingredients. They have the ability to replenish and repair your skin barrier while you sleep! They are particularly soothing and healing for dry, sensitive skin types that suffer from eczema or other dermatitis-related skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Natural Occlusives To Look For;
Shea Butter
Mango Butter
Cocoa Butter
Wheat Germ
Jojoba Oil
Rosehip Oil
Macadamia Nut Oil
Hazelnut Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Vegetable waxes
Candelilla
Carnauba
Unrefined Beeswax
Synthetic Occlusives To Look For:
Fatty Alcohols:
Cetearyl Alcohol
Cetyl Alcohol
Lanolin Alcohol
Coconut Fatty Acids
Silicones:
Cyclomethicone
Dimethicone
Cyclopentasiloxane
Synthetic Occlusives To Avoid;
Petrolatum
Mineral oil
Paraffin
Targeted towards extremely dry and dehydrated skin, this night cream is intensely nourishing, hydrating and replenishes for the skin barrier. It creates a defensive shield against the negative effects of winter like, cold winds and central heating.
If you have dry skin then you need this night cream in your life. It nourishes, heals and repairs your skin with pure 100% avocado pear oil, manuka honey, antioxidants, vitamins E, A, B1, B2, C and D and calendula oil.
For an extra boost, this winter why not treat yourself to an infrared sauna blanket and start the ultimate self-care ritual by Higher Dose. A wonderful way to make the most of your me-time and improve your state of mind is by creating a ritual of consistent practices.
PRINTABLE SKINCARE PLANNERS
Want your skincare routines done for you? Get an Ultimate Skincare Planner now from my Etsy Shop! Specifically created for every skin type, the skincare planner bundle will not only keep your skincare routines on track, but it is full of pro tips and recommendations for your skin type too. Plan your morning and evening routines, plus your weekly and monthly treatments to target skin concerns. Stay on top of your beauty products with the Wish List + Product Favorites and Skin Trackers. Use the code RICHSKIN20 to get 20% off!
