1) Don’t over moisturize but increase your exfoliation.

Due to the dry heat inside your house and the cold air outside, your skin will be depleted of its natural moisture, leaving it feeling tight and dry. One huge mistake people make is to load on the extra moisturizer to compensate for the dryness. Putting on extra cream to re-hydrate dead, dry skin cells doesn’t make much sense. Try increasing your exfoliation with a gentle facial scrub to remove the dry skin cells so that when your cream goes on, it hydrates the new cells rather than the dry cells.

2) Stay away from greasy hand creams if your skin is prone to breakouts.

Many people suffer from a condition called ‘hand cream acne’. This can be caused by keeping the hands on the face while sleeping at night. They use hand cream during the dry winter months to alleviate the dryness. Most often, this cream is applied right before bedtime. If you sleep on your side with your hands on your face, the cream may be getting into the skin and clogging the pores. To prevent this from happening change the hand lotion you are using or wear some cotton gloves when you go to bed.

3) Alter your routine.

During the winter season, the skin produces less oil, so for many people, oil must be added back into the skin to maintain its balance. Moisturizers containing Safflower Oil, Avocado Oil and Shea Butter can help dry skin. Also cream-based cleanser and eye creams are a must in the winter. ‘

4) Your neck matters.

The friction caused from turtle necks and wool fibers can rub on the neck causing it to be dry and irritated. Use a hydrating cream mask on your neck once a week to replenish essential moisture. Make sure to exfoliate in upward motions with a mild facial scrub.

5) Cleanse your skin at the gym.
Always wash your face and use an alcohol-free toner and a nourishing moisturizer after a workout. At the end of the work out, the salts created from perspiration can have a drying effect on the skin, combined with the cold, dry air outside and the heat in your car. So removing the salts and locking moisture back in the skin will greatly reduce dry skin.

Katy Issa
Clinic Manager