5 Tips for Winter Skin Care; Don't Let Your Guard Down Yet

Spring may be beginning to show itself a little here and there, but the reality is that we’re not done with winter yet. Cold air outside, and too-warm, too-dry air inside, can wreck havoc on your vulnerable skin which does nothing for waging the anti-aging war.

Below are 5 of my favorite—and a bit out-of-the-box—tips on giving your skin that all important TLC during the winter months. Your anti-aging skin care program will thank you!

1. Turn down the heat. Everyone has the heater running in the house, and you need to turn that on low because as the moisture is being sucked away from the air it’s dehydrating your skin, especially when the windows and doors are closed.

A humidifier is great to reverse that. Also get some beautiful green houseplants, put them around because not only do they purify the air, but they also add natural moisture back.

2. Avoid scented body washes and lotions during the colder months. I know that everyone has gotten scented, perfumed lotions during the holidays, but stay away from them during the winter time because this is the time when our skin is most prone to dryness, and you can actually get skin irritations, even allergies, from the chemicals used to make the scents and perfumes.

I recommend gentle cleansers, and stick with unscented moisturizers, and even unscented detergent for your clothes.

3. Don’t blow dry your hair with hot air, because hot air dries the scalp. This can cause the scalp to flake, you can get dandruff, and even weaken the hair follicles. Use the blow dryer on “cool.” It may take a little bit longer to dry your hair, but you’ll love how the moisture will stays in, and your hair is shinier.

If you really can’t get away from blow drying your hair on hot, use products such as oils and conditioners that will put back moisture in your hair.

4. Limit your time in the hot bath. In the winter time when it’s cold it’s nice to soak in a hot bath, but I recommend limiting the hot bath to five minutes only.

Hot baths, and showers, actually strip our skin of its natural oils. It’s very important to keep the skin lubricated, especially in the winter.

5. Moisturize and exfoliate. Okay, this one is not so out-of-the-box, but these two procedures are oh, so important. Both are essential during the winter to keep your skin soft and supple.

Moisturize every day, several times a day.

Exfoliate once a week (but only if you don’t have a skin condition such as eczema).

Try these tips and you’ll have happier winter skin!