Winter Skin Saviors

Its no secret that Boston has been having a brutal winter. Besides the endless snow and winter woes, this season poses a new set of threats to your skin. The frigid temps, high winds and intense dry indoor heating can leave your skin parched, flaky and irritated.

I suffer from dry skin, especially on my forehead, year-round, but it kicks into high gear in the winter. This winter in particular has been especially terrible for my skin. Dry patches are also showing up on my cheeks and chin. I knew it was time to change up my skincare routine. Here are the products that have been helping to soothe my skin:

Nivea A Kiss of Smoothness Lip Balm

This is my daytime lip balm that I keep in my purse. I love this balm, because as the name suggests, it glides on smoothly and doesn't irritate my lips. There's no dragging or tugging, it just feels amazing to apply and it gives my lips a burst of moisture.

ELF Lip Exfoliator

This stuff is my tried and true. It isn't as nourishing as when I make my olive oil and sugar scrub but it is easy and mess free. I keep it in my medicine cabinet and use it about once a week to keep chapped lips at bay. Its gentle enough that I can use it every few days if my lips are going through a dry spell.

Yes to Grapefruit Facial Scrub

I have to be careful with facial scrubs, the more rough ones leave my skin red and irritated. This one is oh so gentle and smells amazing. It is marketed as being gentle enough to use daily. While I don't use it everyday, I use it every other day in the shower and it does a great job at sloughing away the dry patches without making my skin mad at me.

Mario Badescu Caviar Night Cream

This is a thick and luxurious night cream that is a godsend to very dry skin. I put this on at night after moisturizing and toning. It does take a long time to sink in and you do look like a grease slick after applying so I can see why this is a nighttime-only cream. When I wake up my skin is nourished and glowing and I can see a vast improvement in my dry patches.

Lush African Paradise Body Conditioner

This is an in-shower body lotion. After cleansing, I slather this on my body, as I would my hair conditioner, and then rinse it off. Some people have reported that after using this they no longer need to use their regular body lotion. Although I don't find this to be the case for me, I do notice that my skin is much more comfortable after getting out of the shower. Usually my skin starts to itch and beg for lotion as soon as I dry off. When I use this, my skin is much more calm and I don't feel like I have to hurry up and put lotion on. Another thing I've noticed is an improvement in my eczema. During the winter I get a few patches of eczema on my legs. I have a prescription steroid cream but I don't like to have to constantly use that. I've noticed that since using this product, my eczema isn't totally cleared up but its definitely looking better and its not as itchy.

Humidifier

The most effective step in my winter skincare has been incorporating a humidifier. About a month ago, my skin was at it's worst point. Regular exfoliating and moisturizing wasn't cutting it, so I knew I needed to try something different. Growing up, I remember my parents having this big beast of a humidifier that they used to run at night outside the bedrooms to help put some moisture back in the air during the winter. I decided to capitalize on this idea and picked up this little guy at Target. I love it because its small enough to fit on my bedside table so that the vapors are directly hitting my face. I have to tell you that it really works! Since I've been sleeping with my humidifier on I've seen such an improvement in my skin and I'm no longer getting those out of place dry patches.


I hope this gives you some ideas on how to change up your skincare to keep your skin moist and healthy during the winter. Do you have any fixes for dry winter skin?

Shop this Post:

Nivea A Kiss of Smoothness Lip Balm
ELF Lip Exfoliator
Yes to Grapefruit Facial Scrub
Mario Badescu Caviar Night Cream
Lush African Paradise Body Conditioner
Humidifier