How to fight dry skin & Hair in the Winter!

The Winter season is amazing! Fun Holidays, oversized sweaters, Christmas cheer, blankets of snow to play in or even building a snowman with Elsa. But you know what sucks? The dry spell… Get your mind out of the gutter, I mean the rough, itchy, flaky and irritated patches of skin from the icy temperature and whipping winds of Winter. Being outside in the cold and the Sahara heated temperature inside doesn’t help your skin look or feel it’s best. I have dry skin generally, but you can only imagine how it is in the winter! Therefore, I am going to share with you the tips and tricks I do to fight the dry skin and hair in the Winter.

Dry skin – Body: 

• Although in the cold everyone loves to just stand in the steaming hot shower stream for a long period of time, it doesn’t help your skin! Change your 20 minutes of hot showers to 10 minutes of warm showers. It keeps from stripping the natural oils in your body that is used to avoid dry skin.
• Exfoliate your entire body head to toe at least 2-3 times a week. If you have dead skin building up, it will block and put a barrier for when you are trying to nourish your skin with lotion and oils. Therefore, exfoliating will help get rid of the dead skin that is built up on your body.
• Lather your body up with lotion or body butter right after you get out of the shower. Yes, it requires some extra work but trust me it is worth it in the long run! Do not wait to do this after your shower, the longer you wait your skin will dry up. You can also you natural oils that are good for dry skin in substitute for the lotion. For example, argan oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil and shea butter are good for the skin.
• Taking a bath with Two cups of powdered milk is really great for the skin! It helps keep the skin nourished, fighting dryness. The Lactic acid in the milk fights against dry skin. It sounds weird in theory to dump two cups of milk powder in your bath, but it could be worse and it works so theres that.
• Switch out your soap bars or body wash that you use normally and use soap bars and body washes that have cocoa butter or shea butter in it. It will help a little more with keeping your skin nourished.
• Cracked heels – To help avoid your heels being dry or getting cracked. Scrub your feet at least twice a week with a pumice stone and apply a thick layer of cream or butter to it. Also use natural oils, for example vitamin E oil is really good for cracked skin.
• Overall, dressing warm and properly for the cold winter is also helpful. Dressing weather appropriately helps build a barrier  from the cold winter and the wind, which can prolong the drying effect the cold has on your skin.

Dry skin – Face:

• Use a gentle facial cleanser or one that has hydrating ingredients in it such as lactic acid. Also, use a moisturizer that has SPF in it and doesn’t dry out your skin. There are many moisturizers that cater to sensitive and dry skin.
• Just like your body, for the same reason it is important to exfoliate your face at least 2-3 times a week to help get rid of the dead skin build up.
• Use a facial mask at least once a week aimed to hydrate and nourish your skin. There are many face masks that are targeted for dry skin. Most face masks are targeted for anti-aging, but thats okay because as your skin gets older it drys out even more. Therefore, using a face mask for 15-20 mins every week can go a long way.
• Your Eyes are the most sensitive area on your face, therefore paying more attention and taking care of them can only benefit you better. Using an eye cream every night can help keep your eyelids and eye area stay well nourished and can help avoid dark eyes or eye bags.

Chapped Lips:

• Always have lip balm with you so when you step outside you can apply a healthy layer to avoid chapped lips. Once you keep the habit of always having one on you, you’ll start to use it more often. When you step outside in the cold, theres nothing protecting your lips, so applying lip balm helps build a barrier from the cold winds.
• Exfoliate your lips at least three times a week to flake away the dead skin and keep your lips smooth and healthy. You can use a lip scrub or even just a tooth brush to exfoliate the dead skin off of your lips.
• Okay, We have all been guilty for doing this, but it is really bad for you! Do NOT lick your lips to get rid of them feeling dry. Your saliva is used to to help digest and break down your food, so you can only imagine what it’s doing to your lips. Yes for those quick 10 seconds your lips won’t be dry, but all your really doing is helping your lips get even more chapped in the future.
• When your applying makeup to your lips such as lip linear, gloss or lipstick, make sure you use a lip balm before you do that to help your lips stay nourished! Those products could get your lips to feel dry so do yourself a favour and apply a healthy amount of lip balm before applying your makeup! It helps.

Dry Hair: 

• Just like everything else, Exfoliate your hair! No, Im kidding. But avoid washing your hair every other day, It’s gross to say but the less you wash it the better! Ha, In all seriousness washing your hair more then you need to is stripping the natural oils of your hair which causes your hair to turn dry. Use a good dry shampoo to avoid a wash and keep your natural hair oils!
• Conditioner is your best friend! Yes, I don’t use a lot of conditioner when I wash my hair because It tends to make my hair oily faster. But, in the winter when your my hair starts to get dry, I welcome the conditioner!
• Deep condition your hair at least once a week. Use a good hair mask or a deep conditioner and leave it on for 10-15 minutes and rinse it out. It will keep your hair well nourished and shiny, not to mention healthier. Some good deep conditioners or hair masks are the Macadamia oil hair mask and not so pricey, the Aussie 3-minutre miracle hair mask. They both work wonders!
• Use a lot of oils in your hair! When your styling your hair make sure to use heat protectant, but after you style it a good hair serum or oil goes a long way. Do a hot oil treatment at least once a week. Take castor and coconut oil and warm it up in the microwave a little and apply it as a hair mask. Sometimes I leave it in over night if I have to and it’s just awesome.

So these are the Winter survival tips to fight dry skin and dry hair. I try to keep up with them and do these tips as often as I can and it really does work! Trust me when I say, I wouldn’t go through all that extra work if it didn’t help! And if that doesn’t keep you out of the dry spell, then I don’t know what will! 😉 Make your Winter a warm toasty, dry-free one!  Enjoy!! xx