Winter skin is a species all its own and I for one have my hot spots. I have learned over the years that the best defense for dry skin is a good offense right out of the gate. Number one; hydration.
Hydration is such a hot topic and consumerisms golden egg. Hydration impacts EVERYTHING.
Our brain and lungs are mostly water; something like 90%, our bones are composed of water, muscles, blood, lymph, and skin are made of water (and other things like sodium).
You can rub the fanciest of creams or the richest of oils into your skin all you want, but if you are not hydrated, you are pouring a cup of water onto a desert floor, it will evaporate quickly, and enough will never be enough.
There are products that work to draw water from the environment, thereby plumping and hydrating your skin, and they work beautifully, but the real magic happens internally. The cells within our bodies need to be hydrated, the blood that gives life to our skin needs to be hydrated, our lungs, that infuse our tissues with oxygen, need to be hydrated.
And hydration isn’t just drinking more water, it’s a balance of consuming liquids from food and drink, absorbing water from our environment, AND it’s the movement of water such as interstitial fluid, cerebral spinal fluid, synovial joint fluid, and lymphatic fluid ~ yes, the hydration of our cell body needs movement!!
So here are my select means of combating dry skin:
First and most importantly I (try) to drink something meaningful first thing in the morning. A few of my tried and true are:
Warm lemon water with ginger (and maybe honey)
Athletic greens
32 ounces of Berkey filtered water with a pinch of sodium (Real Salt)
Herbal tea
I also try to consume 60-70 ounces of fluids per day (more if I am physically active, fighting a virus or stressed).
Next, and almost as important, I have a humidifier in my room keeping a consistent 45% (max 50) humidity level. We do have a few other humidifiers for family rooms, but our bedrooms are nonnegotiable.
As I mentioned earlier, I have my hot spots and those are typically my legs and my hands. Sometimes my hands get so dry that my fingers will crack. I have noticed that the times I keep up with a workout, my skin seems to do much better. I suspect that it’s all the movement, oxygen, fresh blood, and clean lymph that keeps my skin healthy and a little less dry.
But I still need to moisturize and the best time for me is either out of the shower (which during the winter is every other day or so) or by misting my skin before applying any creams or oils. This helps the absorption, especially on freshly exfoliated skin.
I have many lovely balms, butters, creams and oils and year after year a few rises to the top and become my go to favorites.
For my face it has always been (well over 20 years) the Facial Recovery Oil from Eminence
My new favorite is Niacinamide with Bakuchiols for a hit of exfoliation and hydration.
In a pinch I have been known to pat myself down with good old fashion olive oil upon damp skin, but another favorite is the Strawberry Rhubarb body lotion with hyaluronic acid.
My hands are another story and I have tried everything from CBD cream to raw Cocoa butter and Urea cream to soften the skin.
If things get too dry you can opt for deep moisturization using bags or socks to hold the product in and create heat so your pores open and the product penetrates without evaporating or being rubbed off.
Another seemingly odd way to help moisturize and hydrate your skin is by soaking in salt water, be it your feet prior to moisturizing, or your whole body, which is divine on so many levels. We will talk about salt soaks in another post, but for now I offer up a few ways to keep your skin healthy during the dry winter months.
Stay soft,
Corie