Has your skincare routine changed for winter?
Nope! I’m still working on finding the right mix of hydrators to deal with some newer flakiness I’ve experienced, but it’s been something new and exciting to deal with over the last few months, so it’s unrelated to the season changing!
Absolutely! In Canada, where the temps drop to -@#$$%#Celsius, it pretty much has to change. I try to use products for my face that contain little to no water (things like Ombra Melkfett, sadly no longer available, or Burt’s Bees Ointment) if I’m going to be out for any length of time in the really cold weather. Generally, I shift to milder cleansers and toners (if I use toner at all) and to thicker, more “balm like” moisturizers. At night, I’ll use some of the heavier products I mentioned (while I’ve not quite moved up to the level of Bag Balm or Vaseline, products like Egyptian Magic cream work really well). I still make sure to use sun protection – summer or winter, it’s a vital part of my skin care routine. And I have a humidifier going all night in our bedroom, as much to prevent my nose and throat drying out as to hydrate my skin (face and body).
Same same and same..
Balm me up, Scotty
Same for this Canadian 🙂 I use Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Cream on some areas of my face (except the T-Zone) which get very dry during the night or which I want to protect when outside. A little goes a long way. It is an occlusive but effective cream. I have tried different balms and overnight creams and masks, but they are not enough for my needs. Same goes for my hair. I use an oil on my ends every night and morning ( Blacklight Shine Drops, Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil or a mixture of two).
Nicole, I looked up the Blacklight Drops and was surprised to learn that Oligo is a Canadian company because I’ve never seen their products – not at the salon or at any of the beauty supply stores I’ve been to. I checked their site and, of course, could find nothing at all for a salon near me (or anywhere) that stocks the products – the “locator” doesn’t seem to work! Can I ask you where you purchased the drops?
For sure, Mariella! I purchased them online from Bradörf & Origa (formerly known as Coiffure à rabais). They are located in Victoriaville (QC) but they ship in the entire CA. I’ve been purchasing from them for more than a year, and I have was always been pleased with their prompt service and shipping. They carry many professional brands that I could not find at other retailers in Montreal or Ottawa. And they have sales all the time.
https://bradorforiga.com/en
From the Blacklight brand, I have tried their Nourishing Shampoo (excellent to leave on light blonde hair for 3-5 min as it neutralizes the yellow), their nourishing conditioner and mask. The conditioner and the mask could be more hydrating, but again, I have really dry hair (it is naturally dry, plus I dye it blonde). Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks for this, Nicole. I’ll have to look more closely at some of their other products (the front of my hair is “blondish” – slowing growing out the grey but the rest is brown and purple – slowly, VERRRRY slowly growing out out the grey so one of the other oils might be better). I was hoping they’d have a “bricks and mortar” store presence (and I could get my stylist to pick up a bottle for me) but I’m going to check them out online. Again, thank you so much for this information!
Christine, not to get super personal, but may I recommend getting your thyroid checked? A typical blood test doesn’t include a full thyroid panel. I’m a huge advocate of pushing this after suffering for years, with dry skin being a culprit.
I actually am more diligent in exfoliation and I add a balm over my moisturizer prior to foundation (Bobbi Brown Vitamin Face Base is a fave). I also more diligent to make sure I am getting healthy fats like olive oil in my diet along with a mineral supplement. Especially magnesium.
Hi,
I’ve had my thyroid checked previously, and in general, it’s really frustrating to receive unsolicited medical advice, even though I know it’s well-meaning, but it generally causes unnecessary stress to someone who is already prone to worry and anxiety. My skin is dry because I’ve been using different prescription topicals to resolve a flare up of cystic acne this year that was an adverse side effect of a medication I took, which I wasn’t really wanting to share at this moment. If I am looking for advice, I will certainly reach out and ask.
My apologies. I had someone recommend and my intention was just that. Certainly didn’t mean to cause additional stress.
I totally understand that it was with good intentions, but I did want to try to explain why it can be very harmful!
Other than having to add in a fragrance free skin recovery hand lotion I don’t change my winter skincare much. My hands get so dry, especially from working outside, so if I don’t lotion every time after I wash my hands they will get really chapped and sometimes crack. I’m really enjoying the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula. I keep my hands a little wet, add this to help the moisture barrier, and wait about 30 seconds and then it sinks in. I hate the feeling of greasy lotion on my hands, but this settles in pretty well and the tip I got from a dermatologist to apply when hands are a bit damp/wet was genious!
If you haven’t tried them already, the Skinfix Eczema Relief and the Gold Bond (any variety would do, the best is the one for diabetics) are also amazing options to Neutrogena. My hands get very dry no matter the season, and having a good hand cream is a must for me.
I have tried Gold Bond before, but unfortunately found all the ones I tried to be rather greasy feeling. The Neutrogena works really really well for me and is quite cost effective, so while I like some SkinFX products for my face I wouldn’t be willing to pay the 3-4x price for it for my hands. I do know some people that swear by it who have chronically dry hands, but my hands being dry are due to being out working in cold wet winter weather (yay horses).
I’m also a fan of Neutrogena’s Norwegian formula.
No. Maybe it’s the fact that I live in California, but my skin needs don’t change anymore with season. In the past years even my sunscreen stays at SPF 50 year round.
I switch to a milder cleanser and products for normal-to-dry skin whereas in summer it’s all for normal-to-oily. At night I use a heavier moisturizer and some nights I layer a face oil over it. I am also alert to the fact that I might need to use tretinoin on alternate nights instead of every night, which is something I have had to do during past winters. Already there are parts of my face where I don’t put the tretinoin. And of course the humidifier is on at night. I have stopped using acids altogether now.
I generally have to switch to the Eucerin eczema lotion as my moisturizer because it’s gentle and if I don’t, I get eczema. 🙁
The only thing I change is my type of nighttime moisturizer. During “winter” I use a more heavy duty, deeper moisturizer overnight.
No – my skincare routine doesn’t really change for the seasons, except for summer – where I add an extra SPF layer.
Yes! My skin is prone to flakiness and dryness in the winter which can set off acne flares, eczema and itchiness. I stop use foaming cleansers and stick to non-foaming gel/cream/mousse cleansers. I skip washing my face in the morning if I think my skin doesn’t need to avoid unnecessary transepidermal water loss. My AM routine I’ll use a hypocholorous facial spray instead of dousing my face in water. Those days, I’ll only wash once a day in the evening during my shower.
Hyaluronic acid can cause flakiness bc I live in dry California so I avoid products with it with the exception of post-shower with my skin quite damp. I tend toward colloidal oatmeal products in the winter bc my skin tends to find it soothing. For face moisture, I like the Aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Gel Moisturizer combined with the Cerave Healing Ointment on places that need it. For body moisture, I like the Aveeno Eczema Therapy Balm.
Balm.
Living in BC we can get cold / damp but nothing like the East Coast .
I add a light absorbent face and body oil like Cacay oil and switch to Hour Glass #28 primer .
I do not usually endorse products from MLM’s (R+F in this case), and I do NOT sell them so there is no gain for me. They have a serum that I use once the dry feeling starts in the late fall and will continue to use until late spring. I live in Buffalo, NY and have oily skin from June – October, then mostly combination skin for the colder months. It gets so dry and no matter how much water I drink, my entire body feels like sandpaper to me. I also have sensitive skin so I switch up to a creamier cleanser that doesn’t strip my skin as much. I started using this 3 winters ago when a friend who does sell it sent me a sample to see if it helped me. The flaky patches were gone in a week. The product isn’t cheap so I’m glad I only need it for half the year, lol. I can’t use it in the warmer months as it makes me too oily in the summer.
With our cold, dry Alberta winters moisturizer is a top priority. In winter I switch to heavier moisturizers and moisturizing toners etc. My humidifier is on every night year round and is a must especially in the winter.
Yes, I slap on some foundation all over the parts of my face that will be exposed to cold when being outdoors for a while. Doesn’t even have to look that good–it just protects my skin from the cold and prevents rosacea breakouts. I use an old foundation that I no longer wear when going out.
I use Clinique’s Moisture Surge line. I changed over to it at the beginning of the year when I was diagnosed with contact dermatitis from my cosmetics and skincare. I have had a lot of dryness and dehydration in the past from my allergies and moisture surge has alleviated so much of it. It’s good stuff!
I decided to add retinol back into rotation as well as chemical exfoliation again. Within the last few months my skin went from super Sahara dry to dehydrated but oily, so much so I have to blot several times a day. Both help keep the oiliness and wrinkles at bay.
I lean towards natural herbal balms and salves when they’re available to me… Basically grease that doesn’t play too well with makeup but does absorb.
I tried Sonia Roselli’s Water Balm. It turned out to be almost a dupe for Confidence In A Cream from IT Cosmetics. Both absorb so quickly. I’m trying to use up Tatcha’s Luminous Dewy Skin Night Concentrate. I’m not sure what I’ll try next for my dry skin.