Winter is here in full-force by now if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and your skin may be suffering terribly unless you took the steps outlined in “Preparing Your Skin for Winter.”
The results are less than desirable and can mean red, chapped, cracked, and bleeding skin. Your skin is catching on material, reminding you that summer is long gone, and that it needs some love!
Just because it’s winter, it does not mean that your hands have to be dry. I hand wash my dishes and do not wear gloves when I clean, and my hands are just fine. How do I pull this off? Well, let me begin by sharing with you how my skin used to be.
1. Use a gentle dish soap and gentle cleaners.
A few winters ago, Mom and I were noticing that our hands looked terrible even though we tried to take as good care of them as we knew how to. We were using a popular brand of dish soap available in every major grocery and drug store in the United States. What we did not know back then is that brand is full of harmful chemicals. These harsh chemicals can be disguised as fragrances in even “natural” products.
Mom had been using a natural cleaner which also doubled as a natural, biodegradable laundry detergent, and when I looked at the back of the bottle it said, that it could also be used as a dish washing soap. Immediately we made the switch, and in a week, our hands looked 100% better!
2. Use a gentle soap on your hands and a gentle cleanser for your face.
While anti-bacterial soap sounds like an effective way to kill the germs on your hands, it actually is very dangerous for you and dries your hands out. When your hands are dry, germs are more likely to enter your body.
What you need is a pH-balanced gentle soap with very little fragrance. In other words, if your soap is lemon scented or vanilla scented, it’s drying out your hands! If fragrance is anywhere but the last ingredient in your soap, stop using it!
This is also a reason your face is dry. You may be washing it with something too harsh.
3. Exfoliate your skin.
Since your skin cells die daily, it’s important to gently scrub them away. Scrubs from the store can contain tiny plastic beads that are brutal on your skin. In addition, salt and sugar scrubs can be just as harmful. You want a scrub that will gently get rid of the dead skin cells and leave your hands feeling smooth.
4. Moisturize your skin properly.
Once you do all of the above, it’s time to moisturize your skin to keep it healthy. Moisturizing it will protect it from the cold and wind. In addition, it will shield your body from germs since your skin is the body’s first defense against germs entering it–as long as the skin is properly moisturized.
5. Hydrate your skin from the inside.
You are probably wondering what something that goes inside your body has to do with your skin. Your skin renews itself every 30 days; therefore, what your skin looks like depends just as much on what you are eating and drinking that what you are putting on your skin. Be sure to avoid sugary drinks and large amounts of coffee because they dehydrate your skin.
If you would like more detailed information on taking care of your skin this winter, feel free to email me here to schedule a 15-minute chat with me. If you do nothing, it will take longer to get your skin back to “normal.” It’s better to take care of it right away.
In addition, if you are not already receiving my weekly emails, you can go here to sign up for them and receive a free gift as well!
What is your biggest skin issue in the winter? Leave me a comment below!
Have a beautiful week!
Luba
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