Winter is the perfect excuse for looking and feeling like a runway model every single day. The cold season is the best time to commute to your workplace wearing your favorite cozy sweaters and coats, chunky scarves, beanies, and gloves, and stylish boots.
But if you live in a part of the world that experiences winter or extremely cold weather, you probably know that frosty temperatures aren’t all that pretty – they can, in fact, ruin your looks.
Frigid temperatures, as well as the quick shift of seasons from warm to chilly and dry, can wreak havoc on your looks. The skin on your face and body can get dry and flaky. Your delicate lips can dry up, crack and wound. Your hair can get coarse and frizzy.
Just because the chilly, gloomy days are here to stay doesn’t mean it’s okay to look flaky, dull, and gray. Here are several beauty tips you need to get you through the winter.
SKIN
The first rule to making your skin hydrated during the cold and dry season? Moisturize like your life depends on it.
#1 Level up your skin’s moisturizing game
Apply a thick moisturizer right after stepping out of the shower. Moisturize again throughout the day, preferably before bedtime, to keep your skin feeling nice and smooth.
If you’re not satisfied with your everyday moisturizer, you may step it up by layering a skin oil on your face and body prior to applying a cream-based moisturizer. This will not only hydrate your skin but will also increase nourishment. You may also pamper yourself with a hydrating mask.
#2 Use a humidifier
Next to applying lotions and oils onto your skin, keeping your indoor air moist by using a humidifier also helps. Humidifiers provide a mist of water into the air to combat dryness.
Place it near your bed to soothe your dry, parched skin when you sleep. In the morning, you’ll see the difference: your face looks suppler, your hands don’t feel dry, and your chapped lips are relieved.
#3 Drink more water
You lose water even if you don’t sweat a lot. Your skin acts as the wall that retains water inside of the body. Due to the chilly and dry weather, the fluid evaporates off the surface more rapidly. That said, make sure to drink extra glasses of water to keep yourself hydrated.
#4 Avoid hot showers and baths
It’s satisfying to take a hot bath to beat the cold, isn’t it? But taking hot showers could do more harm than good. It can create cracks in the surface of your skin, especially when not immediately moisturized.
If you’re going to indulge in steamy baths or sit by the fireplace to warm you up, make sure to keep yourself moisturized inside out.
LIPS
Just because chapped, pale lips are relatively common during winter doesn’t mean you’ll ignore them. Lips dry out ten times faster than the rest of your skin on your face, so give them some TLC.
#5 Address chapping lips right away
The harsh combination of cold air, chilling wind, and the dry, heated air inside collide to make your delicate lips dry and tight, thus prone to cracking. Treating chapped lips is more than just face aesthetics – if left untreated, they may get infected or lead to a cold sore.
#6 Cover your pout with a lip balm
Not just any ordinary lip balm, but an ointment-based one. A balm with a healing ointment containing petrolatum, essential oils or glycerin helps lock in moisture and heal splits and cracks. For better results, apply lip balm before you go to bed.
Avoid balms containing eucalyptus, menthol, and camphor. While we all love the minty sensation, these will only dry out your lips and aggravate the problem.
#7 Leave peeling lips alone
I know it’s oddly satisfying but never ever pick the peeling skin off using your teeth or fingers. Don’t brush or rub your lips when they’re peeling either. This will only create cracks and sores on your lips, causing more pain.
#8 Refrain from licking your lips too
It’s quite tempting to moist our lips when they’re dry but licking your lips actually does the opposite. Once you put saliva on your lips, it dries out, making your lips even drier. In addition, the saliva enzymes that are meant to digest food can be irritating to the lips.
HAIR
Don’t forget to pay attention to your hair – they need moisture too.
#9 Use conditioning treatment
Step up your hair care regime this cold season. Use a weekly deep conditioning treatment to treat your dry, coarse hair. Just apply the treatment to damp hair, wear a shower cap to let the treatment sit, and rinse off.
#10 Don’t wear your hat all the time
You may also trade in your woolen winter hat (which causes frizz) for a pair of earmuffs or a winter headband.
