How to stay hydrated this winter!

Our skin is constantly changing and with the winter coming up rather quick I thought I would blog about how to keep your skin hydrated. After all....beauty starts with health and ends with health. 

Typically during the winter our skin tends to dry out more than usual. This is caused by the weather change as well as the dry windy days. The less moisture in the air, the more your face will dry out. Some symptoms of dry skin are:

• Chapped lips
• Itchy
• Absorbs products rather quickly 
• Dry patches on face
• Flakiness 
• Roughness

To prevent dry skin from happening this winter here are some tips to stay hydrated:

• Use an oil based moisturizer. Oil on dry skin hydrates the skin a lot better and penetrates a lot better than an oil based moisturizer.
• Moisturize after a hot shower while your pores are wide open and ready to absorb the product.
• Put on more moisturizer at night before you go to bed. Giving your skin time to soak up all of the extra moisturizer will make you feel fresh and ready for the morning. Your face will feel so much better just by adding a tiny bit more to your face before bed. 
• USE SUNSCREEN! The summer and winter are the best times to get a tan. The sun reflects off of the snow and can give you color in just a few hours. So before you go out mix some sunscreen into your moisturizer. Some moisturizers even have an SPF already in them!
• Use a mineral spray during the day when you're starting to feel dried out. I recommend Evian Mineral Facial Spray. I use it all the time and I love the way it makes me face feel. 
• Use a hydrating chap stick or lip balm. A lot of chap stick isn't as hydrating as you would like it to be. The companies sell you on the flavor of the chap stick instead of its actual occlusive hydration. For example EOS chap stick has great flavors but I realize how much it dries out my lips. I like the Chapstick brand because it is cheap but works wonders. I have a chap stick in my car, my purse, on my night stand, in my makeup bag, and on my vanity. 
• When you apply makeup during the winter you may want to use an oil based foundation vs. A water based foundation. As I said above, oil tends to penetrate and leave the skin more moisturized than water based products. 
• EXFOLIATE!! Exfoliating works wonders and removes most of the dead skin on your face and or body. Too much exfoliation can be a bad thing though. It can be way to abrasive to your face and cause rashes, break outs, cysts, and can damage the skin. Exfoliating in a nice steamy hot shower once a week to twice a week (for oily skin) is perfect and will remove dead skin cells and prep the skin for the new developing skin cells. Moisturizing after exfoliation is very effective. 
• Drink plenty of water. Although we love our warm coffee, cider, hot cocoa, and tea during the winter, the caffeine definitely dries out your skin. For every cup of coffee you consume you should drink two bottles of water right after.
• For the rest of your body, moisturizing twice a day after a hot shower will help a lot. Also covering up while outside will keep the body warm and less likely to get dry and chapped. 

I hope you all liked these tips and use them this winter! Don't let the cold get the best of you!!   

xo

Sydney