Raven
- Dec 7, 2020
- 4 min read

How to Maintain a Healthy Skin During Winter.

So the weather outside is frightful...and inside hot and dry, but your skin doesn't have to be. Maintaining a hydrated skin will protect against the most common winter weather skin conditions; dehydration, itching, flakiness, cracking and dullness. For some others, the problem is worse, the skin gets so dehydrated it produces eczema. Give your winter complexion a boost and you'll have a beautiful healthy skin after the season is over.

Natural Oils

Choose a non-comedogenic (pore clogging) rich moisturizer and or serum that's oil-based, rather than water-based, as the oil will create a protective layer on the skin that retains more moisture than a cream or lotion. Choose your oils wisely, because not all oils are good for the face.

Some good oils for the face are: avocado, jojoba, rose-hip, safflower, coconut, olive and almond. Shea oil -- or butter -- is a bit controversial, as it can clog facial pores, while it sits on the top of your skin making it greasy.

Natural Humectants

Humectants are ingredients that attract and retain moisture into your skin. Among my favorites, hyaluronic acid, honey, aloe vera, sorbitol (derived from sugar cane), lactic acid, glycerin, hydrolyzed wheat and rice proteins. To get more scientific, humectants are proteins. Because of their chemical makeup, high in alcohols which are part of the hydroxyl groups, humectants bond water molecules to themselves, and in turn to the skin. This is called a hydroscopic effect.

Antioxidants

Vitamins and antioxidants provide your skin with much needed protection against the elements in addition to giving you a fantastic instant glow. Include in your daily routine a product packed with vitamins and antioxidants that helps protect your skin from potential harm. Antioxidant blends can help reverse the free radical damage we accumulate due to external and internal toxins and pollution.

Don't forget Your Hands, Elbows, Knees and Feet.

The skin on all these body parts is thinner than on most parts of the body and has fewer oil glands. That means it's harder to keep them moist, especially in cold, dry weather. This can lead to itchiness and cracking. Keep them protected, and daily moisturized with a rich product that will shield against skin dehydration. Every so often, give these body parts a hydrating mask as well, to keep them soft and youthful.

How about your Lips

We all like smooth lips. Like our face skin, as the winter season sets in, the harsh weather takes a toll on our lips and makes them dry, chapped and dull.

Cold weather and low humidity result in extremely dry air, which steals moisture away from our lips. Indoor heat makes the problem worse.

The skin on our lips is very thin and has no oil glands to prevent it from chapping, therefore, you need to take extra care of your lips. If you don’t, they may end up severely dry, chapped, raw, sore or cracked.

What to do; maintain your cells hydrated by consuming the right amount of water your body needs, apply moisture a few a times a day specially before you step outside, exfoliate your lips (Just like your skin, your lips need to be exfoliated to get rid of flaky and dull skin and apply a mask as often as possible, see easy homemade recipes below)*, avoid leaking your lips and reduce caffeine intake.

Central Heating and Humidifiers

While central heating and space heaters blast hot dry air throughout our homes and offices to keep us comfortably warm, it also creates havoc to our skin. During this time of the year, the dandruff increases, and the skin starts feeling dry and lifeless. Indoor heating makes our face looks sluggish and tired and makes the skin dry, itchy and can trigger for flare-ups. In the winter months, several people overheat their homes which is a common trigger for unpleasant skin conditions. To help maintain a healthy, glowing skin get a humidifier, they provide much needed moisture in the air, which helps prevent your skin from drying out. Maintain one or more in the areas you spend most of your time, they help disperse the moisture more evenly and you will give a much need TLC to your complexion, while also helping yourself to breath fresher air.

Hydrate, Hydrate and Hydrate more...

By now, you have heard it a thousand times: Drinking water helps your skin stay hydrated, healthy and young looking, all very true, however, hydration is very personal. There are many good reasons to drink water: It’s refreshing, and it helps your brain function, maintains energy levels, regulates body temperature, aids in digestion, and ultimately keeps your body healthy. We couldn’t survive more than a few days without it.

But humans aren’t like plants. Our skin doesn’t immediately recover when we consume water. It has been scientifically proven that, in fact, when we ingest it, water doesn’t go straight to the skin, it goes through the intestines, gets absorbed into our bloodstream, and is filtered by the kidneys, only then it starts hydrating our cells. So, water remains a very important element to maintain our skin cells plump and happy, but we also must adopt appropriate skin care routines, as well as good eating and living habits for a healthy body and skin.

For the winter months, I recommend a daily skin care routine of at least two the following products from our LUXU Naturals lines: Pure Hyaluronic Acid, Evolution Oil, The Ultimate Hydrator, Rain Drops Instant Mask, Super Vitamin Serum, Caracol Cellular Serum and Optimal Repair Cream. All these products can be combined and used morning and night. Each provides, clean, natural , superb hydration as well as protection against the elements.

Cheers to a healthy, beautiful skin.

Raven.

Recipes

*Coconut Honey Lip Scrub Recipe

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon organic honey
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 tablespoon lukewarm water

Directions:

Start by mixing the coconut oil and honey.
Add the coconut sugar and the lukewarm water to this mixture.

Rub the mixture on your lips in a circular motion for two to three minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water.

Coconut oil is filled with antioxidants and fatty acids that nourish the skin, while the coconut sugar acts as a natural exfoliator that helps remove dead, dry skin. Honey is rich in natural healing properties.

*Coconut Honey Lip Mask

1 Tsp. of coconut oil – to restore the lipid layer to the skin and is also anti-inflammatory

1 Tbsps. of honey – moisturizing and antibacterial