Winter Prep-The Skin

The weather is starting to show signs of wanting to change. This is a welcome change for me as I thrive in Fall/Spring climates. Summer and Winter are not my friends and both wreak havoc on my skin. Over the past two years, I’ve noticed my skin getting more sensitive and I’ve really had to step up my game in terms of moisturizing and caring for my skin. I have never been a fan of lotion. It never seems to really soak in and it leeches back out at the slightest sign of sweat.

I still haven’t perfected what works for me, but I’m a lot closer. Here is a breakdown of the things that are working for me right now.

Of course, a good skin regimen is going to include actions that help boost health from the inside and from the outside.
The easiest thing we can do internally is to drink more water. Whether it’s bottled water or my chia water, I have kicked me intake up drastically over the past few months. I have noticed several benefits to the increase, the most important of which is the glow my skin has taken on and the decrease of dry patches. My lips and hands have become the spots that flare first so when I noticed problems with either, I immediately drink a glass or two of water before I do anything else. Even before I reach for topical solutions, I drink water.



Vitamins have also become vital to me over the last few years. I am well over due in thanking Centrum for stocking me up on multi-vitamins at Blissdom 2012.



In addition to a general multi-vitamin, I have incorporated a Skin, Nails and Hair Vitamin into my regimen. Because I started taking this at the same time I ramped up my water intake, it’s hard to say how much value it is adding, but I have seen enough improvement to keep it up. I picked this up at my local health food store. It is pricey but worth it when you have skin issues like I do.



Because I am not a fan of lotion, I have had to re-think my topical solution for skin care. I tried shea butter for awhile and my skin loves that stuff. The problem I have with that though is the time it takes to apply. Apply shea butter is not quick and I need something quick if I’m going to stick with it. Oil to the rescue! I’ve seen quite a few YouTubers make oil mixes for their hair and skin and I finally decided to give it a try myself.



I made a mix of avocado, coconut, castor and olive oils. The applicator bottle that use has measurement marks on it so I put in two ounces of the olive and avocado oil, one ounce of the castor oil and one ounce of the coconut oil. I go with less castor oil because it promotes hair growth and I would like the little body hair I have to stay that way. I does soften things up though. I take it easy on the coconut oil because it tends to over power the smell of the mix. I do love the smell of toasted coconut but I don’t want to smell like it all day. I keep this applicator bottle in the shower to apply while my skin is still wet. Talk about big improvement. With the exception of my hands which get washed several times a day, my skin doesn’t need anything else applied through the day. We’ll see how things hold up through the winter months.

Because I wash my hands so often, I do need to have something on hand to deal with that. I used to keep shea butter on my desk at work, but since shea butter takes a few minutes to soak in, I run the risk of getting things greasy as I work. Right now, I keep a bottle of cornhuskers lotion on standby but I am trying out a new body cream by ILY. More on that product line later.



I will be ecstatic if I can make it through the winter without those painful dry patches on my hands and legs. I would love to know what you all are doing to keep your skin healthy.