The answer lies providing extra moisture for your skin everywhere. There are other things you can do as well, which will be less drying, such as spending less time in the bath and shower, moisturising immediately afterwards and using products specifically designed for hydration, as well as protecting your skin from the sun (every day of the year).
Use a body lotion every day straight after your bath or shower. Personally I prefer those which have little, or just a very subtle scent. Clarins Moisture Rich Body Lotion is rich and creamy and and all time favourite, closely followed by Burts Bees Ultimate Care Body Lotion, which is exceptionally well priced, so you really can have great skincare for less than the premium brands.
It’s easy to forget about the extra moisture your hands need in winter and end up with chapped areas which can take a long time to get rid of. Use gloves when washing up and hand cream every time you get your hands wet (easier said than done, I know. Again Clarins Jeunesse des Mains is a favourite. For chapped hands which need special treatment buy a tube of Neutrogena’s wonderful Norwegian formula hand cream. Use it very sparingly where you need it. Its healing effects are almost instantaneous. Again it is incredible value.
From Elizabeth Arden’s Intensive Lip Repair Balm to Kiehls, Burts Bees and Clinique’s Superbalm there is a huge range of lip treatments out there, many of which we don’t think about until noticing that our lips are less than soft and smooth during the winter months, when lipstick seems to disappear so much more quickly. Keep a tube of lip balm in your bag to carry with you everywhere, and a lip repair balm in your bathroom. Nobody wants cracked lips……
Should you change what you’re using around your eyes in winter? It all depends if you are using a special cream and how good it is. This is no time to skimp, and one pot of a seriously good eye treatment cream will last for a long time, as you use very little. You need a cream that is specifically designed for hydration to brighten, replenish and revitalise the delicate area around your eyes. You’re not looking for a lifting effect product here, but revitalising, protecting and moisturising.
Finally on to facial moisturisers, of which there are so many, with each brand having more than one, designed to confuse you, or it can appear that way. My two current favourites are Lancome Absolue Premium Moisturiser, and Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. All of these moisturisers contain SPF – I wouldn’t buy a daytime moisturiser without sun protection at any time of year.
What you go for will very much depend on how much you want to spend and which are your favourite brands. I would always say spend more on face and eyes and a little less on body creams and lip balms as there are such good ones which don’t cost the earth. But whatever you do, moisturise, moisturise moisturise – you won’t regret it.
