Battling Dry, Itchy Skin During the Winter

It happens to all of us. Winter comes along and all of the sudden we become this ashy, itchy hot mess from head to toe. Why does this happen, you wonder? It's simple. Baby, its cold outside!

When the weather turns colder, the air around us looses moisture. That's just the way it works. Less moisture in the air means less moisture being retained in our skin. Fortunately for you, there are some pretty easy ways to help battle this loss of moisture.

1. Use a humidifier in your bedroom while you sleep. Turning on the heat in your house pulls moisture out of your skin simply because it is a dry heat. Using a humidifier puts moisture back in the air and therefore back into your skin.

2. Hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid. And then more Hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is something that we naturally produce in our bodies as it pulls the moisture from the air and binds it to our skin, ligaments, etc. As you can imagine, this has a good bit of benefit to us when used in skincare as it keeps our skin looking supple and youthful. How you ask? By binding moisture molecules to our skin, it is not only able to retain more moisture- it is also able to encourage collagen and elastin production. These proteins keep our skin firm and less wrinkled providing an overall youthful appearance! Peter Thomas Roth's VIZ-1000 is my absolute favorite! This stuff is the real deal.

3. Change up your facial skincare routine. Think of it this way- do you wear the same clothes in the summer as you do the winter? Absolutely not. Use an oil cleanser and a thicker moisturizer in the winter months. Also try washing your face with lukewarm water instead of hot as hot water strips away the natural oils in your skin.

4. Use an exfoliant on your lips to help battle their moisture loss. You can mix a tablespoon of brown sugar with just enough olive oil to make a paste. Use this once a week and layer with a really good moisturizing chapstick. Keep your chapstick with you to use throughout the day just in case of moisture emergency.

These are the best types that I have ever used

5. Moisturize right after you get out of the shower. As I said before, hot water pulls out the natural oils in your skin so naturally replacing them by moisturizing is a pretty smart move. Try using lotions with Vitamin E in them. This antioxidant penetrates the skin really well and helps your skin not only bump up its moisture content but also fight off those harmful free radicals we come in contact with everyday. My favorite moisturizer is pictured below...

This of course features my absolute favorite thing- Glycolic Acid. It also has Vitamin E and is so moisturizing and nourishing. Its simply amazing (and yes, I have done a blog post about my obsession with this. Check it out here: Beauty Obsession Alert)

6. For extreme dry skin, use Vaseline. You can use this little drugstore miracle on just about any portion of your body for some intense hydration!

7. Exfoliate from head to toe! Since we aren't looking to be bikini ready at a moments notice during the winter, we tend to let some thing slip. Don't let your skin pay the price. Exfoliating once a week keeps the dead skin from building up and your skin more open to receiving moisture. What does this mean for your skin? When you slather on lotion, the nourishing ingredients are able to penetrate deeper giving you more supple and smooth skin.

8. Stay hydrated. Drinking lots of water throughout the day keeps you naturally hydrated from the inside out. Put simply, its a dummy-proof way of beating the dry winter weather at its own game!

Hopefully you guys have enjoyed this and will put some of my tips to good use!

As always, thank YOU for reading!

XOXO - Megan