1. Sunscreen is only needed during hot days of the summer.

Wrong! Sunscreen should be part of your daily routine all year round especially during fall and winter months. Fall and winter are the seasons in the year where the cloud cover is most common. Clouds reproduce unwanted UV rays from the sun which will damage your skin.

2. One type of moisturizer for the whole year is enough.

Once again, wrong! It depends on how harsh the season is. A mild season would best fit a lotion-based moisturizer. For strong seasons, a cream-based moisturizer will help restore moisture levels in the skin and generate a defensive barrier against the winter weather.

3. Repairing chapped lips with a lip balm.

This is another myth for caring the skin. Lip balm is good for healthy lips to avoid chapped lips, but lip balm for already chapped lips won’t do much. Lip balm for chapped lips will not moisturize the lips. A gentle lip exfoliant every night then followed by an emollient or prescription-strength hydrocortisone ointment will do cure those chapped lips. Pucker up!

4. Lotion will remedy cracked, chapped skin.

No, lotion won’t do any good for those chapped and cracked skin. A recommendable solution for cracked and chapped skin is a combination therapy which includes passive protectants (i.e. bland emollient creams) and active moisturizers. Passive protectants will create a shield for your skin from the environment. Meanwhile, moisturizers will soften and exfoliate the skin.

5. There’s no need to change my daily facial rejuvenation, whatever the season may be.

People, who undergo skin rejuvenation therapy or wrinkle treatment, would want to think twice about their regimen during cold, dry seasons. Product bases should be altered as fall and winter draw near. Lotions and serums should be set aside and replaced by creams and including a hyaluronic acid to the mix. After that, you may want to lessen the use of skin products with vitamin A. It doesn’t hurt if you apply additional moisturizer to obtain more hydration.

The answer is amazingly simple. Our skin cells die every single day. They stack up in little not-so-pretty layers. This is true of our faces, hands, body. Some of the cells do manage to flake and fall off but the vast majority like to stick together and hang around, causing problems. Think of it this way – even the best moisturizer in the world can’t fix dead skin!

The key to living with winter dry skin is regular exfoliation. You will need an exfoliating product (like a scrub or masque) gentle enough for your face, and another for the rest of you. You need to exfoliate 2-3 times a week and follow with an intensive moisturizer. (If your skin is normally oily, use an oil-free moisturizer. Even oily skin needs moisture – it just doesn’t need oil.) You will see an immediate and dramatic improvement!!

Here is a recipe for an at-home spa treatment you can make yourself easily that will instantly relieve dry, flaky skin! You’ll need a jar with a lid to keep it in. Fill the jar half full of your choice of salt OR sugar. Now fill the jar up with your choice of almond oil, baby oil, olive oil, or another beneficial oil and stir before each use. (I enjoy using various aromatherapy oils for this). If desired you can break open a few vitamin E capsules and mix into your scrub, and maybe a little aloe gel. Be creative!

Put yourself in a warm (not hot) bath and use the scrub all over your body. Pay special attention to areas like heels, elbows, hands. Then relax and soak for a few minutes – the oils and salts will mix with your bath water and moisturize you everywhere. When you get out, just pat dry – do not rub. You probably won’t even need to apply moisturizer after this bath! You’ll just feel wonderful. If you do this exfoliating bath 2-3 times a week and moisturize all over daily, you should not suffer from winter dry skin!

Written by: Sheila Talley © 2007
Source: butyoudontlooksick.com

Philosophy Hope in a Jar daily moisturizer – This facial cream is great for ALL skin types and it’s non-comodegenic, so those with acne-prone skin don’t have to worry about it clogging up their pores. It even contains exfoliating properties to make your skin healthier and more supple.

Clinique Exfoliating Scrub – This is made for those with oilier skin, but most skin types will benefit from using this to scrub off dead skin cells.

Einstein Cosmetics’ Lip Theory Cooling Relief – Dry, chapped lips are one of the worst things about winter. Fortunately, Einstein’s Lip Theory lip balm helps combat this problem and heals because it contains cocoa butter, Vitamins A and E, vanilla, and mint.

Also make sure that you wear gloves. Protecting your hands from low humidity and the cold air helps prevent flare-ups. Make sure your gloves are made out of material that won’t irritate your skin. If you’re allergic to wool, try slipping on a cotton mitten next to your skin before wearing the woolen ones over your hands.

Current diverse peoples with dirty hands and fingernails will only help propagate such infections and irritate the already affected area, even if a person’s hands seems to be clean there are several types of bacteria that a person can carry just because he or she touched an object that might have had such microorganisms.

Make sure that your cleanser does not contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid since these can make the dryness worse. instead, use a gentle cleanser like Neutrogena or Dove.

Keep your skin moisturized, even if you get acne. But you don’t have to use a greasy moisturizer; choose one that comes in gel or lotion form as they are lighter than moisturizing creams. Make sure they are noncomedogenic so that your moisturizer does not block your pores.

Finally, drinking lots of water in the winter is just as important as during the summer. Stay hydrated on the inside by drinking eight glasses of water a day.

Vitamin A is commonly associated with good skin because of its abilities as a good anti-oxidant. However, Vitamin A itself is the general term given to a group of molecules (alcohols and aldehydes) that can exist in either form under given circumstances. Carotenoids and retinol are other popular names for Vitamin A.

It is one form of the carotenoid structure in particular (beta-carotene) that gives the group its anti-oxidant properties. An anti-oxidant is simply a molecule that can remove radical scavengers along the skin’s surface and thus help in the maintenance of youthful vibrant skin.

If you’re suffering from dry skin, consider using a mild, gel or lotion-based moisturizer, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors. The wind and cold gives the skin an extra beating and you need to place extra protection.

If you are using treatment with retinol, make sure you use the one with SPF 15 during the day. Skin becomes more sensitive when retinol is applied, and UV rays are just as evident in the winter as in the summer, especially when it is reflected by snow and water.

Oh sure, your face can look a little better after the latest round of dermabrasion and salicylic acid applications compliments of the aesthetician but you know that the problem you see requires more than just skincare. More aggressive treatments seem necessary for sure.

Maybe you have considered using injections that paralyze – after all, your forehead is lined and mushy and your eyebrows are dropping. Your eyes look tired and eye makeup impossible to wear.

England’s The Sequoia Spa will rehydrate your face by a massage that will replenish with face oil. This face oil includes aromatic sandalwood and patchouli essences. This rejuvenates exhausted and environmentally stressed skin. All of these for only about $160.

Body treatment in Belladona’s in New Orelans, is at the same time, fruity and soothing. Tropical fruits enzymes from pineapples and papayas are natural exfoliators. For only $135 for 110 minutes, this body treatment includes a cream-based papaya and pineapple enzyme mask, plus a coconut-papaya salt scrub. Yummy and relaxing at the same time!

The most neglected, yet an important part of the body that also needs attention: the feet. Winter season requires the feet to wear boots, thus, trapping the footsies.

Belladonna’s Thai Lime Pedicure boosts hydration and exfoliation for the feet. This pedicure contributes in the circulation of the blood. This treatment includes a deep Thai massage to the legs and feet and also, a stimulation of acupressure points with a special wooden tool. This relaxing treatment for the most ignored part of your body for only $80.