Winter is here and so are its friends: Christmas, New Year, and all the merrymaking, holiday travel and family-time involved. Joy to the world! Bring on the Christmas cheer, the roasts, the banquets, the booze, the booster shots and the banter. As you go about decking up and decking the halls up, remember the one thing that can really ruin a look for you: skin that’s unhappy, inside and out. Since the weather’s been getting chillier for a while, you’re probably already experiencing some winter skin problems. So we’ve put together a handy little cheat sheet to help you out with some common ones: dry skin,stressed skin and acne. We’re of the firm belief that holidays are not the time to revamp your skincare routine, fix your eating habits or to restrict yourself in any way — instead, pay attention to specific parts of your routine and spruce them up to arm yourself for the winter celebrations.
DRY SKIN
As temperatures begin to drop the world over, you tend to divide your time between two places: warm, indoor-heated rooms and the outdoors. Both conditions sap your skin of its life-sustaining moisture and hydration balance. To top it off, your lips get dry and chappy, somehow immune to the gentle guiles of the various fruit-flavoured chapsticks you might be trying.
What to do:
- Lip scrubs, not just balms! If you’re not really facing problems with bleeding lips, you should take care to exfoliate them at least once a week. That’s because with a whole pile of dead skin collecting on the surface of your lips, slapping on extra chapstick won’t work. A simple hack is to mix some white sugar with some olive oil or ghee and rub it on your lips gently. Lick, or wash it off and then moisturize. Enjoy!
- Cut out hot showers. Although the temptation might be great to step into a hot shower dialled all the way to volcanic heat, avoid it. It worsens dryness.
- Hydrate and moisturize Add in a heavier, winter-friendly moisturizer for this time of the year, and because skincare regimens can be compromised during all the travelling, get products to work harder for you by using them at night. We like this moisturizer by Dermalogica for daily use and a lovely night mask like this one by Origins.
STRESSED AND TIRED SKIN
When you’re travelling, staying up late, digging into rum-soaked plum cake and organizing/devouring delicious dinners, you’re going to be doing one thing a lot: that’s disrupting your body’s routine and thereby your skin’s otherwise good behaviour. Add in the makeup routine, scrimping on morning skincare and what do you get? A tired, sullen complexion and of course, dryness. You can’t help the schedule that comes with the holidays, but there is something you can do about its effect on your skin.
What to do:
- Drink plenty of water! About 2.5 quarts is non-negotiable for skin-related reasons. If you can cut down on the amount of heavy alcohol you choose (swap out whiskey for wine), even better. This is non-negotiable to beat not just dryness, but a whole host of other tantrums your skin might be throwing.
- Remove your makeup every night without fail. Chances are, you’re putting on stay-all-day, long wear makeup and you’re going to need a two-step removal process. Start with a face oil or an oil-based make up remover and run it over your face. Don’t miss the eyelids, under-eyes, and lips. Once done, use a water-based makeup remover to remove any leftover residue. We get it, this can be undoable when you’re hitting the sack at 4am: so grab a set of these one-step cleansing pads from CosRx.
6. Sleep. And we can’t “stress” this enough. To feel good and for your skin to be able to deal with the stress of travel, changing temperatures and also a possibly unbalanced diet, hydration and sleep are absolutely essential. Catch up on your sleep without fail every night, and don’t be afraid to squeeze in some beauty sleep during the days to prepare for nights of revelry.
ACNE
On the morning of Christmas eve, you spot a zit in an unbecoming part of your face. There’s nothing more irritating than a pointy ingrown, perhaps something that makeup cannot smooth over. This is a particularly distressing part of being an acne prone adult, but can affect any woman who is at the mercy of her hormonal cycle.
What to do:
7. Carry a retinoid: Ideally, following a good skincare routine right through your party schedule, drinking plenty of water, and trying to choose healthier alternatives to sugary snacks should not cause flare ups, but life happens. So take along a tube of vitamin A actives to apply at night. This can be part of your night cream, or be purchased separately in prescription-strength. It’s a lifesaver for hectic schedules. If you don’t normally use retinoids, Differin gel is a good option for emergencies.
