I dread winter. I really do. The days are short, there’s no fun holidays after Christmas, and I always suffer from horrible dry winter skin. No matter how hard I try, my face, lips, and hands are always left chapped and red by the cold winter air.
One time during finals week at school my knuckles were so dry I accidentally(?) started bleeding onto my physics exam. Sorry (or not) Professor Karmgard!
I’ve tried TONS of products over the years to help combat my dry winter skin, and I think I’ve found three holy-grail products that keep my skin hydrated and healthy!
For your face…
I struggle the most with my face in the winter because my sensitive skin does not react well to thick creams being slathered on it. My pores like freak out and suddenly I have dry skin and a bout of acne. Not a good look.
Luckily I read an article (or, let’s be honest, my mom read an article) that said you shouldn’t change your typical moisturizer in the winter. Say what?? Yep, all you need to do is add a little *somethin’-somethin’* to your normal moisturizer to make it extra hydrating in the winter.
That’s where this fab serum from Paula’s Choice comes into play. I just add two drops to my normal moisturizer every morning and night and voila! No more dry winter skin. And no more skin freak-outs. It’s a win-win.
For your lips…
Now, I love my little blue tube of Chapstick. But let’s be honest that Chapstick does not cut it in the winter, especially overnight. I always used a dab of Vaseline on my lips, which worked well. But Vaseline is kind of blah, ya know?
Enter Rosebud Salve.
I picked up this cute little tin (seen in the featured image of this post!) on a whim at Anthropologie one afternoon with Gabby, and I’ve never looked back.
It’s the same texture as Vaseline, but it smells lightly of roses petals and it’s tinted a beautiful shade of pink. I love that it gives my lips a little something extra. A little dab on my lips before I go to bed and before I head out to class leaves my lips beautifully moisturized and lightly tinted all day and night. I seriously need to purchase like 3 more tins to stash in my purse/backpack/makeup bag.
For your hands…
I’ve really tried every lotion and cream for my hands, and nothing seemed to keep my knuckles from cracking and bleeding. I was always super embarrassed to type on my computer because of how terrible my hands looked!
Thank goodness a good friend recommended Bag Balm to me over the summer. Disclaimer that Bag Balm doesn’t smell all that great, but the scent can easily be covered up by another lotion over it. I slather this stuff all over my hands before I go to bed, along with a little dab of whatever random Bath and Body Works lotion I have lying around (c’mon, we all do). When I wake up, my hands are baby-smooth and free of cracks!
The best part about Bag Balm is that it’s like $8 at Walgreens. Can’t beat an inexpensive product that works (basically) miracles!
So there are my choices for products to combat your dry winter skin! Is there a product you think I should try? Do you live in a warm place where you never experience dry skin? Leave a comment down below!
