It’s dry and cold outside. Dry and warm inside. Which leads to you being dry all over. Dry scalp, elbows, hands and feet are the bane of my winter existence.
Sometimes copious amounts of body lotion alone won’t cut it. You need to use multiple products to seal that moisture in and keep it in lest you start cracking and peeling like an old weathered barn.
It’s tempting to not shave legs or moisturize when you know you are going to be all covered up in the wintertime. Resist this urge. Who wants their hubby to roll over and wonder if an armadillo has snuck into his bed? But you aren’t just doing this for him – moisturizing skin helps fight the aging process. The tell-tale sign of aging is a wrinkly neck or chest, and wrinkly hands. Want to avoid a chicken neck? Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.
TIP #1 – Resist the urge to warm up with a long hot shower, which can cause skin to dry out more. Take short, warm showers.
TIP #2 – Exfoliate every time you bathe. This removes the old skin cells and allows the newer skin underneath to get the greater benefit of any products applied après-bath. I’m loving Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish (photo above). Can be pricey ($65 for a tub at Sephora) but it lasts a long time. If you are a public sector employee who can’t afford to drop that much dough on a tub of sugar, make your own. Mix sugar or sea salt with olive or almond oil and rub it in after a shower. Goes great with arugula too.
TIP #3 – Use a moisturizing cleanser in the shower or bath. Oil of Olay has a great line including their In Shower Body Lotion which you apply and rinse off in the shower (sounds strange, I know, but it is great!).
TIP #4 – Apply a thick moisturizing cream or lotion to your entire body soon after bathing, while skin is still damp. Be sure to apply even to the parts that don’t look dry at the time. Try Clinique Deep Comfort Body Butter (The Bay, Sears, some Shoppers Drug Marts, $24).
TIP #5 – Re-apply hand cream after every hand-washing and foot cream before bedtime. L’Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream with Shea Butter is a great choice. Buy the travel set – $30 for three mini-tubes – one for the bedside, one for the purse, one for the desk. Treat your tootsies to Bliss Softening Sock Salve ($55 through the Bliss website). This is a great foot treatment that comes with cute little socks you put on after slathering your feet with moisturizing lotion.
TIP #6 – If you are similarly endowed with stretch marks, try new Clarins Stretch Mark Control with me ($50, the Bay, Sephora). I’m using it just to humour myself with the idea that I may one day wear a bikini, even though I haven’t worn once since I was six years old. A girl can dream.
Have a question for the Fashionista? Seek her counsel at fashionista@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca