Friday, March 29, 2024

Skin SOS! Must-Have Skincare Products For Your Dry Winter Face

Dry, peely, flaky and rosy. No, this isn’t an incorrect list of Snow White & The Seven Dwarves, it’s our skin symptoms as we battle a case of Dry Winter Face.

Every winter, my skin welcomes in that crisp beautiful weather by slowly peeling off my entire face, from the forehead down. Like a phoenix, emerging from the ashes. Sadly, it’s less of a spiritual rebirth and more of a facial nightmare, in that my face acts like Flaky the Snowman and I’m constantly brushing dead skin cells off my cosy winter knits.

Yes, that IS a graphic way to start a beauty story but if you clicked on a headline about dry face, then you want to know you’re in good company and Friend, you’re in good company.

My skin hates being alive the winter season almost as much as it hates the summer season and even though it’s cold, my rosacea ignores the plummeting temperatures and still heats itself up as if I’m in 90% humidity. Such fun!!

Here are the products that are helping my dry, sad, peely, red, cranky face

Go-To Skincare Fancy Face $45

An oil cleanser, this is STUNNING at removing the most hard-core products – even the kind of waterproof mascara that normally laughs at your attempts to take it off – but it’s the combo of the cleanser and the muslin ‘Posh Cloth’ that it comes with that makes it such a perfect and soothing product for Dry Face. By using the damp cloth to remove the product, you’re giving your face the gentlest and nicest exfoliation, which is great if you’re getting The Flakes, but it’s not going to anger your skin any further. Just the loveliest and kindest way to start your skincare routine.

Trilogy Very Gentle Hydra-Mask $48

This mask is AMAZING if you have very cranky skin, it’s part of the Trilogy sensitive skin range which is so gentle and lovely. It’s fragrance free and slightly cooling, plus it’s loaded with super gentle ingredients like maqui berry and sweet almond oil, which are perfect when your skin is in a state where it can’t handle anything. If my rosacea is already ragin’ red by the time I wake up, putting this on first thing for 20 minutes helps soothe the crankiness very quickly.

Weleda Skin Food Light $24.90

When I was going to be in Canada for winter one year, and knew it was going to be cold, I googled ‘what do Olympic snow boarders use on their face?’ and that niche search lead me to Weleda Skin Food. I bought it and even when the weather was -28 degrees and no, that’s not a typo, it kept my skin moist. Now, there’s a Skin Food Light which is even better, I reckon, because it’s less thick and sits under make-up better, but still keeps your face happy. If you are someone who normally has to reapply make-up after a few hours because your face simply drinks in everything and asks for more, applying this as your final step before make-up will buy you many hours of hydration. I have also applied this over my foundation in a pinch (dabbing some water on first, because you should never add moisturiser to dry skin, only damp skin) and it has stopped my rosacea from flaring.

Yes, rosacea IS a full time job. If you know, you know.

Emma Lewisham Supernatural 72-Hour Hydration Crème $141

One of the real twists of having a skin care routine when you’re young is that – like buying health insurance – you’re really playing the long game. In your twenties – acne aside – your skin has the hydration and bounce of youth without you even trying. All those decades of applying moisturiser and sunscreen don’t make a noticeable difference until you hit your late 30s and then it becomes a lot clearer, one way or another. I could use any old moisturiser when I was 22 and it didn’t matter, because I was 22. Now? The difference between a good moisturiser and a GREAT one can be seen basically overnight, and that’s how I feel about Emma Lewisham’s new moisturiser. It is thick enough to feel like it’s doing something but it disappears quickly enough that it doesn’t feel greasy on my pillow. It smells like heaven and the very next day, my skin looked glowier and my seasonal face peel problem has not returned. I started using this product because I had read that it was more effective than a bunch of fancy skin products (including La Mer!) and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I will use this product until I die. It is pure witchcraft.

And last but not least… Rosehip Oil

Dry face can require layering to achieve the long-lasting moisture your skin needs in order to get through the day without starting to get parched and angry. There are a billion rosehip oils out there – Trilogy is the OG, but Go-To Skincare or Antipodes also do great ones, but it’s a very important step for when moisturiser alone isn’t cutting it. Filled with fatty acids, these products absorb really quickly and help hydrate and heal your skin – back when I had cystic acne, it was twice-daily use of rosehip oil that stopped my skin from scarring.  

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