Things to avoid during the cold winter months.
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The weather outside may be frightful, but your skin doesn’t have to be with these tips!
1. Not drinking enough water
The fact that you don’t perspire as much as in the summer and that you don’t feel hot doesn’t mean that you should stop drinking your eight daily glasses of water. Hydration means health, just as your body needs energy to work properly and to keep you warm. Besides, it’s also the natural way to keep your skin, lips and hair hydrated.
2. Overusing makeup
You can’t use makeup to cover up dry skin; on the contrary, it makes it more obvious. Besides that, you can end up irritating your skin even more. Instead of using pounds of base and powder, give yourself a good exfoliation and a moisturizing face mask at home.
3. Hot showers
Of course, we love to shower with very hot water and enjoy the steam as if we were in a sauna. The problem is that the prolonged heat depletes the natural layer of oil we have on our skin, and consequently exposes it to drying out. Instead, try to bathe with tepid water, and fairly quickly (which also happens to be more environmentally friendly).
4. Not exfoliating
Many women believe that, since our skin dries out more in the winter, its better to skip exfoliation. Wrong! It’s necessary to remove all the dead cells so our skin will be smooth and our moisturizing creams can penetrate the skin properly. Just look for an exfoliant that isn’t too harsh, and use it three times a week at most.
5. Using eye makeup that isn’t waterproof
Cold wind doesn’t just dry our skin: it also dries our eyes. Our body’s natural reaction is to moisten them with tears. If your eyeliner and mascara aren’t waterproof, you’ll be a mess!
6. Not using sunscreen
Some women believe that this product is only for summer use, but the truth is, although it may be a cloudy day, some sunlight always gets through, and our skin is more sensitive during these months because we spend more time indoors. Does putting on sunscreen seem like too much work? The easy solution is to find a moisturizing cream that also works as a sunblock, with an SPF of 30 or more.
7. Going overboard with self-tanners
Some women can’t stand looking pale during this time of year, and decide to use self-tanning products, or go to a salon for a more professional treatment. In any case, the color shouldn’t be very dark, and it shouldn’t be the same tone you’d use in the summer; unless you tell people you went on vacation in Brazil, it would look out of place.
8. Neglecting your feet
The fact that you are not going to use sandals doesn’t mean you should stop getting a regular pedicure. In fact, by continuing to take care of your feet, you reduce the risk of getting an ingrown toenail from wearing boots so often. Plus, cracked feet don’t heal from one day to the next, so if you want pretty feet in the summer, start taking care of them now.
9. Bad hair coloring
If you are blonde, avoid highlights that are too light, since they’ll make you look washed-out or even pale. Rather, go for a more honey-like color that will add warmth to your face. If you are a brunette, avoid overly dark colors; they’ll make your features look harder. Rather, choose warmer tones (more like golden brown) to counterbalance the cold weather.
10. Not changing your routine
This sums it all up. Some women go from one season to another thinking that the only thing they need to change is their clothes. Your beauty routine also needs to adapt to the change in weather, and you need to look for the most appropriate products for each season’s needs.
Read more:
9 Warm drinks for cold winter months (when coffee won’t do)
This article was originally published in the Spanish edition of Aleteia and has been translated and adapted here for English-speaking readers.
