With the drop in temperature outside the central heating goes up inside, reducing the humidity within your home resulting in dehydration, not good for our skins health. I have personally noticed my skin become drier and even slightly sensitive and I have had to make a few changes to what I am doing during these colder months.
1. Firstly make sure you are drinking enough water and or herbal teas to internally replace fluids.
2. Try to avoid tea and coffee both are diuretics, drawing moisture out of the body.
3. Taking an oil supplement rich in omega 3, 6 and 9 feeds the skin from the inside.
4. Use a really gentle cleanser, it is still important to cleanse morning and night.
5. Moisturise, and lots of it, you might need a more nourishing moisturiser in these cold months, and if you are going outside reapply before you step outside to help protect from the elements. You could try applying an oil to the skin first then applying your moisturiser on top.
6. Replace air moisture.
To put some moisture back into the air place small bowls of water on top of radiators, I use ramekins, the heat evaporates the water into the air, improving the air quality, do this in living areas and bedrooms. I add different essential oils dependant where the bowls are, in the children’s bedrooms I put a few drops of lavender, and chamomile.
In my room I might use frankincense, Clary-sage and lavender, some times lime.
In the living areas I like to be more uplifting, so I often use, lime, lavender, lemon, ginger or basil.
This is also a good way of helping with stuffy noses at night time, using eucalyptus, tea tree, rosemary or lavender.
Trying to balance the humidity within your house is vital, this lack of humidity can also increase the risks of respiratory illness, aggravate skin allergies, and dry skin conditions such as eczema.
7. Try to avoid too hot baths and showers, the extra heat will dry out your skin further.
8. Do an oil mask in the evening, massage a nourishing face oil into your skin and leave for at least 20Min’s, you might not need to remove any excess before you go to bed as the skin will probably absorb most of the oil, you might prefer to use a tissue to blot off any excess.
9. Treat yourself to a facial, the treatment can be tailored to replacing moisture, calming sensitive skin, nourishing and stimulating your skins natural functions, a real boost for depleated winter complexions.