In Montreal, it seems like spring is right around the corner, but Mother Nature can be quite unpredictable and we never know when we can get another snowstorm…

And cold weather = cracked, patched, dry skin. You know the drill… Yet sometimes, it feels like no matter the amount of moisturizer or body lotion we apply, our skin remains as dry as the Sahara desert. Strange. But there are reasons for that, and there are also solutions (yay)!

I wrote a similar post last year, so you already know about some of my fav products for wintertime, but for this post, let me focus on reasons behind dry skin and how to avoid/repair it.

Dry skin in winter is caused by the cold, the wind, but also by the dryness of the air. In fact, cold weather is directly impacting the level of humidity in the air, which also drops with the temperature. Oh and indoor heating doesn’t help, as it “dehydrates” the air, and thus your skin. Also, taking very hot showers or baths can dry out the natural oils in your skin faster: try to take shorter showers/baths and not too hot! Don’t overdo the scrubbing either: you risk removing precious skin cells, and increasing the dryness.

Here are my 5 favourite tips for preventing/relieving dry skin!

1. It sounds obvious, but drink tons of water!! If you don’t provide enough water for you skin cells, no beauty product can save you. I can this beauty from the inside out 😉 So while the weather is cold, drink tea! But remember that coffee dehydrates your body, so you’ll need to compensate by drinking more water.
2. Use richer moisturizer. Drop the body lotion and go for the body cream. For your face, go for oils and thicker night creams, and try to do day cream AND night cream every day (I know this is not easy).
3. Alternate beauty products. After a while, your skin gets used to the beauty products you use and may not respond to it the way it used to, aka your moisturizer doesn’t provide the necessary hydration anymore. In order to avoid this, I alternate between 2 different day creams in the morning, and at night, I either use a night cream or an oil, when I need extra moisture.
4. Go for the extra hydration moisturizers, sprays, masks. Bring it on baby!
5. This last one kinda goes along the same lines as #4: a good tip in skin care in layering, and this is especially useful in winter. Start with a toner, then a serum, and then use your moisturizer (you may wanna add more steps).

Do you have any tips or favourite beauty products to save your skin in winter?

-Marika