The KC Makeup Guide To Winter Skincare

Winter is here in NYC, and we already know what to expect: frigid wind, boiling furnaces, dry skin, and extra stress courtesy of the holiday season.

Between holiday parties, family gatherings, and buying and wrapping gifts, you probably don’t have as much time as normal to put into your skincare routine. The changing of the seasons can also throw off our skin’s balance, causing weird textures, redness, and itchy, dry skin (not to mention the occasional blemish or two).

If you are like many of my friends and clients, you desperately need some winter skin tips from a professional. Lucky for you, here I am (HAHA!). But really, I’ve got some of my best winter skin tips and hydrating products for you below!

How does winter affect skin?

Your skin loves itself some consistency. Changes in the seasons bring in bipolar temperatures, humidity, wind, sun exposure, and different lifestyle habits. When your skin goes through these changes, it may become inflamed, irritated, red, and flaky .
(FYI: lines and wrinkles appear deeper on dry winter skin, too)

During the cold NYC winters, many of us avoid spending more time than we have to outside and instead stay warm at home or go out to bars and restaurants with heat. Heating systems (including your car’s vents!) put out really dry, harsh air, making your skin even more inflamed and dry.

Pro Tip! When possible, avoid sitting or lingering in a place where a heater directly blows on you. Point those vents up or down to feel the warmth, but don’t let it blast directly on you!

While there’s nothing you or I can do about seasonal changes (except pack up and move to a tropical island), you can take certain steps to ensure your skin doesn’t suffer.

Start by investing in a humidifier and continue with the below recommendations!

Exfoliate!

If you don’t buff away dead skin cells, it won’t matter how many brightening serums or moisturizers you apply—your skin will still be dry. Dead skin cells that cling to your skin’s surface block many active ingredients from reaching the layers of live, healthy skin cells below, making your efforts less than successful.

The best facial products for exfoliation have gentle chemical exfoliants in them, like glycolic acid, lactic acid, kojic acid, or retinol. These ingredients can come in many forms, like creams, serums, sprays, liquids, or even powders. They dissolve your dead skin cells and can get deep into your pores to flush them out.

Some of my tried & tested face exfoliators include the U Beauty Resurfacing Compound and the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Moisturizer.

The best way to exfoliate away dry skin on the body is with scrubs that contain natural sugar or salt granules, along with replenishing oils. Pssst…ground coffee is also a popular ingredient in body scrubs—the grounds exfoliate, and the caffeine is a great way to tighten up the skin on your booty and thighs!

Avoid Hot Showers

Hopefully I didn’t lose you with this winter skincare tip. No? Good!

I know there’s nothing like the feeling of a hot, steamy shower after coming in from a long day in the cold city. However, this is a habit that can really take a toll on your skin. Remember how I said skin likes consistency? Going from cold air to a hot shower affects your skin’s protective layers and strips it of its natural and beneficial oils, encouraging more dryness and irritation.

It’s best to take lukewarm (or even cool) showers in the winter—and all year round—and replenish your face and body with your face skincare and body moisturizer within a few minutes of exiting the shower. I’ve bought nothing but La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ Moisturizer as my go-to body lotion the past 5 years. The proof is in the pudding! When I pair it with Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré Daily Face and Body Cream (AKA The Goat), winter can kiss my moisturized booty.

Even Angelina Jolie revealed she takes cold showers to keep her hair and skin looking so good. If Angie can do it, so can you! Just picture looking as good as she does while you grin and bear it #BeautyIsSometimesPain

A note about PM skincare: It’s very important to cleanse and moisturize a minimum of 2 hours before hitting the sheets. You want your products to absorb into your skin, not into your pillowcase & blankets! Also opt for silk pillowcases as they help retain moisture!

Protect Yo Lips

Your face often remains exposed to the wintry winds and cold temperatures, causing dry, cracked lips that can be painful and
that no one wants to smooch.

The skin on your lips is much thinner and more sensitive than the skin on other parts of the body. Lips do not contain oil-producing glands to keep them moist on their own, and they lack hair to protect them from the
elements like sun and wind.

To prevent chapped or bleeding lips, I recommend avoiding licking your lips, investing a silicone lip brush, a sleeping mask, and using ultra-hydrating products, like Caudalie’s Lip Conditioner throughout the day to replenish moisture.

Switch to Heavier or Richer Moisturizers

In the summer, all you really need is a light gel moisturizer or serum that contains hyaluronic acid. However, in the winter, it is important to respond to your face’s extra dryness with heavier moisturizing creams and serums.

On your face, it’s important to incorporate a hydrating serum prior to your face cream for easy, fast, & effective absorption. You also need to wait a few minutes between each layer. Take your time–your patience will be rewarded!

For your body, I recommend a rich cream with nourishing ingredients and oils and encourage you to avoid anything with drying alcohols. These help soothe and repair dry and itchy skin and keep you healthy and fresh-looking for the holidays.

My favorite winter moisturizing serums and creams include:

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream
Crème de La Mer Moisturising Cream
Drunk Elephant B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum
U Beauty The Super Hydrator – My current fave

Pro Tip: If you love your face cream and don’t feel the need to change it up (but you need some hydration), think about adding 1 or 2 drops of a light face oil (marula, almond, coconut, grapeseed, Bio-Oil) into your cream to bump up the hydration! It absorbs into the skin much faster and is much more effective than putting the oil directly on to the skin..

Don’t Neglect Your Eyes!

The skin around your eyes is thin and super delicate. You have to take extra care, especially in the winter, to supplement moisture to fight crow’s feet and the other little wrinkles that appear around your eyes.

I swear by the Clé De Peau Eye Contour Supreme. Yes, it’s bougie, but it also gets the job done! It’s incredibly rich and silky and makes me feel like the queen I am.

See A Professional For Winter Skin Treatments

HydraFacials: The secret to seriously glowing skin? HydraFacials. Besides providing the all-important physical & chemical exfoliation your skin requires in the winter, a HydraFacial delivers deep hydration and pulls out all the pore-clogging gunk from your skin.

Laser Treatment: Not only can laser treatments keep you gorgeous all year round, but it’s actually best to go for lasers in the wintertime. If you have skin or sun damage you want to get rid of, or other issues like enlarged pores, scars, or lines or wrinkles, I definitely suggest lasers as a long-term solution.

Professional Microdermabrasion: Forget those personal at-home devices! Nothing works like actual microdermabrasion treatments from your dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Like I talked about earlier, proper exfoliation removes the barrier of dead skin cells make it look dull and lifeless. When these dead skin cells go, the fresh new cells behind them can shine!