How to stay hydrated in winter

Winter is here, Sydneysiders!
And you know what that means.

The sapping of moisture from our skin and our lips. Chapping and drying out of our skin and lips tends to happen a lot more in the cooler weather. This is because there is a lot less moisture in the air, and can also be attributed to factors such as
*heaters drying out the moisture in the air
*taking excessively hot showers, which saps oil from your skin (so it is better to just take warm showers.)

So how do we stop our skin from drying out?

Keep moisturized. Moisturize at least twice a day with quality moisturizer. Not just girls, but guys too! You have no excuses now that L'Oreal, Nivea, Clinique (and many more) have a large 'male' range of skin products.

Take warmer (instead of hotter) showers. The excessively hot showers (in an effort to warm up), strip the oils from our skin. Always moisturise after showers. Pat yourself dry instead of rubbing, which can also remove oils from the skin.

Cleanse with a non-drying cleanser (one that's not designed to strip the oil from your pores, a big NO-NO.) Suggestions include cream-based cleansers, which can be used in the shower or tissued off (which tends to keep the most moisture). I suggest a mild cleanser is generally best for most skin types. An excellent cleanser for guys and girls is Cetaphil, which is very gentle and not too expensive. It's also a good hand wash and can be used for babies.



I'm also a big fan of the OCM (Oil Cleansing Method) which is an awesome way to keep moisturised with all year long.

Avoid soap based body cleansers. Toss that bar of soap and switch it for a creamy liquid body cleanser. Its easier to apply and it doesn't strip those essential oils!

Taking essential oils and omega 3's have also been shown to improve skin condition, as well as assist with a whole other host of bodily functions, sounds good to me! :)

Keep your lips moisturized with a good lip balm or cream. I suggest Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour cream, (although this can get a bit pricey, around $50ish for about 50mls?), but there are other good options out there, such as Lucas Paw Paw ointment (which comes in tubs and conveniently sized tubes that last forever) which are a lot cheaper, and just as good. If you can't find either of these (which you'd be pretty hard pressed to do anyway), a tub of Vaseline or a plain Chapstick will do good for your chapped winter lips :) A good way to exfoliate your lips (and get rid of some dead skin / peeling skin) is to gently rub an old, soft toothbrush (after running it under warm water for a few seconds) on your lips for about 5-10 seconds, although I don't recommend this for cracked lips.




Use sunscreen. Just because there are more clouds about, doesn't mean that sun isn't shining through them. Sydney-siders should know that a sunscreen is an essential part of a good beauty routine, all year round. That sun can be a killer. Try and find one that's non-comodogenic (which means it doesn't clog your pores.) A sunscreen moisturizer will specifically list this. I tend to find that a great deal of facial moisturizers with sunscreen can tend to be heavy and quite greasy, a quality I highly dislike in a moisturizer. It might be quite difficult to find a non comodogenic sunscreen, but i'm quite sure that Neutrogena made (or used to make) one..

Drink plenty of water. The best way to hydrate yourself inside and out. While studies have shown that the 8 glasses of water a day is best is actually a myth, it is a good idea to keep hydrating yourself throughout the day. It's not hard, just keep a water bottle near you, whether you're working, studying or working out, keep your bottle filled up and you have no excuse :)

Apply a hand cream occasionally. I really dislike the feeling of my hands drying out, so lately I've been keeping a tube of hand cream in my handbag, along with my EA 8 Hour cream. It is very important to keep your extremities moisturized! You can find really cute tiny bottles to toss in your handbag at Priceline for under $5, so get going! A good foot rubdown with a minty lotion wouldn't hurt, either :)

Apply a body cream after showers. I like Palmer's Cocoa Butter which smells like cocoa (fantastic!) and feels silky smooth and gives my skin a soft, luxurious texture.



Happy hydrating! :)