Cold Weather, Happy Skin: Tips to Protect Your Skin During Winter

It’s beginning to look a lot like – winter! Everywhere you go. The glistening, candy canes and silver lanes, now give way to blistering, wains and pains of - winter skin! And, it looks a lot like chapped lips, frostbitten cheeks, and raw, un-Rudolph cool, red noses.

Though it can be a struggle to adjust to ye olde winter, you can beat the dry, dehydrated skin doldrums by winterizing your complexion by adopting a skincare routine with sufficient hydration.

That’s right! Your skincare sleigh awaits with natural products to help you light the way to brighter skin. It’s time for a skincare refresh with our resolutions and essentials for a healthy, happy complexion during the cold months. Without further ado, it’s time to ring in a winter skincare routine everywhere you go!

It’s easy to get distracted during the winter when we’re tightly encased in puffy jackets, nursing foot or heel blisters from boots, and wrapped in wool scarves with only our peepers exposed in the frosty weather. Though it seems our skin would be protected from the icy elements, that’s a slippery slope.

During winter as trees become bare and bears become scarce, our skin reacts adversely to the new temperatures. Winter brings ultra-stripping wind chills – making for dry, stale air and even drier skin. Add the operation of heaters, which can also sap moisture from the skin, and we’re looking at a non-perfect skin storm.

So, what’s happening that’s creating the skin blues? The lack of humidity in the frosty air dries out the skin, which can leave your complexion feeling tight and itchy. In winter the temperature also drops bringing hilly, dehydrating winds that blow harshly on the skin, sucking up every last bit of hydration.

But there’s another thing happening to our skin – indoor heaters! All that cozying by the fire and bumping up the thermostat has a hidden consequence: drying out our skin. Our delicate dermis could fall into the blustery realm of increased sensitivity, irritation, and parched skin.

The good news is, that wintry dry skin is avoidable if you’re proactive about upgrading your skincare routine with ultra-hydrating and moisturizing ingredients. Quenching your skin with sufficient hydration and moisturization – plus gentle exfoliation - is crucial to avoid dry skin winter woes.

Brrr, the frosty wonderland months! It’s when hydration and moisturization become your skin’s crucial allies. By the way, even though hydration and moisturization sometimes seem like two words being used interchangeably, they are two different things. Both are crucial allies during the winter months: hydrating refers to feeding your skin H20, whereas moisturizing refers to replenishing your natural oil homeostasis.

Our best advice is to play it smart with an effective skincare routine. Instead of slathering on a lightweight moisturizer and calling it a day, you’ll want to curate your regimen to winterize your complexion. Hydration is a key place to start. Besides keeping up a healthy intake of H2O, you can hydrate skin from the outside with the right products, like heavier moisturizers, hydrating serums and facial oils, and overnight masks.

Natural skincare ingredients are effective at nourishing, protecting, and balancing your complexion. Part of the balancing act in your winter skincare routine is to get mega-hydrated. Replace your basic lightweight moisturizer with a soothing and hydrating one like our Hydra Drench Cream. A blend of chia gel, coconut oil, and shea butter delivers a hydrating, fast-absorbing formula. Infused with hyaluronic acid and rose water, this hydrating cream is ideal for quenching parched skin.

We also rely on our Intensive Nourishing Oil for sealing in moisture that might be sapped from cold air and heaters. It’s fortified with non-comedogenic grapeseed and blackcurrant oils to restore and replenish dry skin. Its lightweight formula makes it perfect for daytime use, for just about any skin type. Pat this liquid gold over your moisturizer to lock skin quenchers in!

Our final offering from the heavenly hydration gods is our Deep Hydration Sheet Mask. This pamper-me treat is formulated in a base of hydrating aloe leaf juice and cucumber. These major humectants heal and calm dry skin, and they also help to soothe common winter skin culprits, like itchiness and dryness. The additions of hyaluronic acid and plant ceramides refresh and deeply nourish parched skin.

The next part of the balancing act in your winter skincare routine is gentle cleansing. Using mild, moisturizing cleansers is best to avoid stripping the skin of its natural oils, which you want to protect in the moisture-stealing cold months. Our Lavender Oat Milk Soothing Cleanser features colloidal oatmeal's moisturizing properties in powder cleanser, combined with the deep purification of lavender and the restorative magic of echinacea, to make this product a must-have for every dry skin warrior.

If you’re looking for more of a milk cleanser, our Calendula Flower Cleansing Milk is a tranquil blend of the calmness of calendula with the deep nourishment of sea buckthorn oil. This silky-smooth concoction doesn’t just remove impurities, but it also heals and rejuvenates dry skin. Environmental pollutants don't stand a chance against its powerful yet gentle cleansing action. Perfect for those with dry and sensitive skin, this cleansing milk is a testament to how nature can nurture.

A balanced winter skincare routine also involves gentle exfoliation. Exfoliating during the winter is important in removing dead skin cells and aiding with the absorption of your moisturizer as well as the potential benefits of your products – but beware of overdoing it! If you exfoliate too often you can disrupt your skin’s natural pH and could be even more prone to dry, dehydrated skin.

That’s why we love the gentle exfoliation properties of our Acai Pulp Facial Scrub. Combining antioxidant-packed yumberries with heavenly acai berry, our berry gentle scrub is truly superfruit heaven. But the acai berry benefits don’t stop there. The natural ingredients in our scrub don’t compromise function but rather enhance its exfoliating power. That’s thanks to the fact that we use grape seed exfoliants rather than harsh synthetic ingredients. These natural exfoliants are gentle yet powerful enough to buff away bumps, flakes, and dead skin to reveal softer, brighter skin.

Speaking of fruit acids and the glowiest skin, our Strawberry Brightening Scrub features a trifecta of skin-brightening powers and is great for all skin types! This fruit-infused jelly face scrub features gentle lactic acid, while the AHA fruit acids blend also works to exfoliate and soften the skin, and papain helps to soothe and reduce inflammation. Strawberry, lemon, and goji berry supply skin with rejuvenating antioxidants, while ellagic acid gently removes dullness and impurities.

Not all facial products need to hibernate during winter. Take sun protection, for example. You might wonder, why bother with sunscreen in virtually the sunless winter, anyway? It’s cooler out, so you shouldn’t have to worry about sunburns or photodamage, right?

These all-season rock stars are essential year-round – even in winter! It may be gray outside but don’t skimp on that SPF number.

Even though the sun is out less often during the winter, it’s actually closer to the Earth around this time of year. Not to mention, the ozone layer is thinner. As a result, the sun’s UVB rays are quite strong during the winter. They’re powerful enough to penetrate the skin, leading to sunburn and even worse, skin cancer.

You’re at an even greater risk of sunburn if you’re spending your winter in an area where it snows. Ice and snow can actually reflect the sun’s UV rays, exposing your skin even further to skin damage and photoaging.

Needless to say, sunscreen with an SPF of 30 should be worn throughout the winter. And if you’re in a snowy area, make sure to wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50.

Find your perfect sun mate with our Yerba Mate Mist SPF 30! Like our fave green tea, yerba mate leaf is antioxidant-rich for protection against free radicals that cause UV damage and signs of premature aging. Safflower seed oil has a light floral scent that also soothes and conditions your skin. This reef-safe natural sunscreen spray has an application that’s easy to apply on the fly, and we use a compressed air canister built into the bottle to eject the formula, instead of ozone-harming CFCs.

When crafting your winter skincare routine, it’s important not to neglect your body! Ensuring proper body hydration and moisturization, including your hands, feet – and lips - can minimize parched, irritated extremities and painful dry lips.

Our Honey Almond Whipped Body Butter has your back and body covered with a thick and decadent formula that deeply moisturizes and softens skin. This creamy, dreamy all-star features cocoa and avocado butter, both chock-full of nutrient-dense oils that will melt into your skin and leave you with silky limbs (under multiple sweater layers). This natural body moisturizer is also ultra-soothing and anti-inflammatory thanks to aloe vera, making it super effective for any irritation or uncomfortable dry spots. Aloe vera is the modest and humble sleeper MVP in many of our hydrating body care products.

With your winter body care covered, it’s also key to make sure you’re giving extra love to your hands and feet, both of which are super vulnerable in winter months to serious cracking, chapping, and irritation, especially if you’re spending time outdoors.

Apply our Honey Almond Hand Buttercream post-hand-washing to replenish essential minerals and your natural oil barrier – it’s full of vitamin-E-packed argan oil, which is perfect for hands thanks to its non-greasy absorption. For feet, we have another little tidbit to share: our Hand Buttercreams aren’t just for your hands! They can make a lovely moisturizer for your foot care kit with scents like Lavender, Coconut, and Vanilla Bean. The creamy texture formulas make these gems perfect for a foot massage, which is really a year-round necessity.

While the winter air might make our cheeks a little rosier, it doesn’t always do our lips as many favors. If you’ve ever had chapped lips in the winter, you know the struggle when it comes to how to fix chapped lips: as the weather stays cold, your lips stay chapped.

But don’t despair, because you won’t need to wait until spring for your lips to heal. Breaking the cycle of chapped lips in the winter is completely possible! You’re just going to need to give your lips some TLC. Our Organic Mint Lip Balm is made with refreshing peppermint and eucalyptus oils. It features sunflower and coconut oils to moisturize and soften lips, plus skin-reparative vitamin E for winter-kissable lips!

Beyond the confines of adapting winter skin and body care routines, our overall lifestyle plays a pivotal role in determining the health and vitality of our skin during winter. The choices we make daily, from diet and hydration to how we manage the drying effects of heaters, all interplay in the grand tapestry of skin wellness. Here are some lifestyle shifts you can adopt this winter to ensure your skin glows from the inside out:

Proper Diet & Hydration

Do you know how milk does a body good? Well, the body is made up of 60% water! Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will help maintain your body’s fluid balance to transport nutrients throughout your body. This means you’ll definitely want to stay hydrated during the moisture-sapping winter months.

There are ways to make it easier to remember your daily hydration. Some people set alarms on their phones and even use apps to track their water intake. But above all, perhaps the best method is to simply always keep water nearby. Whether you’re at your desk, on the couch, in bed, or on your feet, always keep your water close by. Store it in anything from a water bottle or tumbler to make it easily accessible. Staying properly hydrated also means you will more quickly reap the benefits of the healthy foods you eat!

Speaking of eating healthy foods, to maintain a healthy body (and skin), it’s crucial to eat right. A balanced diet of healthy foods provides your body with the building blocks it needs to heal wounds, maintain elasticity and vibrancy, and balance the bacteria in your skin. A proper and balanced diet includes:

Omega fatty acids: Foods rich in omega-3 and omega-6, like walnuts, flaxseeds, and oily fish, help strengthen the skin’s lipid barrier, crucial for retaining moisture.

Hydrating Foods: Increase your intake of water-rich foods such as cucumbers, watermelon, oranges, and strawberries. They not only provide hydration but are packed with skin-loving vitamins and antioxidants.

Eating a balanced diet and healthy foods will have your skin feeling and looking fine in no time! Remember, you are what you eat. Sure, slips here and there are okay – we’re human, after all!

Use Humidifiers

It’s not just the cold that’s drying out your skin during the winter, it’s also the dry air your heater puts out, especially while you’re sleeping. Luckily, there’s an easy fix for this. Investing in a humidifier can not only give you a better night’s sleep but also help keep your skin from the drying effects of indoor heating.

How Often Should I Moisturize My Skin in Winter?

The best defense against dry winter skin is an effective moisturizer that will keep your skin hydrated and moisturized. Daily moisturizing before the winter chill sets in will help ensure you start on the right foot with a strong, healthy moisture barrier. Be sure to moisturize your face daily with the right moisturizer for your skin type. Whether your skin is dry or oily (or a combination of both), winter's cold and dry air will take its toll and make daily moisturizing even more necessary.

Can I Use the Same Skincare Products I Use in Summer?

It’s best to swap out your summer skincare products for winter formulas. Products that are lighter, water-based, or oil-controlling tend to be best used during the hot months while most people benefit from adding richer, creamier, or oil-containing products in the cold, dry, winter months.

What Should I Do if My Skin Gets Irritated or Red in Cold Weather?

You should try hydrating from the inside and out. Make sure you’re staying hydrated with water and hydrating foods, as the cold months can sap moisture from our bodies and skin, which can lead to redness and irritation. Be sure to adapt a winter skin and body care routine, as you’ll need extra nourishment in cold and windy climates.

Are There Any Specific Ingredients I Should Look for in Winter Skincare Products?

Must-use ingredients in winter skincare products to help zap dry skin are hyaluronic acid, AHAs, ceramides, niacinamide, and vitamins C and E. These ingredients hydrate and nourish skin, brighten and soften your complexion, and help with cellular turnover. Look for ingredients rich in antioxidants, such as green tea and berry-infused formulas, that have skin-boosting benefits.

How Can I Protect My Skin During Outdoor Winter Activities?

Even though the sun is out less often during the winter, it’s actually closer to the Earth around this time of year, and the sun’s UVB rays are quite strong. They’re powerful enough to penetrate the skin, leading to sunburn and even worse, skin cancer.

If you’re spending time outdoors, it’s important to use sun protection with an SPF of 30. You’re at an even greater risk of sunburn if you’re spending your winter in an area where it snows. Ice and snow can actually reflect the sun’s UV rays, exposing your skin even further to skin damage and photoaging. Make sure to wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50.

Winter, with its serene snow-covered landscapes, glistening, candy canes, and silver lanes, is undeniably a season to cherish. However, amidst the cold, the cozy fires, and the hot chocolate, our skin often silently battles the brunt of the season’s dryness and harshness. While adjusting our daily routines and embracing healthier lifestyle choices play a significant role, sometimes the journey to winter skin radiance requires adapting the proper skincare routine.

We hope our tips and natural products will help you curate the best winter skincare routine. These healing, soothing, and protective ingredients should have you on your way to happy, healthy skin and good as new by your New Year’s kiss and beyond.