While a winter wonderland draws feelings of cozy comfort, it has the potential to wreak havoc on your skin. Icy temperatures and blustery winds bring the dreaded side effect of depleting your skin’s moisture and leaving it dry and dull. To combat the cold, we have some essential winter skin care tips, including a winter skin care routine. Plus, our estheticians have hand-picked a selection of Eminence Organic Skin Care products, including the best moisturizer for winter, for each skin type.
The Season’s Impact | Tips To Protect Your Skin | 6 Step Winter Routine | Tips To Brighten Dull Skin Video | Sensitive Skin | Dry Skin | Oily Skin | Combination Skin | Normal Skin
Winter Skin Care: The Season’s Impact On Your Skin
It happens every year — winter descends and your skin recoils by turning dry, raw and dull. For several reasons, the cold season is often the worst time of year for your complexion. First, brutal winter weather whips around your skin, with chilling winds that draw moisture straight out. Second, we compensate for lower temperatures by cranking up the thermostat, which further strips moisture from your skin. Under dual attack, it’s no wonder your skin suffers dryness during the winter.
The end result of winter conditions? Dull, dry skin. Without moisture, your skin may be more sensitive and reactive than normal. Even oilier skin types experience uncharacteristic dryness and flaking. To soothe your complexion, here are our suggestions for an Eminence Organics winter skin care routine.
Winter Skin Care Tips To Protect Your Skin
1. Use A Humidifier
Forced-air heaters blast away moisture during wintertime, stripping away important oils and leading to itchy skin. Try counteracting these drying effects by blowing a warm- or cool-mist humidifier instead. Re-introducing moisture into the air helps soothe and calm irritated skin.
2. Hot Showers And Baths Dry Out Your Skin
Hot baths and showers may warm you up during cold winter days, but hot water, especially on your face, will only dry out your skin. Extreme temperatures damage your skin’s moisture barrier, preventing it from locking in the moisture it needs to remain soft and smooth. If possible, opt for warm, not hot, water each time you cleanse. When you take a warm bath, add a shot glass amount of body oil into water and your skin will appear super smooth and hydrated. After your steamy shower or bath, follow up with a hydrating body lotion or oil to replenish skin.
3. Fight Dry Skin Symptoms From The Inside
Who would have thought that you could tackle dry skin from the inside as well as out? WebMD states that food rich in healthy fats improves your skin’s moisture levels. After all, fatty acids like omega-3s help replenish your skin’s lipid barrier and protect against moisture loss. Chow down on foods rich in healthy fats like flax, avocado, sunflower oil and nuts, as well as fish like salmon and sardines.
A 6-Step Winter Skin Care Routine For Hydration
To tackle dull and dry winter skin, we’ve created a routine for all skin types that addresses wintertime issues. Follow these steps to return a radiant glow to your complexion:
1. Cleanse
With winter draining the moisture from your complexion, try adding an oil-based cleanser like our Stone Crop Cleansing Oil to your winter skin care routine. This type of cleanser is beneficial for all skin types (even oily!) due to its ability to draw out oil-based impurities like stubborn makeup. This cleanser also replenishes the skin with moisturizing ingredients like sunflower oil and jojoba oil. Use it alone or pair it with your favorite gel or cream-based cleanser in a double cleanse. For extra comfort and nourishment, your skin will also love the Coconut Milk Cleanser. This cleanser contains both coconut milk and coconut oil, ingredients that moisturize and soften the look of the skin.
2. Tone
Another easy way to keep your skin hydrated during the winter months is to use a toner. You can think of a toner as the conditioner for your cleanse. It adds a base layer of hydration that keeps your skin soft and moisturized. Try our Stone Crop Hydrating Mist, featuring the unique qualities of the stone crop plant, to hydrate, soothe and heal dry skin.
3. Apply Essence
One of the best ways to replenish dry winter skin is to add an essence to your skin care routine. A facial essence is a lightweight fluid that is often described as a cross between a toner and a serum. Our Birch Water Purifying Essence deeply hydrates the skin and preps it to absorb the benefits of the skin care products that follow.
4. Exfoliate
Exfoliation is the best way to revive dull winter skin. However, it’s important to keep in mind that frigid temperatures and harsh winds can also make your skin more reactive. Fab Fit Fun recommends Calm Skin Chamomile Exfoliating Peel: “Thanks to Eminence‘s line of at-home exfoliating peels, your skin will look awesome. We love the Chamomile version, which soothes and renews even the most sensitive skin sans irritation and redness … And unlike some harsh formulas on the market, you can use this gentle one up to three times a week.”
If you’re wanting to learn how to combat dull skin, watch our Lead Skin Care Trainer, Natalie Pergar, as she does a deep dive on reviving a dull complexion.
5. Treat
Eminence Organics facial masks and facial oils are the perfect way to deliver an intense dose of nutrients and moisture to the skin. We recommend Rosehip Triple C+E Firming Oil, a facial treatment that blends results-oriented actives and botanical ingredients for intense hydration and protection. It can be used in your skin care routine morning and night, and is suitable for all skin types.
6. Moisturize
And last, but definitely not least, moisturize. Moisturizing during the winter is essential to combat dry skin. Even though the sun isn’t as strong during the colder months, exposure to the elements can still suck the moisture out of your skin. Replenish with our Coconut Age Corrective Moisturizer, which includes deeply moisturizing coconut oil, shea butter and grape seed oil.
Moisturizers, Serums & Face Oils For Dry Winter Skin
Sensitive Skin
Hydrate sensitive skin with the precious herbs and oils in our award-winning Facial Recovery Oil. This oil is a part of the Beyond Organic collection, made with organic, Biodynamic® ingredients from our Demeter certified Biodynamic® farms. This luxurious face oil is hypoallergenic, clinically tested and made with the finest and most potent ingredients Mother Nature has to offer. For the winter months, soothe and renew a sensitive and dry complexion with a formula of clary sage oil, olive oil, sage leaf extract and ylang ylang. Our Product Support Team also recommends pairing the Facial Recovery Oil with the Apricot Calendula Nourishing Cream. Also from the Beyond Organic Collection, this nourishing cream is formulated with apricots, echinacea and aloe to carefully support sensitive skin.
Cameron Diaz is one of its many fans, saying: “A drop goes a long way to relieve any dryness in your skin … A drop on each cheek after your shower will do wonders.” Referred to as “liquid gold,” this precious oil is the key to keeping dry skin soft and supple during cold winter months.
Dry Skin
If you suffer from dry skin in winter, give your skin an additional dose of support with the Kombucha Microbiome Leave-On Masque. This mask features ginger and pre, pro* and postbiotics to support the skin’s moisture barrier and visibly renew its appearance. In addition, you can use the Firm Skin Acai Moisturizer which rejuvenates and hydrates mature skin. It contains shea butter and skin-plumping botanical hyaluronic acid. Targeted formulas Homeostatine® and BioComplex boost the appearance of elasticity for younger-looking skin.
As already mentioned, our Coconut Age Corrective Moisturizer is another luxuriously-rich formula that brings together coconut, shea butter and grape seed oil to moisturize dry skin. It also contains a Natural Retinol Alternative Complex making the skin appear lifted and tightened.
Oily Skin
The Clear Skin Probiotic Moisturizer improves the appearance of clogged pores and blemishes thanks to cucumber and tea tree. The formula also includes probiotics to gently exfoliate and leave the complexion looking calm.
If your oily skin is still feeling parched, add the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Hydrator to your skin care routine. This hydrator is a must for taking care of parched skin during winter as it contains a Botanical Hyaluronic Acid Complex, a mixture of multi-weight hyaluronic acid and marshmallow root that deeply hydrates and preserves moisture in the skin. For best results, layer it under the Clear Skin Probiotic Moisturizer.
Combination Skin
Protect yourself during winter with the Mangosteen Gel Moisturizer, which promotes the appearance of smoother and revitalized skin. Mangosteen is an antioxidant-rich superfruit that encourages natural radiance and minimizes the look of environmental stress.
Combination skin will also benefit from the Bakuchiol + Niacinamide Moisturizer as it restores skin hydration using a combination of retinol alternative bakuchiol and niacinamide. These two key ingredients smooth the appearance of wrinkles while visibly firming your complexion.
Normal Skin
Even normal skin types may notice dry patches during winter. Defend your skin against harsh winter elements with the Mangosteen Gel Moisturizer, which provides you with smoother and revitalized-looking skin. You can also use the Arctic Berry Peptide Radiance Cream which features a Peptide Illuminating Complex to reveal your radiance naturally.
To enhance your winter skin care routine even further, try our selection of cold weather essentials at an Eminence Organics Spa Partner near you.
This article was originally written in December 2020.
*The product does not contain live probiotic cultures.
