Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well and getting ready for the holidays! It's officially the cold season and of course #imnotready.

As the weather changes,  so does our skin. We are more prone to dryness and dehydration when temperatures drop, so it's important to work even harder to take care of our skin. To help you navigate through this season, I thought it would be a good idea to provide you with a list of tips that will keep your skin hydrated and moisturized.

1) Hydrate daily & layer your hydration

The first step is to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! The cold strips our skin, so it's important to hydrate twice a day (and if you workout throughout the day, make sure to wash your face and have a proper routine after your session as well).

To increase hydration levels, I recommend you "layer" your hydration. I learned this technique from beauty guru and esthetician Sean Garrette (https://www.instagram.com/seangarrette/?hl=en). Layering hydration is essentially layering the products that are aimed at providing your skin with moisture. For example,  whilst doing your skincare routine, you'd first apply a hydrating mask, then a hydrating toner, then a hydrating essence on top of it, and finally,  a hydrating serum and moisturizer. All of these products will work together and provide you with intense hydration, and an amazing glow (a win-win situation really).

I know it may be tricky to figure out what kind of products you should use, so here are some recommendations (you can click on the bold product name and it will take you to the link):

Hydrating masks

- Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask by Youth to the People
- Drink Up Intensive Overnight Hydrating Mask with Avocado & Swiss Glacier Water by Origins
- Moisturizing Moon Mask by Glossier

Hydrating toners

- Aqua Bomb Hydrating Toner by Belif
- CoQ-10 Toner by Indie Lee

Hydrating serums

- Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum by The Inkey List
- Honeymoon Glow AHA Resurfacing Night Serum with Hydrating Honey + Gentle Flower Acids by Farmacy

Hydrating moisturizers

- Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer by LaNeige
- Omega + Complex Moisturizer by Paula's Choice


2) Mix your moisturizer with oils

Another way to take care of your skin during the winter months is to mix your moisturizers with oils. The oils will keep your skin supple, and help prevent dehydration. I usually do the moisturizer/oil combo at night, but if you want to do it twice a day, that's fine too. Some great oils to mix with your moisturizers are rosehip oil(especially if you have oily skin), jojoba oil, and marula oil.

3) Use chemical exfoliants

Now, in order to ensure that all of your toners, essences, serums, moisturizers, and oils penetrate well into your skin and work effectively, you have to exfoliate your skin. Chemically exfoliating is less harsh and will allow for  your dead skin to shed off. The best chemical exfoliants are those that have salicylic, glycolic, lactic, or mandelic acid in them. I know that chemical exfoliants can be confusing, so if you want me to do a thorough blogpost on that, let me know in the comments :).

4) Drink more water & avoid hot showers

Apart from skincare products, you can also take care of your skin with a few lifestyle changes. Two key things to incorporate in your everyday routine is to avoid taking long showers that are too hot and drinking at least 2 liters of water a day. Drinking water throughout the day will keep you hydrated and avoiding those 500 degree showers will keep your skin from stripping!

Thank you for reading, I hope this useful.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at sarr.penda@gmail.com. You can also connect with me on my social channels below:

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