Winter! Winter! Beautiful skin..
‘Winters’, whether I am in Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, San Francisco or Paris, are synonym to lazy days, all of us cuddled in blankets, mothers and aunts knitting colorful sweaters, a lot of chat sessions and a non-stop supply of hot chocolate and soup.. Boy don’t I love the cold!
But what I don’t love is the dry, cracked and dull skin that I get.
So, I decided to do something about it, coz ‘beautiful skin means beautiful you’. 😉
Here goes my skin care ritual:
- I love hot showers (even in summers); nothing as relaxing. But they do dry up the skin as the warm water opens up the skin pores. Not wanting to give upon hot showers, I made a few changes–I kept the water temperature lukewarm and not ‘hot’.-Immediately after the shower, I moisturised my skin really well.This kept my skin supple and soft and prevented my skin from losing the glow. On the contrary, it gave me a healthy shine.
- I went a little easy on heaters. I love to feel all snug in winters, and all the hi-tech room heaters we have these days are so great. But, they do dry the skin. So, while I still use the room heaters, I try to set the temperature a little lower than what I used to and I add a little extra splash of moisturiser on myself, just to keep my skin from getting dry.
- Because of the nature of my work, I am always on the move and so I was not drinking adequate water. Over time my skin had become dry and rough. I consulted a dermatologist, and the first thing she told me was, “drink enough water”. Our skin needs to be hydrated, esp. in winters when we don’t feel that thirsty. I make that extra effort to grab a glass of water every now and then. I even have reminders.
- I started to wash my face twice to thrice a day, as winters or summers, pollution is still the same and that cannot be good for any skin. I use a mild face wash, so that it doesn’t dry my skin, yet gets rid of the dirt and blocked pores. After washing, I use a toner and a hydrating serum, followed by a moisturizer. any product that I use, I make sure that it mainly has natural ingredients and very little chemicals. I always read the label on the box.
- Anytime I am out, I never forget my sunscreen. It is so vital to protect your skin from harmful rays of the sun.
- At night, I again clean my face well, use a night cream and an under eye cream and moisturize my hands and legs.
I have been following these regularly and my skin is all supple, shiny and happy!
I know it might look like a lot of work, but it’s really simple. I just made sure, all my moisturizers, toners, face washes and creams were easily accessible. That’s all. In a few days, it all became a routine and my skin was glowing..
Now, winters or no winters, I pretty much follow the same routine every day and it works. A few changes I make are, if the weather is warm, I use mild moisturizer, and if it’s cold and dry, I use a heavier moisturizer.