Skin Deep

Winterizing Skinwith Samantha Altea

Have you made sure that your double-glazing is in tact and your windows are sealed? Have you stopped any drafts that might let the cold and inclement weather into your house by the sea? Have you checked the roof and the chimney and made sure it was ready for wind, rain and of course, beautiful roaring fires? We all know that it’s imperative to winterize our homes, but what about our skin? Doesn’t our skin need some winterizing too? Though we’re only just encountering below freezing temperatures, which has taken us all strangely by surprise (I have no idea why since it eventually happens every year), venturing into these newly tepid temps makes it as important to winterize the skin you live in, as it is the home where you reside.

That’s why I decided to find the best products and advice in order to winterize the skin you’re in. Most research shows that the main issue in winter is dehydration. In the summer, one’s skin looks plumper, firmer and smoother, but now as the colder weather finally kicks in, it will be looking more wrinkled, dry, irritated and saggy. A simple moisturizer change in our beauty routine from summer to winter may help a lot and adding a humidifier to your home will aid with the dehydration caused by home heating. But what ARE the best moisturizers to use and is there anything else we can do to winterize?

I called Guinot and spoke to their Director of Education, Elizabeth Murchison to get the skinny (pun intended) on their fabulous winter solutions for our face and body. Murchison told me that their “best products form a barrier on the skin to help protect it from the elements.” So if you ski or go out in the harsh wind these products will help to alleviate the discomfort caused. Guinot’s Anti-Irritation Treatment containing hydrating glycerin, essence of lavender and allantoin for $36, is a crème balm that might be a fix for flaky dry skin. Sampar Lavish Dream Cream is also a new anti-pollution skincare line from Paris. The highly concentrated cream prolongs hydration and protects the skin from aggressive environments and is worth looking into.

Additional winter help, Murchison suggests, is a mask. “Masks are nice to use during this time of year and Guinot has one with essential oils like thyme, rosemary and jojoba that comfort the skin.” Murchison believes, “These oils leave a barrier on the skin, which is perfect for someone who is flaky and dehydrated, to further help nourish and protect the skin après masque.” Try Guinot Masque Essential Nutrition comfort for $36 and Orlane Bio-Mimic Hydrating Masque is an intensive treatment that reproduces the natural mechanisms of hydration and targets the areas on the face that are most in need of moisture. This might be another treatment to consider and one that I personally love.

Some additional skin advice from Murchison is to gently exfoliate. Wind and rough weather dehydrates and makes skin flaky and dry, therefore making lines more visible. By removing any dead cells, she says, it makes lines less visible as well as helping to rid of dry dehydrated skin. Try Guinot Gommage Biologique for $34, which is especially soft on the skin because it contains no granules, but instead has Alpha hydroxyl acids, which gently dissolve dead cells.

Lalicious is another interesting product line whose mantra is “streamlining your beauty routine.” Lalicious has a great exfoliating body scrub that will rid your body of dead dehydrated skin. There is also a Lalicious shower moisturizer that locks in moisture when you’re wet. Visit www.lalicious.com

Murchison is consistent with most other experts who agree that we should choose a richer moisturizer in winter, especially into your 50s, 60s and 70s. This includes areas especially on the face, including the fragile areas – the eyes and neck where our skin is thinner. Eye and neck creams are important. It’s also important to note that we all tend to focus on our face because we look at it all day, but our whole body needs moisturizing on a daily basis in winter therefore we will probably need separate face and body moisturizer.

Guinot makes an intensive moisturizer, Crème Extra Protection for the face; as well as Nutrizone life and nourishing body cream. However, along with the ones I’ve already mentioned, there are other great skin care products to check out this winter starting with Sundari, which is a really lovely product line because of their moisturizing and unique healing properties and philosophy towards skin care. Visit www.sundari.com and check them out. Malin + Goetz also has a fabulous replenishing face serum that is great when traveling because, like Sundari, it’s a unisex product. Visit www.malinandgoetz.com.

This winter, moisturize, mask and exfoliate and winterize everything you live in!