My Winter Skincare Routine

I know a lot of people think “desert” and just think about the heat. Trust me, it gets ridiculously hot here! But what people don’t realize is that it also gets pretty cold here as well. In the winter, we usually wake up to our temperatures being in the 20-30 degree Fahrenheit range. It’s also incredibly dry in the desert.

When I was a teenager, and even a little through college, I had a combination skin type and struggled keeping oil out of my T-zone. Now, in my mid-20s, my skin has been insanely dry. Finding non-cakey makeup has been a trip and trying to get my skin to get as much moisture as possible has also been an experience.

While my skin isn’t perfect, I do want to share some things that work for me when I want to keep my skin healthy, bright, and clear!

EXFOLIATE

Even in the winter, I exfoliate. I just don’t do it as frequently as the summer months. I like to use the gadget above from Vanity Planet, but any will work. I also don’t isolate exfoliation to my face. I exfoliate my entire body, feet, and lips. It makes a huge difference! A rookie mistake, though, is to exfoliate more than once a week. This will actually make your skin worse, so resist doing that!

SUNSCREEN + COCONUT OIL

My moisturizer has SPF in it so I be sure to put it on every day, even if I know it’s going to be rainy and overcast. Just because you’re not in direct sunlight does not mean the sun doesn’t shine through! Do not skip sunscreen! It’s important to protect your skin! I make sure to put my moisturizer on in the morning after coconut oil.

For the evening, after washing my face and drying it, I use about a dime size amount of coconut oil and massage it into my face. Many people hesitate when it comes to putting coconut oil on their skin, but I’ve found that it usually helps break outs, not cause them. Start with a pea size amount of coconut oil if you don’t have extremely dry skin. I do this about 30 minutes before I go to bed to be sure the oil absorbs properly and doesn’t come off all over my pillow!

CLEAN EATING + HYDRATION

It all comes full circle to this! I find that when I eat processed and junk food (and even dairy), I get crazy break outs. Not only that, but my skin texture changes! It becomes rougher and my pores become bigger. And when I don’t drink enough water, I find that I have more fine lines and dark circles under my eyes. Berries, clean water, green tea, and leafy greens are what I find to be my skin staples!