Cold Weather Skin Care Tips

Whether you’re a total snow bunny who loves all things winter, or a cold-weather phobic who spends the chilly months wrapped in six blankets on the couch, your skin will inevitably be exposed to the joys of winter weather and all the fun stuff it entails – dryness, chapping, irritation, and flaking, to name a few. We all deal with these pesky cold weather skin care woes, and it’s easy to write winter off as your hermit month. Read: minimal socializing, and letting your regular beauty routines siiiide until you’re looking a little bit like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

But hold up! Winter skincare woes don’t have to be such a pain. With smart change-ups to your regular routine, ultra hydrating additions, and a little bit of a boost in your exfoliation game, you can stay glowy and fresh-faced through the chilly months.

Common Fall Skin Woes

Before we look at the solution, let’s break down the problem: cold weather is extra harsh on your skin for a number of reasons. Cold temperatures mean lower humidity, so the baseline moisture levels in your skin are going to be thrown off because the air is much drier. This affects different faces in different ways; some people end up with serious dryness, chapping, and irritation, while others will see increased sensitivity to concentrated acne or anti-aging products, resulting in exacerbated inflammation or peeling.

Wind exposure further aggravates these symptoms, and the whole thing can feel a little bit like a lose-lose situation; covering your mouth and nose with a scarf to protect yourself from wind can generate a really not-cute heat rash or chafing. And then there’s the fact that just because the temperature’s dropped, doesn’t mean there’s no sun beating down on you: it’s possible to get a really brutal burn atop a ski slope or on a super cold, albeit sunny day. UV damage paired with heightened dryness can be a lethal combination that leaves you with premature signs of aging – SO not what you want out of your holiday month.

But don’t let the winter blues sink in just yet. We’ve rounded up a few Puristry products that will amp up your winter routine and keep things hydrated, soothed, and under control -- even if the weather outside is frightful.

Fall Skin Care Routine

After a gentle cleanse, apply a Flower Water Toner with a cotton pad, and sweep it onto your face and neck. This Puristry formula features rose and calendula hydrosols: super ingredients when it comes to instilling hydration in your skin post-cleanse, and prepping your pores for richer moisturizers. Rose and calunda hydrosols are both especially effective for mature skin types, and are super humectants that draw moisture into cells for improved overall elasticity and suppleness. Hydrosol, also known as floral water, is the ultra calming product derived from floral hydro-distillation. It contains trace amounts of essential oil from the flower, and is a super therapeutic pre-moisturizing step in your winter routine, which will allow your subsequent products to absorb more effectively.

Next, go in with a generous application of Restorative Facial Oil. This is an essential step for winter skin, simultaneously treating dryness, UV damage, and early onset fine lines that develop as a result of sun and wind exposure. The Puristry formula includes a super carefully crafted blend of cold-pressed oils that are chock full of antioxidants: jojoba seed oil for its anti-inflammatory properties and high content of Vitamins A and E (key for hydration and healthy skin cell turnover), rosehip oil for its high content of nourishing essential fatty acids, which are known to correct dark spots and rough and flakey patches, and pomegranate seed oil for its crazy high antioxidant content (key for fighting free-radical damage and preventing further skin cell degradation from the elements). This formula is a real dry skin butt-kicker, and it’s important to apply to damp skin that’s just been toned, for maximum absorption and super silky results.

The final step in this cold weather regime is your trusty Seaberry Moisturizer, to lock in all of the goodness you’ve just given to your dermis! This formula features concentrated seaberry fruit, a unique ingredient currently generating major buzz for its seriously high phytonutrient profile and unsurpassed levels of Omega 3, 6, and 9. Plus it boasts a high content of the hard-to-come-by essential fatty acid Omega-7, which is key for collagen production and reparation. As a final step in the cold weather regime, this little product is a potent anti-ager which locks in your nourishing oil pre-application, while promoting firmness, elasticity, and non-inflamed skin comfort even in the worst of weather. Your skin will thank you for this one.

Add a DIY Mask

Avocado + Olive Oil

Great for nourishing the moisture barrier, a homemade mask made with avocado and olive oil is sure to help dry skin types survive fall and winter. Start with cleansed, wet skin (a gentle, hydrating toner can also aid this process); water helps the moisture from your mask better absorb into your skin. Simply mix fresh, mashed avocado with extra virgin olive oil and apply to your face, leaving on for about 20 minutes. Your DIY face mask for dry skin should have a 3:1 avocado to oil ratio; just pasty enough to spread evenly across your skin. This is a very rich mask, so following with a moisturizer is optional, based on the severity of skin dryness.

PRO TIP: Make sure you use high quality, pure extra virgin (cold pressed) olive oil. Cold pressed olive oil retains more of the original nutrients for your skin, whereas non- extra virgin olive oils often contain cheap filler oils which dilute the product and could clog your pores.

Cucumber + Aloe

This mask is perfect for hydrating oily skin types, without risking excess oiliness. Both cucumber and aloe are intense hydrators, and do wonders for thirsty, chapped, or irritated skin. To make this mask, use a thin cloth and soak it in a mixture that half pure aloe juice, half fresh cucumber juice. Give yourself an at-home sheet mask treatment by laying the soaked cloth on skin for about 20 minutes; both ingredients are gentle enough to be worn for even longer, if you choose! After rinsing and without drying your face, follow with your daily moisturizer to lock in hydration.

Shea + Coconut + Oatmeal

Ideal for nourishing combo or normal skin types, this trio of beneficial ingredients makes for the perfect winter mask recipe. Shea is a well-loved moisturizer for face and body, and raw shea butter (the kind we recommend using) is completely non-pore clogging. Coconut oil is certainly an effective moisturizer for cold weather skin, but as a richer oil, holds a higher comedogenic rating. To avoid possibility of a breakout, use half the amount of coconut oil as you would shea. Finally, add oatmeal to the party - it’s a moisturizer, humectant, and anti-inflammatory. Oatmeal even has the power to soothe combo or inflamed, sensitive skin (a result of prolonged exposure to cold).

To make your mask, start with ½ cup oatmeal; pulse in a food processor to get a semi-fine, spreadable texture. Mix in a 1 tbsp coconut oil, and 2 tbsp raw shea butter. Mix until you get a thick paste, then massage into your skin. Raw shea butter has a firm consistency, but melts into skin once warmed with fingers. Allow to sit on skin for about 20 minutes before rinsing, and follow with your daily moisturizer.

DO’S and DON’TS of Fall Skin Care

Armed with these super hardworking products, you’ll be well on your way to saying ‘see ya’ to dry winter skin. But for maximum effectiveness, it’s important to be taking care of your skin in a holistic way – as always, products need to be combined with good habits to really reap the benefits! Here we’ve rounded up the basic winter Dos and Don’ts to make fall skin care foolproof!

1. Pre-moisturize your skin with a facial oil for maximum hydration, and don’t be afraid to use oil in the AM before cosmetic application – it will help foundation slide on smoothly, and keep your skin protected from chapping throughout the day.
2. Stay hydrated with water and herbal teas, and keep a healthy seasonal diet that includes high-water fruits and veggies. Skin hydration is significantly influenced by the water content in your foods, so it’s a good idea to amp up water-dense leafy greens and hydrating fruits in the winter months (and go easy on the inevitable baked good influx).
3. Use a humidifier in your house if you’re waking up in the morning with tight or red skin. This has the potential to take you into seriously dewy territory, even in fall or winter, and will keep your skin products from evaporating off your face while you’re catching Z’s.

1. Don’t use products with harsh detergents like conventional bar soaps or foaming cleansers. These can be super drying, and can leave you with flaking in sensitive spots, and an out-of-whack oil balance that can result in unexpected breakouts.
2. Don’t shower or bathe for too long or with extra hot water, as both of these habits can unnecessarily zap moisture from your face and body. And make sure you’re always applying moisturizer immediately post-shower, when your pores are open and absorption will be most effective.
3. Regulate your exfoliating routine to account for extra flakiness. Maybe this means adding in another exfoliating day each week, depending on how sensitive your skin is. Remember to keep things gentle, and never exfoliate if you’re experiencing rawness or sensitivity.

You’ve got this! Fall and winter are coming, and with these smart skin tips it’ll be a breeze. Let us know what your favorite cold weather skin treatments are, and keep up with us here for more seasonal and how-to organic skin care guides!