It’s no secret that dry skin is a common problem in the winter. Whether snowy weather is your jam or you can’t stand the cold, your skin responds to the decrease in the air’s humidity no matter how you feel! You’re probably finding that your skin–especially on your face, hands, and the other areas constantly exposed to the cold–feels dry, rough, and in desperate need of a little TLC.
When you break down all the remedies you hear about tackling dry skin this time of year, they all have these two core elements:
ADD hydration into the skin
And
KEEP hydration locked in
When done together, these two simple steps are incredible at managing dry skin.
Winter is when the water in your skin rapidly evaporates, and so on top of adding and keeping hydration, any remedy you choose should be done often enough to replenish the hydration your skin is losing every day.
Quench Your Skin’s Thirst
We want to add water back into our skin as much as possible when dealing with tight, dry skin. A great way to do this is to look for water-based products. This can come in the form of a facial mist or a water-based serum. Certain gel moisturizers also work amazingly. These are products that add moisture to your skin when you apply them.
Some hydrating skincare products also include humectants, which are ingredients that attract water to your skin. They work by drawing water from the deeper layers of your skin up to the outermost layer. If the air is especially humid–70% or more–humectants also draw water from the air. Since the winter air lacks humidity, you might only find humid air if you find yourself enjoying a sauna or a particularly hot shower. Humectant ingredients include hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs).
Humectant ingredients include hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and alpha hydroxy acids.
Spraying your face with a hydrating mist throughout the day is also a fantastic way to re-add moisture into the skin. Plus, if you put moisturizer on earlier in the day, the spray can actually reactivate the moisturizer!
Vegan Hydration
Did you know that a number of super popular humectant ingredients are actually extracted from animals? Hyaluronic acid, for example, comes from animal tissue or from fermenting bacteria!
At Graydon, we use a vegan hyaluronic acid extracted from senna seeds instead, and we’ve included it in products like our Supermoon Serum.
Vegan ingredients are natural and nutrient-rich alternatives to classic skincare ingredients you may be surprised to find are derived from animal products.
If you’re looking for naturally-derived vegan and cruelty free ingredients that hydrate, look for products containing ingredients like blue majik, aloe vera, raspberry seed oil, and of course hyaluronic acid from senna seeds.
Making it Stick
Adding moisture into the skin when it’s dry is an obvious solution. However, making sure that hydration lasts is the other piece of the puzzle, and is just as important for combating dryness! Without locking in that water, it will just evaporate when you go out into the cold.
Seal in That Moisture In!
Sealing in the water you add back into your skin is all about your skin barrier. You already have a natural barrier that keeps water in the skin, so adding products that strengthen that barrier are what will keep your skin soft, smooth, and hydrated.
The best thing you can use for this is a thick occlusive.
What is an Occlusive?
An occlusive is a thick cream or oil that covers and protects the skin, making sure all the moisture stays within. That’s why an occlusive is applied after other forms of moisturizing, so all your earlier work is locked in and doing its job hydrating the skin. Occlusives are often thick and heavy-feeling for this reason, and might even leave a film or residue.
Graydon’s Go-To Occlusive Products
When winter rolls around, I recommend swapping out your moisturizer for a heavier, occlusive cream and adding an occlusive oil into the mix, depending on how dry your skin is.
My favourite occlusive cream is Berry Rich Face + Eye Cream because it reinforces skin barrier function with vegan probiotics and hydrates the skin with blue majik and blueberry seed oil.
As for a superpowered occlusive oil, I opt for Jade Moon Serum applied after a cream for one last layer of protection. The nutrient-dense superfood oils in the serum reinforce the skin barrier all while soothing skin–which is a great help for irritation caused by dryness.
By adding moisture back into the skin and boosting your skin barrier so that water doesn’t evaporate, you’re making sure your skin stays radiant and refreshed even on the coldest winter nights!
