You've already read the content telling you to upgrade to a thicker moisturiser.
It's a bit basic.
There's far more to winter skin dryness than simply needing a thicker moisturiser, though we admit that is definitely a big part of it.
The real issue with winter skin dryness is not the cold - it's what we do to prevent feeling cold. Check this list to ensure you're doing what's right for your skin.
Electric blanket - lovely when it's freezing, make sure to turn it off as you get in. You don't want to be dehydrating yourself all night long.
Try a wheat bag, heated for 4 minutes in the microwave (I can never write that without hearing Nigella Lawson saying meee-kroh-waaah-vay). The trick with a wheat-bag is to buy 3. You are hereby given permission to have one for your tummy, one for your feet and one for your partner to steal because they always do.
Check out our range in-spa, including lush velvets and Liberty prints.
Steaming your skin. Your face doesn't benefit from being forced to sweat, believe us. You may as well spray on a bit of hydrating mist and lock it in with your moisturiser. Same effect. There's a plethora of new devices on the market and boy are they doing a great job of selling future landfill. Stay away.
Masks not night creams. Leave on masks are the only hydrating masks with mess with. We love O Cosmedics Hydra Plus Sleep Mask, and Dermaviduals Vitamin Cream Mask. Wear one to bed in place of night cream, you'll wake up hydrated and soft.
Cool Sleeping
Most Australians are over-insulating themselves at night. Sure, we love a thick down doona (that's Aussie slang for duvet to our overseas guests).
But consider this: to regulate our temperature we lose heat across the body via our sweat glands. If your entire body is insulated, with only the face exposed, your poor wee bod can only lose heat via your face.
This means dehydration, inflammation and increased oil flow. Not ideal for skins suffering senstivity, rosacea, acne or trying to hold onto hydration.
The fix: get yourself an open-weave cotton blanket, the kind you see in hospitals. No, we don't suggest you rob The Alfred, but do a quick google search for cotton blankets.
Initially you'll freeze, we admit that. But if you go to bed with your wheat bags, by the time you fall asleep you'll be warm. You will probably wake up freezing, so keep your doona at the foot of the bed to pull up when this happens.
But after a few weeks of this palaver, your thermoregulation will adjust and you'll find you can actually handle the cool sleeping technique just fine.
Benefits include potential improvements in skin health, weight control efforts and mental health. There's some promising links to alleviating depression as one of the things that is known about depression is the persons' general temperature goes up a degree or so before a major depressive episode. Food for thought and worth a try if you're struggling.
Acne particularly loves to be cooled down and cool sleeping should be considered part of your overall acne plan.
Lipid bilayers are where you should focus your skincare
The layers between cells need to be rich in lipids that are secreted by your cell walls as they degrade on their journey from basement membrane to surface skin.
Basically, you need enough lipids when you build the cell wall at its inception, in order to have enough to glue you together at the surface. That's how you keep water in.
If you haven't had them at the start, you're going to need to dose yourself with a cream that contains these, and this isn't as easy as 'thicker moisturiser'.
Ask your Natashas Skin Spa dermal therapist to tell you what you need. Different skin conditions are missing different ones.
Facials need to build, not just break down
If your skin treatment regimen is all about peeling, layering and needling, you may be missing out on the vital building blocks of lipid bilayers.
Our facials feature exquisitely balanced skincare formulations to build the strength of your skin, so even the dry, fragile and mature skins get stronger and more resilient. This is vital to holding hydration.
That's enough ranting from me. I'm terrible at staying on topic and I have far too much to say about skin generally, so if you'd like a personalised fix for your skin woes, book a facial or skin consultation. They're not free, because they're good, and they're far more than a sales appointment. We would love to take care of your skin and give you the resilient, hydrated and moist skin you dream of.
xxNatashas