Winter Beauty Survival Guide (My Top Winter Beauty Products)
Well folks, it is that time of year again when the city turns into a frozen tundra and wind is whipping through the streets. After a seemingly endless fall, winter is finally (sadly) upon us here in the 'Burgh. And of course with dreadful weather comes the potential for a vast amount of beauty disasters. From dry brittle hair, rosacea on our faces (not the kind of rosy cheeks we asked for, Mother Nature), to crocodile skin on our hands and feet, cold weather really wreaks havoc on all of our appearances. However, since class is back in session, and being back in school at Point Park University and interning as a Style Guru for CollegeFashionista means I will be spending a good time outside in this frigid weather. So, I decided to take some action and find the best remedies to fight Old Man Winter and am going to share my findings here with you!
Maintain Your Luscious Locks (And Avoid Hat Hair)
I don't know about all of you, but I for one know my hair gets extremely brittle in the winter time and unfortunately that means a whole lot of split ends. However this first product which I found via Vogue is an absolute God sent! This my friends, is the Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Biding Leave In Crème. All you need to do to set this product into action is simply rake it through damp hair and let it work it's magic. The reason I feel this crème is so effective is because it contains nourishing coconut oil which is known to have ultra healing benefits, and smells amazing too! This product honestly did a great job at rejuvenating my damaged hair and preventing split ends.
So since we now have our split end problem under control, we should probably talk about ensuring a healthy scalp too. Once again, I am featuring one of my favorite hair care brands, and that brand is Amika! As we all know I love Amika's "Spoil My Hair" Kit, but I also have recently become a fan of their "Triple RX Mask" as well. The reason this mask is perfect for scalp health is because it is designed to nourish and repaired dried out, over stressed hair. After using the Triple RX Mask I noticed significant changes in my scalp, the main one being it that no longer feels dry or irritated. The other perk of this product is, is that it also leaves your entire head of hair feeling silky smooth, and adds a touch of shine.
Lastly, I'm going to cover one of my personal biggest winter beauty pet peeves and that is having to deal with hat hair. Ugh, we all go through it at one point of another when it's too damn cold to simply stick with a hooded coat or go hatless, but hat hair is generally just a part of winter. However, one of the stylists from La Pomponnee gave me a little trick that has worked gloriously to keep my hair from looking squished and that simple tip is hairspray! All you need to do is lift the sections of your hair that tend to be a problem and give them a spray starting from the base (or root) of your hair to about half the length of the section. This just adds a little bounce so your hair won't squish as easily! And for the record my favorite hairspray is Bed Head's "Hard Head" Hairspray.
Keep Your Face Radiant & Your Lips Kissable
One main issue I come across every winter is how to avoid getting windburn while walking to and from class of those cold and blustery days. However recently, I decided to purchase Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion because I had read so many rave reviews about it and thought maybe I should give it a try to help repair my poor weathered cheeks. Well I have to say this product really did live up to all of the hype! Within a matter of just days I noticed my skin was rejuvenated and softer. Needless to say I would 100% recommend this product.
Next up, though we all know the importance of taking of vitamins, how many of us really do? Well upon so research as well as actually listening to the advice my mother gave me (See mum, I do listen!) I decided to try some hair, skin, and nail vitamins to help with my dry winter skin. Well these gummy vitamins by Nature's Bounty actually have seemed to have helped quite a bit! No only is my skin less irritated due to using my Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, it now is even beginning to feel healthier! Not to mention my nails seem to be stronger now too. And to boot these gummy vitamins from Nature's Bounty are actually delicious!
And of course, your cheeks aren't the only thing that takes abuse from the frightful winter weather, but so do your lips! Let's be honest, everybody that lives in a cold climate end up with sore chapped lips at one point or another. However, to heal and prevent anymore chapping this season I swear by Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. This stuff has helped heal my chapped lips for years! I've been using Burt's Bees since high school and honestly there isn't a flavor I don't like. Each one smells great, applies easily, and definitely sooths and nourishes damaged lips, leaving them smooth and extra kissable.
Happy Hands Are For Holding
As a kid, I always had itchy, dry, and cracked hands in the winter time. Of course this was from playing out in the cold without caring for them properly. However, during my adolescent and adult life, I've since learned the importance of pampering and protecting my hands from brutal winter weather, and the first step to doing this is finding a great hand lotion. After years of seeking for the right one, I finally found that Gold Bond Healing Hand Cream is the best product to use on weather damaged hands! The reason I say this is because this product is approved for sensitive skin, and also is fragrance free which is great because sometimes that can cause discomfort with cracked hands and even irritate them more.
So though this one may be a bit obvious, I figured I should mention it anyways. Along with properly moisturizing your hands with a cream, it is also very important to be sure that you are using a moisturizing hand soap as well! Everyone knows that chapped and irritated hands are due to dryness, so though washing your hands is important, avoiding harsh antibacterial soap can be a key way to keep your hands smooth and healthy, hence where moisturizing hand soap comes in. My pick of moisturizing hand soaps has to be Deep Seep's Coconut Oil Hand Wash. This hand wash leaves your hands feeling squeaky clean as well as refreshed and smooth after each use. This hand wash also is 100% natural and smells great too!
Don't Forget To Treat Your Feet
Yes! I know this sounds crazy but it is in deed true: though your feet are tucked away inside boots and slippers during the winter season, they too suffer the harsh side effects of the cold weather! So, to remedy that and to shoe your toes you haven't forgotten them, the first thing I suggest doing is investing in a pumice stone and a good foot scrub! First, the reason you need a good pumice stone is to help exfoliate your feet. Exfoliating your feet is important because it rids them of all the dead and dry skin that has built up over the season, there for making moisturizers more effective.
Of course if you're going to treat and exfoliate your feet you need a good and reliable foot scrub. So my suggestion is to check out Pure Body Naturals' Himalayan Salt Foot Scrub. With light, sweet aromas of grape and almond you'll give yourself and you feet a nice and relaxing break after a long day. This scrub also helps ease tension in the arches of your feet due to its natural healing attributes and also leaves your skin feeling soft and rejuvenated.
After a nice hot bath and home foot exfoliating treatment, the next best thing aside from curling up with a cup of tea and a good book is adding the finishing touches to your foot treatment. And just like with your hands and face one of the key things you can do to keep your feet healthy in the winter is moisturize them. With that being said, Gold Bond has made this list for the second time due to the fact their Softening Foot Cream works absolute wonders! This foot cream kept my feet feeling nice, soft and smooth all winter long thus far.
Last but not least, the final step to to treating your feet is to snag a pair of aloe socks! The reason aloe socks are an important part of this routine is they help lock in the moisturizing affects of the Softening Foot Cream, as well as giving you something fuzzy and cozy to slip on your feet. Not to mention, these socks will also help keep your feet warm, because if we are all being honest here, having popsicle toes doesn't exactly scream "let's cuddle!". (John knows all too well about this little issue.)
What are some of your favorite winter weather remedies? Tell me about them in the comments below or tweet me at @StarkRavingChic!
Xx, Bree