The dry skin remedies that will save your skin this winter

Dry brushing is something I started doing a few years ago to help my ashy legs and ingrown hairs. It’s one of those inexpensive and manageable self care practices that really does make a difference. Any dry brush will work, but this one is my fave. It’s the perfect blend of soft bristles with just enough firmness to really do its job, and made from sustainably harvested boar bristle. Use it before showering to slough off dead skin, aid lymphatic drainage and increase blood flow. The long handle is great for hard to reach spots and it can be removed for more focused massage.

If you use self-tanner to combat winter pastiness, battle with ingrown hairs or suffer from keratosis pilaris, this is the best investment you can make. I discovered this miracle exfoliation mitt at a Hammam spa a few years ago and it completely changed my skin. After you soap up and rinse off, simply scrub your body and watch in horror/delight as balls of dead skin begin to appear. You’ll instantly feel soft as a baby’s bottom and can repeat weekly for continued improvement.

If you shy away from thick body cream because they never seem to rub in and turn you into a greasy mess, forget what you know. The Flamingo Daily Moisturizing Lotion is rich and emollient and also happens to sink right in, leaving skin soft and supple for the entire day. It’s packed with squalane for instant hydration along with white willow bark and papaya extract to help exfoliate and improve the quality of skin over time. I love the clean fresh scent and have to say, it’s one of the best body creams I’ve used in ages. The biggest surprise? It’s also the cheapest.

If you’ve already got a lotion you love but want to give your skin an extra boost during the cold months, Pascua recommends adding a bit of almond oil to it and applying post-shower. Not only does it hydrate and seal in moisture, it can help repair the skin barrier as well. It’s also loaded with antioxidants which can help with inflammation and aging and Vitamin E which is proven to help improve the look of scars and stretch marks. Win, win, win!

You know those stubborn dry patches that crop up out of nowhere and just want to hang out all winter long? No thank you. Invitation revoked, thanks to Weleda Skin Food. The raved-about formula is your best defense against scaly elbows, eczema battles, ratty cuticles…basically anywhere you need some super-charged hydration and protection. It’s thick and rich (almost like diaper cream) but sinks in fast and works like a charm.

I’m a habitual nighttime body oil user, but most mornings I’m pulling on leggings for pilates and always skip moisturizer because that’s a nightmare. This is absolutely the answer to my scaly dilemma. Just rub it on wet skin before you’ve toweled off and you’ve got blissfully moisturized skin the entire day–without having to deal with the stickiness of lotion. Brilliant! (Also, it lasts for ages and the neroli driftwood scent is absolutely dreamy.)

Thick but not greasy and packed with barrier-repairing ceramides, the Body Smoother Replenishing Cream from good.clean.goop beauty is great for extra parched skin. The blend of butters (cupuaçu and bacuri) smooths those fine lines that come from dehydration almost instantly and it’s a great foot treatment as well, IMO. Just be warned that a little bit goes a long way!

Why should your face get all the good stuff? Superboost your winter body care regimen  with the award-winning body wash from Iota. Since I first discovered the brand a couple years ago, their microbiome balancing bodywash has become a total staple. The unique inclusion of prebiotics and postbiotics helps to repair dry skin and keep it that way, even when the climate is working against you. And because it’s packed with face-grade actives like Niacinamide and Vitamins A, C and E, they help make skin brighter, healthier and overall more nourished–just like the skincare routine I’ve been perfecting for ages.

TBH, I generally have a love/hate relationship with body scrubs because they can be such a pain to deal with in the shower. The oil separates from the gritty parts which makes them tricky to apply and eventually, you’re left with one ingredient or the other. This one is totally different. The texture is more like a sandy body butter which offers a deep exfoliation and instant hydration that doesn’t feel greasy or heavy. Ingredient-wise, it packs both coconut and meadowfoam oils to moisturize along with kaolinite clay to gently exfoliate. It’s also the only scrub I’ve ever used that’s kind enough on your skin that you can even use it as a shave cream!

P.S. I also love that this brand sells mini sizes of all their products so you can try them out before coming back to grab the full size (because inevitably, you will!)

For instant spa vibes and a major dose of hydration, try the Undaria Body Polish from Osea. The creamy lemongrass scented polish uses lychee seed and volcanic pumice to gently exfoliate while ultra nourishing ingredients like kukui seed oil and cannabis sativa seed oil moisturize parched skin. It’s the ideal product if a typical scrub is too harsh or you want to pamper yourself a little more frequently!

When I was looking for a winter-appropriate cleanser, the Grown Alchemist Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser was love at first wash. It’s creamy without being greasy, cleanses without stripping, and hydrates without overwhelming my pores. The formula is packed with plant-derived ingredients like Olive Leaf Extract to moisturize and firm, Plantago Extract and Beta-glucan from Oat to help soothe and even Niacinamide to help reduce the appearance of pores and re-invigorate dull skin. The subtle ylang ylang scent is comforting without overpowering and the aluminum tube means not so much as a drop gets wasted.

Dryness can often lead to redness, which is one reason the Farmhouse Fresh Field of Green deserves a place in your winter arsenal. Infused with four different hyaluronic acids, antioxidant-rich organic green tea extract, aloe, and olive fruit oil, it not only boosts hydration, it also helps soothe and reduce the look of redness within just a few applications. The silky, whipped consistency sinks in quickly to keep skin calm and happy all day long.

This super popular drugstore cleanser is a gentle but effective way to wash the day off (or get it started!) The lotion-like wash is formulated with three essential ceramides to help reinforce your skin’s barrier and lock in moisture without stripping skin or making your face feel tight after drying. The addition of hyaluronic acid helps to improve skin texture and keep it looking fresh, plump and ready to glow. And you can use it on your hands and body as well!

Toners can be great for removing those traces of makeup and sunscreen after washing your face, but when temps drop make sure the one you’re using doesn’t strip out  moisture. Murad Hydrating Toner is Pascua’s pick, a lightweight formula made with peach and cucumber extracts which also helps balance skin’s pH levels.

According to Pascua, hyaluronic acid hydration boosters are must-add when it comes to winter skincare routines. (For me, they’re constantly in play no matter what the season.) Hyaluronic acid—a molecule our bodies produce naturally that acts like a magnet to draw moisture in–is a total hydration powerhouse. It instantly plumps skin to give it a smoother, healthier appearance and when followed by a moisturizer, it keeps things that way all day long. There are a ton of great formulas out there, but Moon Juice Plump Jelly is one of my favorites. It’s a little more gel-like than some and gives my face a bouncy glow without being sticky.

Pascua also recommends incorporating a heavy but active-ingredient gentle cream into your winter skincare line up like this one from Dr. Barbara Sturm. The luxe formula is super hydrating without feeling too heavy, helping to firm skin and fill in fine lines. The star of the show? A medicinal herb called Purslane which happens to be a powerful antioxidant which does everything from reduce inflammation to stimulate cell repair.

Thick and rich but not greasy or suffocating, Ursa Major’s Golden Hour Recovery Cream is another winter favorite in my house. It’s incredibly moisturizing but with the addition of Vitamins A,C, and E as well as a variety of Omegas, it tackles fine lines as well. (Who doesn’t love a multitasker?) It’s the cream my husband always steals because it fixes red, dry, and flaky patches pretty much overnight. I’d be mad if I wasn’t actually thrilled he’s the kind of guy who cares about skincare.

I discovered Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer through a reddit suggestion after two consecutive months of eczema flare ups that seemed spurred on by ovulation (how fun is that?!). After the swelling and wake-you-from a sound sleep itching subsides, it leaves a red, flaky mask in its wake. After one application, this gel-like gift from the goddesses sunk right in and improved the situation almost completely. Made with barrier nourishing hyaluronic acid and ceramides and no fragrance, essential oils or anything to irritate it’s super hydrating without being heavy or greasy. I then cut out literally every other step of my routine for two weeks. It helped immensely and has been a go-to ever since, eczema flares or not.

Looking for a dose of moisture during the day? A pioneer in its category, we were instantly smitten with Knours’ Double Duty face mist. This brilliant multitasker is formulated with two separate layers of aloe vera water and jojoba oil to be used two ways: Not shaken if your skin is feeling sensitive or oily to deliver calming hydration, shaken if your skin is flaky and drier than usual for a blend that offers a moisturized glow. I mean, have you ever?! The sorcery! It’s perfect for an afternoon complexion pick-me-up and the subtle peony scent is absolutely intoxicating. Consider yourself hooked.

Yes, it’s a face mist, but IMO it’s also a mental vacation in a bottle. (And who can’t use one of those as often as possible through the winter doldrums?) Among a host of glorious botanicals which hydrate and soothe, the Cap Beauty Serotoner is infused with griffonia, a plant which is said to increase the “feel good” hormone serotonin. I’m not sure if that’s what’s happening when I spray it, but regardless, its coconut, neroli and rose scent is without a doubt one of the most divine things I’ve ever smelled. It’s transportive, glow-giving and calming for both skin and mood.

If you shy away from using a face oil in the warmer months, winter is an ideal time to introduce one into your routine. Unlike some moisturizers which can leave skin feeling dry just a few hours later, the occlusive properties of oils allow skin to retain that much-needed hydration. A personal fave, the Esteli Oro Rosa Supercriticals Face Oil is an active botanical that’s packed with effective powerhouses like Rosehip and Sea Buckthorn which not only leave skin feeling bouncy and plump, but also helps relieve inflammation, reduce redness and even smooth out fine lines. It’s rich without feeling greasy and doesn’t irritate my sometimes sensitive skin at all. I slather it on both day and night (neck included!) and have yet to do battle with winter flakiness.

Just because it’s winter, that doesn’t mean you need a complicated routine. In fact, Goopgenes All-in-One Super Nutrient Face Oil is currently the only product I’ve been using daily besides cleanser and my skin looks and feels positively radiant. The botanical face oil blends a variety of actives including Vitamin A courtesy of Cacay, Vitamin C via Amla oil and the retinol-alternative Bakuchiol to tackle every skin concern from hydration and fine line reduction to improving texture and evening skin tone. It’s lightweight and sinks right in leaving you glowy but not greasy. And the subtle earthy meets floral scent is just an added bonus!