Having a winter skincare routine can change not just the way your skin looks but the entire health of your system. That’s why these tips are a must this season.

I’m a fan of Ayurvedic medicine. It feels like the most realistic approach that works with your body instead of constantly trying to change your body. It’s a full system approach to health that looks at the whole of who you are, including your skin. A vital organ system that needs a little more love in the winter months.

But I’ll be honest, I’m not a product junkie and I’m not a skin guru. Even though I know a skincare routine is essential.

While I don’t have a particular nighttime routine or too many products or systems I swear by. My mentality is “less-is-best,” particularly when it comes to products. Of course, this goes both ways. There is a time when products help support the body and a time when products are a detriment to the body. Like most things, this relates to the quality of the products and how your body reacts to those products.

Whether they help to support the body or add more stress to the body. Inside this post, we’re going to determine why you need a winter skincare routine and show you the best products that support your body.

why you need a winter skincare routine

The seasons bring more than a change in attire. They bring a change to your body. As the days get cooler and dryer, your body has more difficulty maintaining moisture, making winter one of the hardest seasons on your skin. Of course, we want to blame the weather for these changes, but your body also changes to preserve heat. This happens through decreasing sebum production that cools the body in the hot summer months.

Sebum production is part of the temperature control system that also happens to healthify the skin. When your body gets too hot, the blood flow under your skin increases, activating your sebaceous glands to produce more sebum. This results in oily skin. Both sebum and sweat production increase to release excess heat from the body.

The exact opposite happens in the winter months as your body works to conserve heat in the cold winter months by reducing sebum production and sweat. Depriving your skin of necessary oils, causing it to dry and crack.

skin and your immune system

Your skin is your second largest organ system, followed behind the fascia system. But it happens to work alongside the immune system to keep your body healthy and your homeostatic needs in balance. I think it’s fair we take a moment to recount the amazing work our skin does to protect us.

• Creates a healthy body temperature through sweat or goosebumps.
• Capturing information through the sense of touch, cold, and heat.
• Maintaining adequate moisture inside the body.
• Keep viruses, bacteria, and germs at bay.
• Housing a vital microbiome that provides immune stability.
• Produces vitamin D.

Given your skin is the first line of defense, it takes a lot of wear and tear, making it necessary to support this system. If your skin starts to break down, thin, and dry out, it creates cracks in the defense line that allows harmful particles in—making the need for moisture essential.

your winter skincare routine

Unlike summer, when you have more sebum (oil production), your skin is more thin and sensitive this time of the year—making it necessary to supply the oil your body isn’t producing to protect the skin and keep the products on the lighter, gentler side. Here are the winter skin-care tips you need.

01. Use bath or shower oils before taking a shower.

Before your daily morning shower, massage a natural oil into your skin to seal in the moisture that gets wiped off during towel drying. Opt for an all-over body oil like almond, sesame, or coconut oil and massage thoroughly into your entire body. This does not need to take more than a few minutes, although it can take as long as you would like.

02: Turn the water temperature down.

Skip the hot water for prolonged periods. Keep it warm but not scorching. Hot water sucks the moisture out of your skin. Be careful how hot and how long you run hot water over your skin.

03: Moisturize all over with body lotion.

Once you dry your skin off, support the skin with an all-over body lotion. The heat from the shower opens up the pores allowing the moisture to filtrate into the skin, making it the best time to moisturize your

04: Moisturize your lips and nostrils.

Don’t forget two tightly regulated and powerful skin areas of your lips and nostrils. Both tend to dry before anything else and happen before you notice it. Keep them moisturized by dipping your finger in a small amount of body oil, smearing it on your lips and up and around your nostrils.

The moisture in your nostrils helps moisturize the hairs and cilia that work to stop unwanted germs from entering. When the nose hairs and cilia embedded in your nose get dry, they flatten, allowing more germs to pass through into the body and bloodstream. Here’s your friendly reminder, don’t forget these areas!

05: Keep your skin covered but not smothered.

Try to keep your skin covered, especially when you head outdoors. Any exposed skin will be subject to the harsh winter weather draining the moisture. Add a scarf to cover your face, and wear mittens to keep your hands warm and moist. A general rule of thumb is to keep your skin protected but not smothered. Opt for layers of breathable attire that warms your skin without suffocating it.

06: Eat and drink for moisture.

What you do internally is the best indication of what happens externally. You can support your skin externally, but the health of your skin cells happens by what you eat and drink and how you live.

In the cold winter months, make sure you keep your internal body warm and moist. Drink warm liquids and eat seasonal foods, including lots of healthy fats and hearty starches. A dose of collagen never hurts either.

Skip excess amounts of dehydrating foods and beverages included excess sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. All three pull essential nutrients and water from your system, leaving you with dried-out skin and potentially more problems.

07: Move your body to heat it up.

Dried skin happens more easily with a cold body, and a cold body more easily dries out your skin. Keep your body warm by producing heat through movement, whether through a morning workout, daily yoga, stretching, foam rolling, or even a hot sauna session. Move your body to warm your body and circulate the nutrients your body needs to thrive.

the best winter skincare products to use

To your body, quality always matters more than quantity. In the winter, this rings true more than ever. Unfortunately, a lot of skincare brands promise instant solutions to your problems. Harsh chemicals used in these instant solutions do more harm than good in the long run. Choose products with minimum possible side effects and no chemicals. And remember, results come with consistent use.

The brand I swear by over and over is Cocokind. No, this isn’t sponsored, it’s an honest review. Their products are natural, completely safe, and inexpensive. The cost is what initially sold me, but the outcome is what made me come back time and time again.

I know they say you get what you pay for, but I promise, the results I’ve seen from this brand are much more than the products I’ve spent hundreds more on. The truth is, health doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It shouldn’t, and it doesn’t have to with Cocokind.

Here are my go-to products I swear by for the harsh winter months:

Cleanser: Oil to Milk Cleanser (Shower) + Organic Facial Cleansing Oil (Make-Up Remover)

Toner: Rosewater Toner

Face Moisturizer: Revitalizing Eye Cream + MyMatcha All-over Moisturizer Stick (carry in my bag) + Organic Chia Face Oil

All-Over Moisturizer: Sake Body Lotion + Skin Butter (I use this on my feet)

SPF (Yes, you still need it in the winter): Daily SPF

Check out all of their products here.

The main object of following a skincare routine is to reveal your best natural skin and a glowing complexion, with the seasons dictating your skincare approach. I hope these tips leave you feeling moisturized on the dryest of winter days.