How to Transition to Your Winter Lip & Skin Care Routine
This guide is all about moisture! In the winter, the air gets noticeably drier, and our skin needs as much moisture as it can get to stay soft and healthy. Luckily, here at Lique, we specialize in hydration. Every one of our products is formulated to draw moisture in and keep it there. It’s easy to know what to do for your skin in the summer, but it’s not always so obvious what you need when it’s cold out.
Moisturize well!
Dry air is your biggest foe when the temperature drops. Find a good, heavy moisturizer and use it morning and night. Look for moisturizing creams (rather than lotions) that are heavy in beneficial oils and ceramides.
One winter condition that’s specific to your lips is called “lip licker’s dermatitis.”
Picture it: dry, chapped lips with no lip balm in sight.
What do you do?
You lick.
It might feel good at the moment but licking dry lips only exacerbates the symptoms of chapping.
Keep your lips sealed with moisturizing ingredients that stay locked in, like the cocoa butter found in our hydrating lip balms. Don’t use anything with ingredients that dry your lips out after it evaporates, like menthol and salicylic acid.
Use overnight treatments
Your body’s reparative functions, most of which happen when you sleep, naturally dehydrate you. That’s why you always wake up a little thirstier than you were when you went to bed.
In the winter, the environment is already working against hydration, so you hardly need that extra struggle in the morning.
Overnight treatments, like our lip masks, are packed with hydrating ingredients and made to be absorbed slowly, protecting you against that natural nighttime dryness. Ours has both cocoa butter and jojoba oil, powerful moisturizers that also work to repair and strengthen your skin’s barriers.
Cleanse gently
It’s super important not to use products that will strip moisture away from your skin.
Unless you’re active, we’re willing to bet that you won’t be sweating much this winter. Put away those strong cleansers and opt for something more gentle. You want something that will remove dirt and makeup without affecting your skin’s natural barrier.
Cleansers with fragrance and additives can easily dry your skin out, so read your labels well!
Omegas + antioxidants
Omegas, like those found in our products with hemp seed oil, help maintain your cell membranes (and if you’ve read this far you probably know where we’re going with this). The primary function of your cell membranes is… keeping the water in!
You might not be able to see them, but cell health is skin health. Taking supplements and using products with omega-3, -6, and -9 will help keep your skin soft from the inside.
Antioxidants are found mostly in the food you eat. A few big ones are vitamins A, C, and E. We use at least one of these vitamins (if not more) in every one of our products, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the antioxidants your body needs. These protect your skin from free radicals, which are a threat no matter what season you’re in.
Keep the sunscreen ON
It’s easy to forget that the sun is just as strong when it’s cold as it is when it’s warm out. Don’t forgo your SPF just because you don’t think you need it! Even on cloudy days, you’re still susceptible to UV damage.
Your lips need just as much protection from that damage as the rest of your skin. While certain ingredients can soothe the symptoms of sun damage, like the aloe vera in our lip butter, you still want to do as much as you can to prevent it!
Water, water, water!
This probably seems like a no-brainer, but it can be hard to drink enough water throughout the day - especially if you’re on the go!
Hydration from the inside is even more important than hydration from the outside. In the summer, you have to drink a lot of water because you sweat it out. You might not be doing that in the winter, but there’s less moisture in the air for your skin to draw from. We might pack our products with humectants, but it won’t do as much if you’re dehydrated!
Keep moisture in the air
Investing in a good humidifier will do wonders for your skin and lips. Without one, you’ll find yourself waking up with a sore throat and cracked lips every morning. Again, you can’t just rely on hydrating ingredients to give your body everything it needs.
Drink an extra glass or two of water before bed and then turn on that humidifier. You’ll be shocked and how much healthier you feel in the morning! If you’re the kind of person who keeps the heat on high, this is especially important!