The best skin care products to combat dry skin in winter

These top products are worth adding to your winter skin care routine

When the weather cools down, the air dries up. Regardless of your skin type, that dry air can wreak havoc on your face, body, hands and feet. From red, dry patches to flakiness and chapped lips, few are immune to the many woes that come with cold climates. 

But Mother Nature is no match for the determination of top beauty manufacturers. If you’re desperate for a solution, we rounded up the best skin care products for dry skin in winter.

In this article: Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser, Sunday Riley Ice Ceramide Moisturizing Cream and O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream.

Common skin issues aggravated by cold air

Because dry winter air lacks the humidity required for your skin to maintain healthy moisture levels, four issues may worsen in winter without the intervention of skin care products. 

• Chapped lips: The lips harden in spots, peel and sometimes crack.  
• Dry skin: This leaves the skin with rough patches that may scale, itch and crack.
• Eczema: This causes rough patches and rashes that scale, crack and swell. 
• Psoriasis: This can lead to painful dry, cracking skin with rashes and scales that itch or burn.

What makes winter skin issues worse?

According to the Mayo Clinic, you could exacerbate your skin’s issues by making five common cold-weather skin care mistakes. 

• Too much heat: Heating your home feels great, but it can dry the air and your skin.
• Excessive bathing: Bathing too often can strip your skin of necessary oils. Try to cut bathing down to once per day. 
• Environment: Exposure to cold weather and low humidity dries your skin. 
• Harsh soap: Many standard hand and body soaps strip your skin of oils essential to maintaining healthy moisture barriers.  
• Medical treatment: Various medications and treatments can dry your skin.

Winter skin care products for your face

If you’re looking for ways to rescue your face, consider updating your routine with these skin care products: 

• Lip scrub: Exfoliating your lips can help you polish away dry, peeling skin. 
• Lip balm: Moisture-rich lip balms can soothe and heal your ailing lips. 
• Cleanser: Switching to a moisture-rich facial cleanser helps you avoid stripping your skin of its natural oils with every wash. 
• Serums: Hydrating serums help you get results quickly with intense ingredients that remove dry skin. 
• Eye cream: The skin around your eyes is especially vulnerable to winter weather. Extra-rich eye cream can restore and protect your skin.
• Moisturizer: Ultra-hydrating facial creams can help you lock in moisture as they heal and restore your fragile winter-wrecked skin. 
• Facial steamer: Steaming your face can open your pores and restore moisture to your thirsty skin.

Winter skin care products for your body

These helpful winter skin care products are worth checking out to restore your hands, feet and body:

• Hand moisturizers: When standard lotions stop working, reach for fast-acting repair creams and intense balms to revive your dry hands.
• Foot creams: There are highly effective products made just for your feet that can help restore and remove cracked heels and thickened skin.
• Body scrubs: Exfoliating twice a week can help remove excess layers of winter dry skin, priming it to reap the benefits of your moisturizer. 
• Moisturizing body washes: Cleansing your body with a wash that doesn’t strip essential oils from your skin and can help lock in moisture. 
• Body creams: Thin lotions are no match for rich body butters, shea moisturizers and dermatologist-recommended products that have what it takes to revive your dry skin.

Best skin care products to buy as temperatures drop

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser

This gentle Philosophy one step facial cleanser is excellent for winter skin care, but those with normal to dry skin can use it year-round. It removes dirt and oil without stripping your face and has clean ingredients free of parabens, phthalates and other harsh chemicals.

Sunday Riley Ice Ceramide Moisturizing Cream

This phenomenal Sunday Riley moisturizer strengthens your skin’s natural moisture barrier with healing ingredients, such as beetroot, vitamin F and coconut extract. It’s ideal for those with normal, dry and combination skin.

O’Keeffe’s Working Hands Hand Cream

This night cream for your hands can help you heal parched and cracking skin in as little as one application. It’s nongreasy and a must-have for winter skin care.

Handmade Heroes Gentle Lip Polish

This vegan coconut lip scrub can gently remove dead skin from dry, peeling lips and leave them refreshed and restored. Its ingredients are vegan and free of fragrances, parabens and other synthetic chemicals.

Kate Somerville Retinol Firming Eye Cream

This rich cream is clinically proven to moisturize the skin around your eyes as it improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s a powerful treatment that protects your delicate skin.

Sunday Riley Good Genes All-in-One Lactic Acid Serum

This serum fights the buildup of dead skin cells as it hydrates your face, removes dark spots and evens out your complexion. It’s cruelty-free and great for all skin types. 

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream with Pump

This essential CeraVe moisturizer is dermatologist-recommended and contains the lipids needed to restore and maintain healthy moisture levels. It’s ideal for those with dry skin, as well as those with eczema- and psoriasis-prone skin.

Tree Hut Exotic Bloom Shea Sugar Scrub

This vegan body scrub is ultra-hydrating and contains rich ingredients, such as hemp seed oil and shea butter, to restore your skin as the sugar scrub polishes away dead skin. It also has lavender oil to soothe irritated, itchy skin and relieve stress.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Water Cream

This new Charlotte Tilbury moisturizer is already a cult favorite. Suitable for all skin types, it has a light, gel-like texture and gives your skin a glowing, dewy look. Niacinamide has a brightening effect on the skin while also balancing skin tone. Waterlocking Fusion Technology helps the skin retain moisture for up to 100 hours. A biopeptide complex improves skin tone and texture.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Hydrating Face Mask

This Origins skin care product is infused with mineral-rich glacier water, hyaluronic acid with antiaging properties and nourishing avocado butter. These ingredients work together to moisturize and transform your skin overnight.

Worth checking out

• Repair your painful, cracked lips with this Eos Super Soft Shea Lip Balm Sweet Treats Variety Pack. Its four moisture-packed balms are sure to rescue your lips from the cold. 
• The Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Pro Facial Steamer is another top product for purifying and hydrating your face.
• If you need a cold-weather solution for your feet, O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet Foot Cream For Extremely Dry, Cracked Feet is a top choice.  

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