Winter skin

With winter making an appearance and our skin crying to hibernate, I thought it would be a good idea to share some tips on how to care for your skin for the change in season. Cold harsh weather conditions can leave your skin looking dull, dry and red as soon as you step out the door - than the same again when you walk in through the door with the heating up on full!
So what can we do without over loading the skin with thick gloopy products that usually end up clogging the pores and leaving you looking like you dipped your face in vegetable fat!! (Slight exaggeration I know!)

Firstly it would be a good idea to explain the difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin. It's as simple as this.....

Dry skin -
Needs oil not water
Flaky texture
Patches of dryness/thickness
                    Rough feeling

Dehydrated skin -
Needs water not oil!
Feels tight
May be cracked
Can feel very rough and scaly
Can show up fine lines and wrinkles

Usually winter skin is dehydrated. The harsh weather and high heating sucks up the water in our skin leaving it looking dull and feeling tight. This skin type is in need of serious water hydration. Dry skin types can also have characteristics of dehydrated skin in which case it needs water and oil. However, if you have generally oily combination skin than you may feel like your skin is 'dry' when in fact it just needs more water. In this instance using oil based products will leave you feeling clogged up and greasy yet still have the need to hydrate the skin. Also a typical case of spotty skin yet feeling 'dry' - your skin needs water not oil!

First things first, you must keep your fluid intake regular. This will help keep your skin hydrated from within. Always remember to keep on going with your sun protection. Factor 15 is sufficient for cold wintery days including cloudy days. This is because 70-80% of the damaging rays come through clouds and through glass. So sitting in your car with your windows rolled up or the winter months do not mean you are not damaging your skin. Especially if you have sensitive skin.
Including a hydrating face mask once a week will do wonders to your skin. Honey is a great ingredient for all skin types. Oats is another excellent ingredient to reduce redness and hydrate the skin. I will go into oats in more depth another time. Why not try this hydrating face mask:

Using oats for red dehydrated skin - great for 'bad reactions'....

Mix some plain oats in warm water, leave to soak for a minute or two and massage on to face and neck. It's a little messy but very effective. Leave on skin until it begins to set than remove oats using a tissue and massage in the remaining milk. Leave on skin for as long as you like.
You can also mix in some honey with the oats especially if you have a more combination skin type.

Try not to use hot water. I'm really bad at this rule! I hate the cold I can't take it so my answer is to use the hottest temp. of water I can take. This leaves my skin completely starving for hydration. It's so bad for you don't do it! I walk out the shower looking like a lobster and than feeling like a prune 10mins later. Is it really worth the few minutes of warmth? Not really! Just use warm water (I'm trying!) this will stop your skin from losing much needed water and keep it hydrated.

Use a little extra moisturiser. Try to top up your moisturiser during the day if you can. Obviously those of us who wear makeup find this impossible to do so just cleanse your face when you get home and pop on your moisturiser.

Use Hyaluron based moisturisers. Hyaluron has the ability to hold 1000 times it's own weight in water. This will stop your skin from feeling dehydrated. The science behind Hyaluron is yet another discussion. For now all you need to know is Hyaluron products will at least give you a temp fix of hydration. More advanced products can actually help replenish some of the Hyaluron lost in your own skin too.

So your winter skincare regime should be:

Cleanse your skin with a milk based cleanser. Remember I always recommend you wash it off but see what suits your skin. Don't use really hot water!

Apply mask (if using) leave on for 10-15 mins. Some hydrating masks can be blotted off with a tissue others you may have to wash off. Once a week is good.

Wipe/spray skin with toner.
Go for hydrating toners and flower sprays.
If you want to go natural, use rose water for dry/dehydrated/normal skin types and orange flower water for oily/combination/spotty skin types.

Apply serum (if using)
If you have dry skin use a small amount of jojoba oil in the evening. If you don't use serum usually, now would be a good time to pop some extra hydration into your skin.

Moisturise
Use a good helping of your normal moisturiser. If you find your skin type has changed try a slighter richer moisturiser. However, remember if you are usually oily/combination and are now feeling really 'dry' try water based products don't assume you need a product for dry skin types. I always recommend you add a serum to your routine if you don't use one already.
Jojoba oil is the closest oil to your natural skin oils. Therefore, applying a few drops of that on oily skin types will be a good way to help feel a little more hydrated. Add a few drops of tea tree oil if you have any breakouts.

A lot of the time many skin types cross over. Therefore it is hard to chose the right product. There is a difference between skin type and skin condition. This is where it gets confusing. Skin type is something your born with and skin condition is something caused by environmental/lifestyle factors. I think I'll cover how to identify your skin type in my next post.
So for now.... Light the fire, slap some oats on your face and roast some chestnuts! Happy Xmas shopping.......

Aqua - H20 - Water

What is it and why is it in our skincare?

 Firstly let's look at some of the different names used for water in our skincare. Please note that I am not using any brand names just legal names that can be used for water:

Water
Aqua
deionised water/aqua
distilled water/aqua
purified water/aqua
thermal spring water
H2O


Water or aqua is used in our skincare as a solvent. It helps to mix the rest of the ingredients together. When applied to our skin it more than likely just evaporates, which is why water sprays feels nice in the summer as evaporation takes heat with it.
 So what's all the buzz about fancy water mist sprays in the summer and for hydration in the winter? Do they really work?
Personally I feel aqua in our skincare is fine; I don't see the harm especially if you have a dehydrated skin type which usually feels tight. The water will help hydrate the surface and as mentioned I rather have the other more useful ingredients mixed in water than some horrible waxy type product. In regards to expensive water sprays I feel they are a complete rip off! Charging silly money for water in a bottle is ridiculous. Next time you buy one (if you do) just read the ingredients its usually water (or one of the fancy names for water) and nitrogen! Nitrogen is needed to make it an aerosol.

I know its nice and natural and feels heavenly on a really hot day but do we really have to pay a silly amount of money for it in the current financial climate?
You could really buy a spritzer bottle and fill it with water and some nice essential oils, stick it in the fridge n hey you got yourself a cooling hydra mist! Just to prove this to you I have a recipe for you to try below and for a laugh I've made it sound all fancy and expensive – would you fall for it?

So luckily for us in the EU the water in our skincare is monitored and tested regularly. This ensures that it is safe to use. As you know water can carry a lot of harmful bacteria and usually you will find that water based skincare will have preservatives in them. This is because water can attract or help bacteria to breed therefore the product would need a preservative so that it doesn't go off too quickly.
EU also requires that the water used in our skincare is toxin, pollutant and microbe free in all formulations i.e distilled, purified aqua.

Water based skincare is usually better for dehydrated or oily skin. This is because both skin types don’t need oil for hydration they need water. applying water on the surface may not do wonders as mentioned it more than likely evaporates but it will help the skin to absorb other ingredients without a heavy oil based formulation. if your skin is spotty but dry - try a water based moisturiser. Also if you find your skin is greasy/shiny yet you feel its dry, try a water based product as your skin is probably dehydrated and not dry. (a discussion for another post!).

Drinking water on the other hand is necessary – not only as part of a healthy diet but also for our skin and hair.
Try this…..increase your water intake by just a glass or two everyday for a week and share your results in the comments.
Honestly it’s a tried and tested formula by myself (and I can be skeptical about these things trust me!) Water helps to keep the body hydrated and removes waste products and toxins from our body – which if left to circulate around the body can cause many symptoms such as sluggish digestion, tiredness and dull / dry / spotty skin. so it you want healthy looking skin on the outside you must have a healthy body inside!

 A few quick pointers: 

• When you feel thirsty your body is already dehydrated
• Your body is around 60% water
• Adding a freshly squeezed lemon to a glass of warm water helps detox the body
• Our daily 8 a day includes water, milk, fruit juices, tea and coffee. Although plain water is essential.
• The benefits of water are first used by vital organs before reaching the skin – that’s why its important to drink enough!
• After a bath/shower the skin is more porous – applying a good moisturiser will help hydrate it better
• Water retention is not just extra water you have sitting around – its much more scientific than that, so don’t feel that if you drink more water it will give you water retention – in fact it’s the opposite. Drinking regular amounts of water will help flush out toxins help get rid of excess water.

So here is a new product to try ;)
Email me your order for free delivery in the UK!!

MINERAL RICH DERMA HAZE

 with damask rose 

• Give your skin life with a mineral rich haze using H₂O particles to hydrate and nourish your skin.
• Enriched with essential minerals to help your skin glow and look its best. 
• Infused with the wonderful aroma and benefits of damask rose to hydrate and awaken your skin.
• refresh your skin during the day without washing
• set your makeup for a flawless finish
• no added parabens
• natural fragrance of damask rose
• no artificial colouring or perfumes

copyright

Available in two sizes. 

100ml £5.99

250ml £12.99

Order now and receive a free trial size of Kaya Kosmetics Mineral rich derma haze with sebum regulating orange flower extract. 

So there you have it my very own 'hydra mist' or 'derma haze' I should say! 

In conclusion.....I'm not saying these water sprays are no good, all I'm saying is these companies are conning us! why is it so expensive to buy water in a bottle? even if it is costing them to make it - fair enough- but lets be realistic and watch where our pennies are going! compare the ingredients and buy a cheaper option. Although the Kaya Kosmetics Mineral rich derma haze contains rose water, so technically its allowed to be a little more expensive as its not 'just' water!! 

Happy drinking......... O and that recipe i promised......

Cooling water mist

75ml distilled water (or mineral water)

25ml rose water (use orange water for oilier skin types)

spray bottle

1. mix the two liquids together in the spray bottle

2. Allow the H2O particles to activate before using (leave in refrigerator to cool before using)

3. spray over face or body when required