WINTER BODY SOS

 

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Today we're talking body care to help your skin through the colder months, as we enter that time of year here in the UK. I'll walk through the products I enjoy and the ingredients they contain so you can look out for them in your own routine!

We'll start off in the bath / shower with two products that helped my skin so much last winter.  When my skin is dry, itchy and irritated, I reach for the Aveeno Soothing Bath Soak* | £12 (for 8 sachets) | (there's also a Baby version for little ones with eczema - though the brand makes no medical claims - or any other skin irritations). This is 100% colloidal oatmeal ground down into something you can dissolve in your bathtub. Colloidal oat is an amazing anti-inflammatory so having a nice soak in your bath with this should relieve any irritation. It's also great for severely dry skin; as you probably know, cleansing and washing can be the most stripping part of any skin or body routine, so this takes the edge off. As does the QV Skin Gentle Wash* | £8.99. Whilst some people may be happy skipping over drier areas of skin with soaps and washes, I know some people either don't feel clean without using something cleansing or - if you exercise - you probably want to make sure there's no sweat trapped on the skin. This is a gentle jelly-like, non-foaming body wash packed full of glycerin to draw hydration into the skin. It's effective as a body wash but is non-drying and very gentle.

After bathing or showering (especially if you're prone to skin dryness), you're going to want to pat your skin dry and apply a moisturiser. A great product for both the face and body is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream* | £14. As I alluded to, here in the UK you can't really make claims around eczema and atopic dermatitis in cosmetic products but in the US, you can and this product is considered effective against those skin issues. The formula features colloidal oatmeal, nourishing shea butter, soothing allantoin, ceramides (an important part of your skin's lipid barrier), moisturising fatty alcohol, glycerin and squalane (which is a plant-based oil that's 'skin similar'). It's actually a really nice, light, creamy-lotion that you can use before bed, after showering or it even works on the face during the daytime under makeup. It's not rich, heavy or greasy, so I'd recommend it to almost anyone (though it does contain a fragrant essential oil). If you need something fragrance-free, a newer favourite of mine is the Nursem Ultra Caring Body Balm* | £30. This contains your glycerin and shea butter, plus oat extract and allantoin. On top of that, we also have panthenol - which is great for soothing the skin and helping it retain hydration - alongside sunflower wax to seal in hydration and skin-softening jojoba esters. This is surprisingly light and fluffy, considering how much good stuff is in there and it's been great for my knees and elbows to keep the skin supple and soft rather than dry and dull.

Then, let's round things off with hands and feet! Unfortunately, this product hasn't made its way to the UK yet (likely due to the 'eczema' claim) but I have my fingers crossed it will be available soon in some guise... The Skinfix Eczema+ Hand Repair Cream | $20 | is a great product and the light, creamy, non-greasy, slip-free texture makes it great to use before bed or to throw in your handbag to replenish your skin on the go as you wash your hands throughout the day. It has some of the all-star ingredients you've seen throughout this post: colloidal oat, allantoin, jojoba, glycerin and shea butter. We also have soothing aloe, calendula and chamomile extracts, and Vitamin E (a fat-soluble antioxidant). This gives my hands lasting relief, unlike light lotions that disappear after a wash or two. I get extremely dry hand on the skin in-between my fingers so I take my time to ensure I'm working the product into the skin there and it helps so much! Lastly, I have to mention the CeraVe SA Renewing Foot Cream | £8.50. I personally get really dry toe knuckles during the winter and this product (used only once or twice a week) has completely gotten rid of that crusty grossness! It's formulated with ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol to mimic the skin's lipid barrier. We have glycerin, fatty alcohol and also niacinamide, which in this context is intended to boost up the skin's own ceramide production. It also contains occlusives to trap hydration into the skin and - most importantly - salicylic acid, a chemical exfoliant to really tackle the excess of dry, rough skin so the moisturisers can prevent the build-up from happening again.

What are your essential winter body products and ingredients?

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