MY COLD WEATHER BODY CARE ESSENTIALS

 

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If my facial skin is a bit parched, my body skin is as dry as the desert! Which means I have to up my body care game during the colder, harsher months. These are the products I'll be using...

Honestly, I've been using this duo since I got it earlier in the year, but I just know it's going to serve me well as temperatures drop and the central heating gets cranked up. The Naturium Glow Getter Multi-Oil Hydrating Body Wash* | £18 | keeps my skin happy when I'm in the shower and the Naturium Bio-Lipid Body Lotion* | £16.50. The body wash is really gentle and non-stripping, cleansing my skin effectively whilst replenishing with ingredients squalane and rosehip oil. It lathers gently, but it's formulated with 50% glycerin; a humectant which draws hydration into the skin. If you have dry skin but you want a body wash that works and does have that lathering quality: this is for you. After showering, the body lotion is perfect for locking in hydration. I love that this comes in pump packaging and absorbs really nicely, but still works as well as a thicker body butter for my skin; it just makes it quick and easy to use on busy mornings. It's formulated with glycerin, fatty alcohols (to replenish), panthenol (which soothes and helps the skin retain water), Vitamin E and intensely-nourishing shea butter and moringa oil. It's just so satisfying to use on dry skin!

I get KP (Keratosis Pilaris - dry, red, itchy bumps that usually form on the arms and legs) all year round, but the general dryness of my winter skin does often make it more irritated and prominent. So, I like to use something a little more heavy-duty to smooth things out and for me, that's the First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub* | £25.90. This is both a physical and a chemical exfoliator. It contains micro-crystals to really get at dry layers of skin, plus a 10% blend of glycolic and lactic acids, to really break apart the bonds gluing together dead cells on the surface of the skin. Granted, it's a little messy, but even with once-a-week use: this helps a lot with my KP and overall skin smoothness and dryness. It delivers results with minimal effort; I apply this, leave it for a couple of minutes whilst I shampoo or do something else in the shower, and then rinse. You really don't need to scrub at your skin; the natural motion of you applying it and then rinsing it off with the water helped along with your hands is enough manual action to reap the benefits. This helps smooth rough, bumpy winter skin so quickly and effectively; I'm a huge fan!

On particularly dry patches, I've recently started using the REN Evercalm Barrier Support Body Balm* | £35. I love the facial version of this, so I guess it's no surprise the body formula is working so well for me. This is a melting balm-to-oil formula that can be used on areas prone to dryness, ashiness, irritation or even cracking as a kind of ointment. It's incredibly nourishing with ingredients like ceramides and plant oils rich in replenishing omega fatty acids. It also leaves the skin soft and happy with meadowfoam seed oil, jojoba esters and Vitamin E. It contains pretty much everything I know transforms my skin from dry and ashy to soft and supple, so it's great as an 'as and when I need it' added extra.

I recently started using the Aveeno Skin Renewal Smoothing Cream* | £14.99 | as more of a day-to-day alternative to the First Aid Beauty scrub, I guess. I've been using this around 3 times a week before bed, and it's really impressed me! Plus it's a really good price and can often be found on offer. This has a lotion texture that absorbs readily but it's packed with good stuff. We have Aveeno's signature oat oil and extract, which not only nourishes the skin but can soothe and calm dry skin conditions. There's also glycerin for that hydration, nourishing shea butter and niacinamide, to help boost ceramide production in the skin (which in turn keeps things balanced, moisturised and free from irritation). The standout 'active' here is the PHA; this group of ingredients provide a next-generation chemical exfoliation alternative. They're more hydrating and gentler than something like glycolic acid, so I was a little dubious as to whether I'd see results with this product or if it would be nice and hydrating but not particularly exfoliating. However, this leaves my skin so smooth! It isn't irritating to my KP but my skin feels soft and free from ashiness and dryness. It's just great; if you buy one product from this post to sort out your winter skin, I do think this is the best all-rounder and the most bang for your buck.

Finally, there's a product I use throughout the year but a little more religiously during the colder months. The CeraVe SA Reneweing Foot Cream* | £9.49 | combines CeraVe's signature blend of ceramides and hyaluronic acid (to boost barrier function and hydrate the skin) with salicylic acid to obliterate stubborn, rough skin on the feet. I used to spend ages scrubbing at my toes to get rid of dry, cracked skin around the knuckles, which would always get worse in colder weather. This used one a week has completely sorted out my issue! It has a really noruishing base, which is great for dry feet, and the exfoliant just eats away so effectively at those layers of dry, tough skin. 

Do you up your body care game for autumn / winter?

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