Winter Dry Skin Tip - use the humidifier!

A few weeks ago I contracted the flu. This was the first time in decades that I've had the flu and it put it's viral foot firmly into my rear end. Part of living in the petri dish with a toddler, I know. But something good did come of it and I'm not talking about the few pounds that are lost due to the inability to eat for a few days.

By week two, I had developed this awful upper respiratory cough and chest congestion so I brought out the humidifier which, until now, has primarily resided in Miles' room. What I noticed after a few days was not so much that it was helping with my cough but that my skin was getting a nice winter break thanks to the addition of a little night time humidity. I'll be keeping this one in my room and buying a new one for Miles to use.

If you are like me, you suffer from terrible dryness this time of year. My skin does best in the hotter and humid months. Oily skin is the opposite, tending to break out in the Summer and acting on its best behavior in the cooler climates. I usually address this problem by addressing my skin care routine. In the Summer, I can lay off the heavier moisturizer in lieu of something lighter. I always exfoliate on a regular basis and I always, always use night cream.

I've found that every esthetician has his or her theory on night cream. A client came in recently and said that she'd heard it was best to not use anything on the skin at night...to let the skin "breathe" while you are resting. Interesting theory but I have to be contrary. I believe that at night you should use a cream that is higher in it's active ingredients. I also use a serum beneath my night cream. The serum should be your "treatment" part of your skin care routine so the two that I use are Juice Beauty's Soothing Serum (for red skin) and the Antioxidant Serum (for dry and aging skin.) I alternate using these two...one under my moisturizer during the day and the other under my night cream. During the day, your skin has to battle so many elements...dry air, humidity, sun, wind. The worst culprit for breakouts in the jaw area are our cell phones, which we use relentlessly all day and are one of the worst for transferring bacteria to the skin. We text message and email with our dirty fingers, then answer a call, transferring all of that nastiness right to our face. I caution my clients with this problem and suggest keeping them clean with a Wet One or some sort of anti-bacterial wipe.