Keeping Your Skin Soft Even in Cold Winter Weather

It is officially winter, and the cold weather is certainly here!  Cold air tends to be drier, which means that your skin may be feeling a little parched around now.  Although your skin may not feel as hydrated as it does during the summer, there are a few steps you can take to make sure that your skin looks and feels soft even during cold weather.

First, let's sort out the terms.  Hydrating/moisturizing literally means feeding your skin water or something that will pull moisture into your skin.  This category generally includes traditional lotions and creams.  Softening your skin is a term that is more inclusive.  You can soften skin by exfoliating, or sloughing off rough dead skin cells, as well as by helping your skin retain a healthy amount of water.  Ingredients like sweet almond oil and rice starch are softening, rather than hydrating for skin.  So, mix up your skincare to include products that do both in your routine.  That way, you'll combat dry skin from multiple angles.  

Second, don't put too put energy into piling on heavy creams.  Your skin can only absorb a certain amount of moisturizer, so applying thick layers of your face cream means that it will just sit on top of your skin.  Also, certain creams, especially ones that are not oil-free can clog your pores if you overdo it.  Instead, think about the ingredients that you're using in your moisturizer.  

Here are some common ingredients in skincare products today that will help optimize skin hydration:

• Ceramides are lipid molecules that are naturally occurring in the skin's intercellular matrix. They help protect your skin by acting as an adhesive that holds skin cells together and creates a protective barrier against water loss.  Environmental skin stressors like dry air and sun damage can reduce your supply of ceramides.  So, use the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Serum ($72 on skinstore.com) before you apply your evening moisturizer to maintain a healthy level of ceramides, keeping your skin protected and hydrated.
• Glycerin is an emollient and a humectant (substance that attracts water).  Thus, it helps maintain an appropriate water balance in your intercellular matrix.  Glycerin also promotes cell turnover and repair, so you can use to reduce discoloration and even skin tone.  If you've ever felt pure glycerin (which you can buy at most grocery stores), it has a thick, lubricating feeling that makes your skin feel instantly moisturized.  To prevent chapped hands this winter, lather up with some Avalon Organics Glycerin Liquid Soap in Lavender ($8 in grocery stores).
• Shea butter, which comes from African karite shea tree nuts, is rich in fatty acids as well as vitamins A and E.  This popular skincare ingredient locks in moisture and
  
  keeps skin supple by helping your skin cells retain water.  In addition, shea butter has soothing properties that make it a refreshing treatment for dry and cracked heels, lips, and joints.  You can actually buy raw shea butter at drug stores, or simply try a moisturizer with shea butter like the Tree Hut Shea Extra-Rich Lotion ($6.50 at Ulta).  
• Hyaluronic acid is also naturally occurring in your body.  It helps your skin retain water to maintain a supple, smooth, elastic appearance.  You can actually even sort by products that contain hyaluronic acid on sephora.com.  Just rub some JUARA Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner ($29 on dermstore.com) over your face every morning and night, and your skin will feel instantly soft.

I know many of us love Vaseline, Aquaphors, and baby oil as a quick fix for dry skin.  However, these products are primarily petrolatum and mineral oil.  Rather than getting absorbed by the skin to soften skin from within, petrolatum and mineral oil sit on top of skin, creating a lubricating barrier.  In other words, these age-old treatments put a bandage on the problem of dry skin rather than actually help fix it. 

In addition to choosing your products wisely, make sure that you're using lukewarm water to wash your face and body.  Afterwards, apply your moisturizer immediately after washing, (within the first 2 minutes after cleansing is ideal) to most effectively hydrate your skin.  Moisturizers work by trapping moisture from the air into your skin.  Plus, the water will allow for a smoother moisturizer application...it will be easier to rub into your skin, it will feel less greasy, and you will end up needing to use less lotion.  I like to keep a bottle of moisturizer in the shower.  After showering, I use my towel to pat myself dry (rubbing will removing too much water from your skin) and then quickly rub my lotion into my skin.  

So this winter, remember to keep warm and keep soft :)

Are you a part of the BB bandwagon or CC crew?

Beauty for Life wouldn't be a beauty blog without at least 1 post about BB and CC cremes.  So here it is:

If you haven't heard, BB's have been the latest buzz in beauty within the past few years. Although they've been around in Asia for a while, they made it over to the Western world around 2 years ago.  Companies ranging from Palmer's to Chanel have branched out to make these facial products.  Overall, they offer a few more benefits than tinted moisturizers do.  Like tinted moisturizers, BB's and CC's are hydrating and may provide SPF protection. How are they different?  First, BB's and CC's provide a slightly heavier coverage than a tinted moisturizer, which offers a sheerer coverage.  They also combine multiple skincare products - moisturizer (hydrates), primer (protects and smoothes), serum (repairs and protects, foundation (blurs imperfections and evens skin tone) - into one, easy step.  

The amount of coverage as well as the finish (dewy, matte, natural, satin, etc.) will vary based on a brand and/or product.  In addition, both the number and types of skin benefits such as anti-oxidant protection or radiance boosting, which you would get from a serum, will vary by brand and/or product. For example, the REN Satin Perfection BB Cream Sunscreen ($38 at Sephora) has photo-rejuvenation technology to diminish the look of fine lines, while the Dr. Brandt CC Glow Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($39 at Sephora) has brightening ruby crystal complex and vitamin C. 

Then, how are BB's different than CC's?  Essentially, BB or beauty/blemish balm, and CC or complexion correcting creams are very similar.  The only differences are, compared to BB's, the focus of CC's are on color correction for issues like redness or dark spots, meaning that they often have slightly heavier coverage, a lighter feel, and contain more vitamin C than BB's.  On the other hand, BB's have a little bit of a lighter coverage and generally have the advantage when it comes to antioxidants and age-slowing ingredients.

Here are some of my recommendations broken out by skin type.  Just FYI all of these products are toxin-free and are formulated with physical sunblocks.

Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of healthy BB's and CC's on drugstore shelves currently.  The ones that I do really like are the Physicians Formula Super BB All-In-1 Beauty Balm Cream SPF 30 ($15 at Ulta) and the oil-free Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-In-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector SPF 30 ($9 at Ulta).  For a CC cream, try the Yes to Grapefruit Correct & Repair CC Cream SPF 18 ($16 at Ulta).  

Recently, some new types of CC products have launched on the market:

• Try a BB in powder form with the Physicians Formula Super BB All-in-1 Beauty Balm Powder ($14 at Ulta) or in a creamy compact with the Too Faced Air Buffed BB Creme Complete Coverage Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 20 Sunscreen ($39 at Sephora)

• Try a creamy compact CC with the  Dr. Jart+ CC Essence Balm ($42 at Sephora), Perfekt Skin Protection CC Creme SPF 30 ($42 at Sephora), or the Amore Pacific Color Control Cushion Compact ($60 at Sephora)

In addition, BB/CC's have been branching out to other products besides just creams.  Tarte makes a BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen ($34 at Sephora), and Physicians Formula makes a Super BB All-In-1 Beauty Balm Concealer ($14 at Ulta). One thing to watch out for is the use of the terms, "BB" or "CC."  Usually, when we throw these terms around, they refer to a tinted facial moisturizer product.  However, sometimes these terms are slapped on products to describe their complexion correcting benefits even though they may not actually be providing coverage.  For example, the Ole Henriksen Perfect Truth CC Eye Cream is a sheer cream that simply eliminates dark circles under the eye area.  So make sure the label says pigmented!

I think that BB/CC creams are a must-have for every girl.  Why?  Well, moisturizers with SPF are a must in the mornings.  For those of you, who use foundation on top, a CC will combine the moisture and coverage steps into one.  For those of you, who don't wear facial makeup, replace your regular moisturizer with a BB.  Just make sure that like with all sun protective creams, you apply an adequate amount.  BB/CC's are often healthier for your skin (allow it to breathe and offer protective benefits) and easier to apply (no brush or sponge necessary).  Plus, a hint of color never hurts!  

Personally, I opt for a BB for daily wear and foundation for special occasions because even though BB's offer good coverage, I find that they still don't cover as well as a traditional foundation.  And hey!  I don't forget about tinted moisturizers.  They're great for layering under foundation or as a light-weight moisturizers with sheer coverage on a hot day.

In the end, by merging the worlds of skincare and makeup together, BB/CC's are a part of the recent growing trend of makeup that's good for your skin.  And watch out!  DD's, which stands for dynamic do-all, are coming next with even more benefits in 1 tube.  By combining the anti-oxidant power of BB's and the color correction of CC's and adding even more powerful anti-aging technologies, they bring you the best of both worlds.  Brands like Dermadoctor ($38 at Sephora) and Pur Minerals ($35 at Ulta) already produce a DD cremes.

Are you a BB, CC, or DD kind of gal?