Keeping your skin hydrated through the seasons…

It is one of the most common questions and complaints I hear… your skin is getting dry, chapped, flaky, taught and irritated as the weather cools down.

The reason this happens is simple, the humidity drop or becomes non-existent. Your skin has to contend with the cool air and wind outside, and the dry air inside. When you’re outdoors/indoors the dry air is actually drawing the moisture out of your skin, attempting to hydrate the environment around you, but luckily there are plenty of ways you can fight off the parched skin feeling.

• Drink MORE water – Keep your body hydrated from the inside out.
• Avoid drying cleansers – Opt for cleansers that say cream, oil, gentle, extra moisturizing, hydrating and 24 hour moisture.
• Switch to a more gentle exfoliant – It is important to exfoliate regularly for healthy skin cell turnover and appearance, and while instinct may tell you to abandon your exfoliant, that would only make skin appear dull, and dead-dry skin more obvious. As always for exfoliation, ensure you follow up with proper moisturization.
• If you do not already, use an oil before your moisturizer at night – Apply the oil to your body while you are still in the shower or immediately after, without letting your skin dry. The same goes for your face, apply (a non-comedogenic (non-pore clogging) oil) after cleansing to slightly damp skin. Oils help lock in moisture. Follow up with your normal body and face moisturizers.
• Cool down your shower – I know, I know, who doesn’t love a hot shower in the Fall/Winter, but long showers in hot water are a serious no-no for your skin. The hot water, especially for extended periods of time, breaks down the lipid barrier in your skin – meaning it is damaging the fatty-moisture layer in your skin. Take a shorter warm shower and be sure to follow up with proper moisturization.
• Continue to apply SPF Moisturizer- Enough said. It does not matter that the sun is hiding behind the overcast or snow clouds.
• Embrace the scarf (and gloves) – They are fashionable and protect your skin from the cool wind.
• Consider adding a humidifier – As stated before, the humidity (moisture in the air outside and) indoors has dropped, so investing in a humidifier helps put that moisture back into the air.
• Switch to a thicker/heavier moisturizer – Try a body butter or cream, as opposed to lotion. If your face can handle a heavier non-comedogenic moisturizer, definitely try one. If it can’t, boost your current face moisturizer with a serum or oil.
• Use primer day AND night – Yes, as in foundation primer. It works great in cooler months too – not just when you want to avoid your make-up melting off. Using an oil-free foundation primer during the day adds a barrier sealing in the moisture in your skin from the cool air and wind outside. Using the primer at night, after cleansing and apply your facial oil/moisturizer, adds a barrier sealing in the moisture and products, from the dry air indoors.
• Use a nail treatment – Just as with your skin, your nails also have it rough in the cooler months. Use a nail oil, or vaseline, and a strengthening nail protein polish treatment or base coat.
• Pamper your feet – After your shower, apply a foot cream and your favorite socks, to keep your feet hydrated and soft.
• Find your Super Lip Balm – Enough said. Oh – lips need to be exfoliated too! Avoid licking your lips, the enzymes in your saliva that are used to breakdown food will only dry your lips more.
• Ditch products with alcohol – This should be done year around in my opinion. Opt for alcohol-free toners, treatments and cleansers.
• Bring out the foundation – No need to stick to the lightweight tinted moisturizer, unless you really want to. As always, allow your moisturizer to sink in for a few minutes and add a primer for more skin protection.
• Mist throughout the day – Try facial mists like MAC Fix + or Evian Spray Brumisateur Mineral Water. Spray throughout the day, it feels good and gives your skin a mini moisture boost.

♥

CleanUp Time: Make-Up Brushes & Sponges

Is your skin looking not-so-hot? Do you use make-up brushes or sponges? Did you know that they may be why your skin is in a funk?

Well, it is true, if you are not cleaning your make-up tools often enough or properly. Brushes and sponges not only accumulate product residue, but also bacteria, which without proper cleaning, means that you are spreading that days old product residue and bacteria onto your face. Eeek!

Based on how much and how often you apply make-up, brushes should be cleaned thoroughly once a week to once a month. I would also recommend using a daily anti-bacterial brush cleaner in between proper cleanings.

The exception to this would be if you have enough brushes to use some for a limited time and move onto using more clean brushes.  The only issue with this – when you run out of clean brushes, you will have A LOT to clean at once! Not fun – I know 😦

So onto how to clean your brushes (according to me and what I have learned)…

Cleaning make-up brushes:

Step 1: Gather your brushes and take them to a flat surface with plenty of space, either on a bathroom/kitchen counter or table.

Step 2: Grab a medium size bowl (or partially fill your bathroom sink) with warm water.  Doing this wastes less water.

• Depending on how dirty your brushes are and how many, you may have to empty and refill the water once or twice.

Step 3: Wet the bristles of the brush, doing your best to avoid wetting the brush handle.

• Wetting the brush handles, especially if wood, can damage them – as water makes the wood expand, when it dries, the handle can crack.

Step 4: Add a small amount of brush cleaner/soap to your palm and swirl the brush into your palm, sweeping back and forth.

• Do not push the bristles down – the forcible spreading of the bristles outward can/will damage the brush density and form.

Step 5: Rinse under clean cool water and repeat Step 4, in the bowl of water, until the brush is clean of make-up.

Step 6: Gently squeeze the bristles, ridding the brush of as much water as possible, and re-form the brush to its smallest density.

• When squeezing the brush, do so downward – from the brush handle towards the end of the bristles.

Step 7: Dry the brush handle with a clean towel, if necessary, and allow the brush to dry – brush head end down.

• If the brush is not dense enough to support the weight of the brush, meaning the bristles bend when placing the brush bristle end down, then lay the brush down on a clean towel to dry overnight.

The brush shampoo I currently use:

Sephora Purifying Brush Shampoo 

The daily brush cleaner I currently use:

Sephora Daily Brush Cleaner

(spray after use and allow to dry – no rinsing required)

When I don’t have my Sephora brush shampoo:

I use a 2:1 ratio of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and Dial Gold Antibaterial soap. Works just as well.

I have mentioned this in a previous post, but to those new readers or in cased you missed that post, make-up sponges should be cleaned after each use. Since sponges absorb more product and absorb the product deeper than brushes do after one use, proper daily cleaning is important.

Cleaning make-up sponges:

Step 1: Take the sponge(s) to your bathroom/kitchen sink.

Step 2: Do NOT wet the sponge

Step 3: Grab some oil (yeah – I did just said oil, grape seed or olive, or even baby oil)

Step 4: Pour the oil on the more stained areas and work the oil into the sponge well.

• The oil breaks down the cosmetic ingredients and separates the makeup from the sponge better than regular soap.

Step 5: Squeeze the dirty out! Then squeeze some more.

• Repeat Step 4 until the stains are gone.

Step 6: Grab some of your brush cleaner, gentle facial cleanser or some baby shampoo/antibacterial hand soap and wash out the oil.

Step 7: Squeeze all the water out using a clean paper towel and check for any oil residue.

• Check for oil residue by pressing the sponge onto your clean, dry hand – you will be able to feel/see on your hand if there is still oil.
• Repeat Step 6 until you have rid the sponge of the oil.

Step 8: Allow the sponge to dry or use it right away – if you prefer using your sponge damp.

Side Tip: Wash your pillow cases often too.

• Why? 1. Sebum (Face “Oil/Grease”) 2. Sweat 3. Product Residue 4. Bacteria

Have fun cleaning your way to good skin!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my Chloe + Isabel boutique and spread the word! You’ll love it and I’ll love you for it!