See that guy?
He’s kinda cute, right? (I mean…sort of. I think I pictured armadillos as being much cuter in my head, but then Googled them to find a photo for this post, and whoa not cute. I ended up having to choose a photo of a baby armadillo because the adult versions are less “aww” and more “might kill you in your sleep.”)
Anyway, Cute-Ish Armadillo Baby is also a very close relative of mine.
Every year, somewhere right around now, my skin decides that it would really like to show me who’s boss. We’re talking flaking and dryness so bad that I get all weird and obsessive about making sure I have a lip balm in my possession every second of the day, and even start sleeping wrapped in plastic. I also have to significantly change my daily personal care routine if I want to keep my legs resembling something other than the Sahara.
So you could say that wintertime dryness is a matter that I’ve given some thought to. My favorite solutions:
1. Start dealing with dryness before it starts: don’t wait until major flaking sets in before implementing your winter skincare routine.
2. Shower with warm water instead of very hot water, which can strip the skin of moisture. If your skin is extremely dry or sensitive, also take a close look at the cleansing products you’re using: some very delicious-smelling things can make things even worse.
3. Try a gentle exfoliating product (I like ones that include oatmeal). If you’d like to DIY an oatmeal scrub, just combine equal parts oatmeal and brown sugar with a drizzle of honey and some olive oil.
4. While skin is still damp from the shower, seal in moisture by applying an intensive moisturizer with healing properties. Right now, I’m using Vaseline Intensive Rescue Repairing Moisture Lotion: a line of powerful and therapeutic moisturizing body lotions (they relieve dry skin after just one use and help to heal dry skin in just three days). And then don’t forget to actually apply it every single day; for me, even a single missed day of moisturizer makes a difference.
5. For extra-dry hands and feet, try my go-to technique of applying Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, and then wrapping them in Saran Wrap before putting on cotton gloves or socks. I promise, it really doesn’t feel as weird as it sounds, and it’s only a once-in-awhile extra measure.
