Last weekend, my boyfriend and I celebrated our two year anniversary by taking a day trip up to Lake Tahoe. The weather had been in the 70’s in the days prior, but on the day we went, the temperature dropped down into the 30’s. It was freezing around the lake, but we still had a great day 🙂 Anyways, this massive temperature drop has been hard on my dry skin so I thought I would share my favorite ways to keep the skin healthy during the dry winter months!

Moisturize your Face

I got a deluxe sample of the Laneige Water Bank Cream ($38) in my Allure Beauty Box back in the summer. I originally loved this moisturizer because it was such a great base for foundation. My Makeup Forever Foundation glides across my skin like a dream over this cream. It also gives my foundation a dewy, skin like finish.

When I purchased the full size, I noticed a significant improvement in my skin. Overall, my face felt more hydrated and the clarity of my skin improved. I also had way less breakouts. This moisturizer is formulated for dry to normal skin so it’s perfect for my dry skin! It will definitely get your skin through the dry winter months. I use it morning and night. 

Use Body Butter

I was using the Hempz Pumpkin Spice and Vanilla Chai moisturizer ($23) through the warmer fall weather. If you don’t have dry skin or live in a dry climate, this moisturizer is great and smells amazing, but after the temperature dropped, it just wasn’t enough to keep my very dry skin moisturized. 

My skin began to feel very itchy so I decided to go back to my usual body butter. I absolutely love the Alba Botanica Kukui Nut Body Butter ($11). It has the richest, creamiest formula out there. My dry skin soaks it up like a sponge. I really like that this body butter doesn’t stay greasy on the skin. It really does have the best unisex vanilla scent that’s perfect for any season.

Exfoliate your Face and Body

Exfoliation is good for the skin on your face and body. I like to exfoliate my face 1-2 times a week to maintain a healthy cell turnover rate. Exfoliation also helps to keep dead, dry skin from clogging your pores and causing acne. I recommend using a chemical exfoliator (AHA/BHA’s) on your face to exfoliate gently. I don’t currently love the chemical exfoliator I’m using so I’d love to hear your recommendations.

I don’t exfoliate the skin on my body as much as I should, but when I do, I’m left with the smoothest skin. I like to make my own coffee scrub. I have a post on how to make that here. Physical exfoliators (made of grainy material) are great for the skin on your body because it is thicker. 

Exfoliating your body will help to prevent ashy skin in the winter. Just make sure you follow up with a good moisturizer like the one I mentioned above to keep that renewed skin healthy.

Use a Humidifier

When it gets cold outside, the heat has to get cranked up inside causing the air to become very dry. I started using my humidifier back in September when I was getting chronic bloody noses (cute, right?). My bloody noses completely stopped when I started using a humidifier and I also noticed my skin was more hydrated and dewy in the mornings.

Humidifiers are all around good for you and it’s such an easy way to keep your skin healthy during the dry winter months. You can read more about finding the perfect humidifier here.

Apply Hand Lotion

I’ve always had dry hands. When I was a kid, my mom used to call me alligator hands because my hands would become so scratchy and dry in the winter. They would often become so dry that they would crack open and bleed! My mom would smear Aquaphor on my hands at night to try to alleviate the problem, but I felt like the thick goop was suffocating the skin on my hands haha.

I then began using the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream ($4) after finding it on my Nana’s nightstand many years ago. The thing I absolutely love about this hand cream is that is doesn’t stay greasy like the Aquaphor cream does. It absorbs into your hands quickly and instantly hydrates the skin. Apparently it was formulated to hydrate the chapped hands of Norwegian fisherman.

I only apply this cream once a day before bed and my hands always feel smooth and hydrated. I hate applying hand cream during the day because I don’t like getting lotion on my phone and laptop.

What do you do to keep your skin healthy and hydrated in the winter? Keep scrolling to see my favorite picture from our Tahoe day trip! 🙂