Feel like you’re going to crack? Keep your skin soft and supple with a customized plan for hands, feet, body, and face.
Snakeskin flats may be in style this season,
but scaly, peeling skin on your face, body, and hands? Not so much. Winter can suck the moisture out of your skin, thanks largely to a drop in humidity, dry indoor heat, and sometimes harsh winds, says Alexa Boer Kimball, director of clinical trials
in dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. But you don’t have to suffer if you put
a prevention plan in place now, before the temp-eratures dip dramatically. Read on to figure out
how dry various areas of your skin get. Then assemble the recommended products on the fol-lowing pages and you’ll have a kit that’s tailor-made for you. Use it and your skin will be soft and dewy—something that’s always in style.
For somewhat dry skin
Your skin may start to feel tight even before you notice visible
symptoms, like mild flakiness, says Boer Kimball. You need gentle products that hydrate without making your skin feel greasy.
On your face, use:
Kiehl’s centella skin-calming facial cleanser: $28.50
Avoid soaps, which strip skin’s natural oils, says Ann Marie Cilmi, director of education and development for Bliss Spa, in New
York City. This soap-free cleanser has aloe
and chamomile, which are soothing. To buy: www.kiehls.com.
Zia skin basics:
Nourishing Crème, $35
The key ingredient in this lightweight cream, sodium hyaluronate, seals water into
the skin. Wheat-germ and jojoba oils soften.
To buy: www.zianatural.com.
On your body, use:
St. Iives Mineral Therapy
Body Wash, $5
With a moisturizing body wash, you can
use less body lotion. Minerals like potassium
help keep skin hydrated.
To buy: At drugstores.
Olivella Moisturizer, $22
This combination of olive, orange, and lavender oils adds moisture to spots such as knees and elbows, and it sinks in quickly.
To buy: www.olivellasoap.com.
On feet and hands, use:
Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair Foot Creme, $5
The soles of the feet lack oil glands and require potent products. This one has glycerin, to hydrate, and alpha hydroxy acids, to exfoliate.
To buy: At drugstores.
Estée Lauder Re-nutriv Intensive Smoothing Hand Creme, $45
The best hand creams hydrate but aren’t slick. This contains nongreasy exotic oils to maintain moisture.
To buy: www.esteelauder.com.
On your face, use:
Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty oil
premium a/i, $72.
When mixed with water, this combination
of safflower and corn oils forms an emulsion that removes dirt but won’t clog pores.
To buy: www.shuuemura.com.
Orlane Intensive
Nurturing Care, $150
Drier skin can feel tight in the morning,
due to nighttime indoor heat. This night
cream’s hyaluronic acid helps skin feel
supple when you wake up.
To buy: www.saksfifthavenue.com.
On your body, use:
Olay Body Wash Plus
body butter ribbons with
jojoba butter, $4
Drier skin does best with a body wash
(not soap). With moisturizers infused
in the formula, this one keeps skin soft
and scale-free.
To buy: At drugstores.
Cerave Moisturizing Cream, $15
Occlusive moisturizers (ones that form
a film on the skin) help lock in water.
This one is lightweight but includes the effective ingredient petrolatum.
To buy: At drugstores.
On feet and hands, use:
Weleda Foot Balm, $10
With peanut oil and beeswax, this balm soothes itchy feet (a common concern with drier skin). Apply before putting on socks.
To buy: www.usa.weleda.com.
Talika Hand Therapy gloves, $65
The gloves are lined with ceramides and grapeseed and avocado oils. Slip them on
at bedtime. (They last for 30 wearings.)
To buy: www.talika.com.
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Words:
Nykia Spradley
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Photograph:
Anita Calero
