I love a good skincare routine year-round, but I try to pay special attention to it during the winter months. And now that we live in Chicago, the air is drier and colder than ever and I’ve learned the importance of a really good facial moisturizer as well as a body oil or lotion. One thing that can make the biggest impact though, is exfoliating during the winter.
If you’ve ever wondered why exfoliating is important or about the difference it makes in your skin, definitely read about my experience and recommendations below!
What is exfoliating?
Before I dive deeper into exfoliating in the winter, I thought I’d share some basic information in case you aren’t familiar. Don’t be overwhelmed! I promise exfoliating is a very approachable and easy thing to add to your winter beauty routine.
You can exfoliate two ways – physically and chemically. Physical exfoliation happens when you use a scrub or brush (like a Clarisonic or dry brush for example) on your face or body. It physically removes that top layer of skin and any build-up from makeup or sunscreen.
Chemical exfoliation, which I know sounds a little scary, but it’s not as bad as you think, is applied as a peel to your face and is meant to remove the outermost layer to improve skin texture and is known to maybe be a bit more intense than physical exfoliation.
What you need to know about exfoliating during winter
You’ve probably noticed your legs, arms and even your face are flakier during the winter season. This is from the cold air outside and central heating inside. Both of these things completely dehydrate your skin – from your face down to your toes. And that flakiness you see on your skin is actually dead skin skills. This is where exfoliating comes into play.
To prevent build up on your body and possibly even breakouts on your face, you’re going to want to exfoliate at least twice a week. I recommend dry brushing your body using a brush like this and/or a really good scrub – this one smells amazing.
For your face, be sure you’re doing some kind of resurfacing peel two to three times a week. Beautycounter has a great, gentle overnight option that’d be great to start out with. Recently, I’ve been experimenting wih some Japanese skincare and one of my new favorites is this exfoliating peel that working in seconds! It’s something I now use 2-3 times a week and I highly recommend you try it. I also think it’s important to use a brush like a Clarisonic or my personal favorite the PMD Clean PRO even these gloves for a more budget-friendly alternative when washing your face every night. This way you get both chemical and physical exfoliation, which will help you ensure the removal of any dead cells sitting on the surface of your skin as well as removing any build-up from makeup and pollutants from the environment.
In addition to exfoliating during the winter, you’ll also want to follow up with a great moisturizer. I have lots of affordable facial options I listed in this post and for the body, I love a great dry oil like this or this one if you deal with eczema. This winter I’ve been adding in a gradual tanning lotion that is also moisturizing like this one.
Winter weather really can wreak havoc on your skin, so be sure you’re exfoliating and taking care of both your face and your body. Summer will be here before we know it!
What do you think?