Monday, February 9, 2015

My Winter Skin Care Must Haves


Hey all you beautiful mommas out there!  Thank you for taking the time to stop by my little space on the internet!

Today I wanted to take a moment and talk about winter time skin care.  I, like many other ladies, get really itchy and dry, sensitive skin during the colder months.  I'm not the type of person that likes to slather on really fragrant lotions and creams because I have children, who also have sensitive skin, who will break out if they lay on my arm or cuddle with me. So around my house we like a lot of unscented lotions and such that do their job.

My children also suffer with dry skin and eczema so I always have to have safe things on hand to help them.

So here are some of our favorite winter, dry skin, lotions and products.

Curel Ultra Healing Lotion
First off, we love this Curel Ultra Healing lotion.  It says it is "intensive lotion for extra-dry skin" and "Helps heal and protect extra-dry skin for instant relief that lasts 24 hours."  This I find to be true...this is a great lotion that really does absorb into the skin nicely and quickly.  I hate those lotions and body butters where you put it on and have to wait for it to soak into your skin so that your clothes don't cling to it.  Um hello, it's cold, I want to be warm and cozy not cold waiting for my lotion to sink in.  So yes this does do a great job at healing our itchy and dry skin.  We slather this on after baths/showers and any time we start to feel dry or itchy.

Curel Hand & Cuticle Lotion
Second,  I also really love the accompanying hand cream from the Curel Ultra Healing line.  My hands are constantly in water it seems.  I wash all of our dishes by hand so between washing dishes and cleaning messes and dirty faces, my hands are in water a lot.  This hand cream has been my go to. I get really patchy and painful rashes on my hands during the winter because of them being so dry. I hate when my hands get dry, it hurts so bad.  This hand cream has been amazing for my hands.  I have one in my basket next to the couch, in the basket next to my sink, and one in my van.  That's how much I love this hand cream.

Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme
To go along with the Curel Hand Cream, I also love to carry this Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme.  I carry this in my purse to use when we are out and about and start to feel dry.  It's the perfect little size to carry in my makeup bag in my purse.  I love this stuff, it feels luxurious and I love the fact that it's in a little pot.  It's inexpensive, easy, and it works.  I have tried a lot of little hand lotions that I have gotten in my Ipsy bag or where have you, but this little pot of creme works so much better than thinner lotions and doesn't have a smell.

Honest Healing Balm
Now for when my son has a bad eczema breakout he tends to get this round, red, raised circle in the middle of his chest. To help soothe his eczema patches we LOVE the Honest Company Healing Balm.  This stuff is just great period. We also use this as diaper rash cream (different bottles for different purposes of course).  Yes its a thicker balm BUT it absorbs really nicely and doesn't make the area sticky for a long period of time.  It really helps clear up his rash and soothes the itching.  It's great, I really really love this stuff.  We use it for burns, mosquito bites, rashes. It's just excellent. I have like 4 of these for every area of my life because we love it so much.

Now I know we are going against the "norm" here but to help combat dry skin in the winter time, because our babies have such dry and sensitive skin, we only have them take baths/showers every OTHER day.  If they take showers every day their skin cracks and their hair gets brittle and it's just not pleasant for everyone.  So in the cold months, they shower/bathe every other day.

Now for my "just mommy" favorites.

BEST Lip Exfoliater
My lips also suffer from dryness during the blustery cold season.  I love to exfoliate and moisturize my lips BUT my lips are so stupid sensitive.  It drives me crazy, I can't use many other lip treatments that other ladies use.  I once tried Mary Kay's Satin Lips and within seconds of applying my lip bubbled up and became swollen.  It's such a pain.

While I haven't tried to make my own sugar scrub for my lips, I have found that I LOVE this ELF Lip Exfoliater.  It's great and it's super easy and quick to use.  No crumbling and messy bits falling over my counter or clothes, it looks like a lipstick so I just take it out whenever I feel a dry spot and I just rub it over for a minute or so then wipe it off and apply chapstick.  It's great and it's easy and its cheap...like $3 and you can find it at either Target or stock up on the ELF website.

Chapstick Total Hydration
As far as balms go, it's the same thing...my lips are so picky but I did try this new one from the Chapstick brand.  I got it in my WalMart Beauty Box and quickly fell in love.  It's a really great, non sticky, not obnoxious smelling or feeling, chapstick.  I don't like minty balms, I hate Carmex and Blistex, but this one I just really love.  And the Sweet Peach scent reminds me of our late summer Peach Festival they have in our county.  It's by far my favorite Chapstick.

Like the skin on my body, the skin on my face is also going though a dry spell.  I am finding I need extra moisture and extra exfoliation the last couple months.  All of the products I've been trying I received in beauty box/bag subscriptions.

GlamGlow PowerMud DualCleanse Treatment
For exfoliating I have been loving the GlamGlow PowerMud Dual Cleanse Treatment...I do this about 2-3 times a week and my skin has been thanking me for it.  It really exfoliates all the dead, dry skin off my face and has been helping me fight my acne breakouts.  It doesn't have uncomfortable or harsh exfoliates in it so it's not uncomfortable and doesn't make my face go crazy red from the scrubbing. I'm going to be really bummed out when I am out of my little sample size because this stuff is expensive. But I really do love what it has done for my skin.

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
Now on the nights that I exfoliate, my skin needs extra hydration beyond my daily moisturizer.  So on those nights I have been using this (also a little sample I got in the Target Beauty Box) Laneige Water Sleeping Mask.  This stuff makes my skin feel so soft and hydrated.  I LOVE IT.  What I do is exfoliate with the GlamGlow then I wash with a gentle cleanser (I don't have too but I like too do the extra step) then I use my daily moisturizer and then put this Water Sleeping Mask all over my face.  It absorbs nicely into my skin and in the morning when I rewash my face, I just feel hydrated. It's BOMB. Holy grail, I love it....it is also expensive in the full size hahaha. But its so worth it.

So that wraps up this momma's winter skin care must haves.  What about you?  What kinds of products do you like to use to get some relief from the winter blues?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jaymie*Nachole