Winter skin routine requires a few adjustments, so I don’t end up with a dried out face. Small tweaks, nothing crazy. I’m still sticking with Dr. Elyse S. Rafal’s skincare line, it’s doing great things for my skin. However, seasons change, and we often forget about skin care. We shouldn’t forget to make the necessary adjustments!

Why tweak daily skin care regimes with a winter skin routine

Receiving Intense Pulsed Light Laser treatments brought my skin game to a whole new level. I thought my skin was good before. Truly. People complimented me. Many showed amazement when learning I wasn’t wearing make up. I still don’t wear make up. However, after IPL Laser, my skin has evened out. Splotches, and red spots, have disappeared. Even more exciting? My brown spots all over my face have either vanished, or have been dramatically reduced.

After so much work, and pain, I’m not about to let my skin go to, for lack of a better word, shit, you know what I mean? I’m far too old to not take full advantage of the photofacial treatments. Especially not my first winter after having my treatments over this past year. It’s why I consult with Dr. Rafal, and make small adjustments to my winter skin routine.

What’s the winter skin routine?

Morning regime

The morning regime to keep skin looking good in winter isn’t much different than the other seasons, there’s just one tweak to help with moisturizing.

• Non-Drying Gentle Cleanser: it can go on dry skin, or wet skin. Remove it with a tissue, or with warm water. I apply it to my dry skin, leave it sit while I brush my teeth, and wash it off with warm water.
• Vitamin C Pro Collagen Brightening Serum: massage the oil into my face after cleansing. It’s helping keep my skin smoother, as well as keeping it evened out. Trouble brown spots are lightening up as I continue use of this product.
• Ultra Lite Moisture Dew Cream: an aloe vera based, light moisturizer. It’s the TWEAK for my winter skin routine. I use this light moisturizer, before applying my SPF moisturizer. It helps keep my skin feeling, and looking, healthy, and soft.
• Antioxidant Moisturizing Sunscreen SPF 50+: I never leave my house without a broad spectrum SPF on my face. This moisturizer has a light tint in it, which I don’t love, but it’s the only moisturizer with SPF in her line. Plus, I love how it smells, and feels. Keeps my face safe, and sound, from the damaging sun rays!

Evening regime

Evenings are busy in this house. Basically, there’s one bathroom and four of us who all shower in the evenings after our busy days. I try to make my winter skin routine as fast as possible.

• Glycolic Acid Cleanser 10%: I wash with the lathering cleanser. The glycolic acid is pH balanced, and keeps my skin normalized. Damage from the day washes away.
• Vitamin C Pro Collagen Brightening Serum: same as above.
• Retinol Plus Smoothing Serum 5X: I use a bit of this to help keep my skin looking radiant. Now that I’ve been using it for a while, the intense peeling and flaking has died down. Definitely helps with keeping those wrinkles at bay!
• Retinol Eye Cream Plus: I’m always happy to work on fighting off fine lines around my eyes. I could just stop squinting, and smiling… but, that’s not feasible in this world. I only use this twice a week. It tends to dry out my skin to the point it’s super red, and irritated. Twice a week seems to be the perfect balance!
• Restorative Moisturizer: rich night cream for face, and neck. It’s lighter feeling than I though it would be, because of how “thick” it is. I don’t use a lot, which is probably the key to it feeling light on my skin. I use this almost every night, but once or twice a week, depending on how dried out my skin is feeling.
• Glycolic Acid Moisturizing Cream: winter skin tweak is this little jar of awesome. As the temperature drops in the evenings, and the lack of moisture in the air where I live dries me out, this moisturizer helps exfoliate all the nastiness. Skin has been feeling nourished, which is rare at this time of the year as fall hits, and winter looms.

Don’t wait for your skin to start looking dull, and dried out. Be proactive! Tweak your skin care routines throughout the year, so your skin never suffers.