Even though we're reaching the end of winter, I'm definitely still dealing with winter skin. Winter skin, for me, is always quite a bit drier than summer skin and requires some special care to make sure that I'm not shedding my skin like a snake any time I wear black pants. Too much information? Probably, but anyone who deals with similar issues knows exactly what I mean. Over the past couple of months, I've really been putting products in my collection to the test and figure out what types of products, as well as what specific products, work for me to keep my skin looking and feeling its best when the weather gets cold. I feel like a lot of these tips will probably help speed up the transition from winter to summer skin as well, so I hope you enjoy what I've put together!

Keep reading for more!

Bath & Shower Hydration

Whenever my skin needs a little bit of extra attention in the hydration department, I always take special care to use bath and shower products that are going to pamper rather than strip my skin. First and foremost, for me, that means using oils. Obviously the first oils I used in this capacity were bath oils, which I grew up using. Whether it was just adding Johnson's Baby Oil to the bath or getting a little bit to use a little bit of my mom's ever-present Avon Skin So Soft Oil, I always loved the way a bath oil left my skin feeling - if not the slimy mess it leaves in the tub. As I got older, I discovered my favorite bath bomb from LUSH - Butterball - which contains little balls of cocoa butter and also really helps to hydrate your skin in the bath. This winter I've actually been leaning pretty heavily on bath products that help to hydrate my skin, because laying in a hot bath on a cold day is one of my favorite things in the world, but if I'm not careful my skin will hate me afterwards.

Something else that I discovered in recent years are shower oils. The first one I tried, and still my favorite, is the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, which always feels like a treat when I use it for both the way that it leaves my skin feeling and also the way it leaves my whole bathroom smelling like basically my favorite scent in the world. Initially, shower oil was kind of a weird concept to me and I suspect it might be to other people who've never used one. Essentially, a shower oil foams up in contact with water much like a body wash would, but they also leave your skin feeling amazing. Recently, I've been using the Julep Rethink Your Shower Oil, which is really lovely and has a fresh, orange scent that is great to wake you up in the morning. It's not quite as luscious as the L'Occitane, but it's really quite nice.

If you're not so much into oils, there are definitely some good body washes on the market that have a hydrating effect on your skin. Some of my favorites are the Live Clean Body Wash in Vanilla Oatmeal, which is really soothing on skin that might be suffering some irritation from dryness already, and the Nivea Creme Care Shower Cream, which is another really hydrating body wash. Another option for in the shower is to use a body conditioner, like the Nivea In Shower Body Lotion or LUSH Ro's Argan, both of which you apply to wet skin and then rinse off at the end of your shower.

Exfolation

I find that paying attention to exfolating my skin makes a really big difference in how my winter skin behaves. Whether it's using a polishing cloth or a body scrub in the shower, I know that my skin is going to feel smoother and more comfortable to exist in if I take extra care with sloughing away the dry bits. And don't even get me started on my feet... I mean, do... But later, because I have a section for that!

One type of product that is a more recent discovery for me is coffee scrubs, which are a messy but effective way of keeping the skin on your body healthy. Personally, I prefer to buy mine and I'm definitely a big fan of the naked Skin Care Apothecary Coffee + Sweet Almond Body + Face Scrub, but I know a lot of people will just throw together a mixture of coffee grounds and coconut oil to get the job done in a pinch. For me, when it comes to body scrubbing, I've gotta go pretty hard to keep everything feeling soft, so I don't tend to go for creamier body scrubs so often, but recently I've been trying out the Avon Ultra Hydration Body Scrub. It's creamy, but it's also packed with tiny little granules that do a good job of exfoliating without being too abrasive on the skin. Like I said, I will also sometimes go for one of those polishing cloths - which, let's face it, feel like death but seriously scrub the ish out of your skin, but more often I just go with a physical scrub. Another scrub that I love is the LUSH Ocean Salt, but I'll admit that I tend to reach for that more in the summer just because it screams summer to me. 

Post Shower

In the summer, I admit that I'm a little bit lazier when it comes to moisturizing my body, but in the winter that really isn't an option and my skin basically hates me if I don't consistently give it some hydration, particularly after the shower. In recent years, I've tried a lot of different options when it comes to hydrating my body and I think I've figured out a few things. First, I don't like anything too heavy that doesn't sink in quickly, so I need something that feels light but packs a punch. Second, because I tend to shower a lot less in the winter, I need hydration that's really going to hang in because... I'll admit it, I'll go hard day and night with taking care of my face, but I get real lazy when it comes to taking care of the rest of my skin.

In the summer, a lighter lotion after the shower will more than suffice to keep my skin feeling hydrated and smooth, but in the winter I need something a little bit more intense. When the weather is as its colder (and therefore my skin is at its driest) I go straight for body oils. Recently, I've been a little bit obsessed with the ACURE Organics Argan Oils (review), which smell absolutely gorgeous and pack a serious punch of moisture that seriously hangs in on my skin. When the weather is a little more temperate, but the air is still dry AF, I tend to go for a lotion like the La Roche Posay Lipikar Fluide or the VICHY Ideal Body Serum Milk - both of which strike that balance for me between being really hydrating but also really light.

Also Pictured: Avon Moisture Therapy Ultra Hydration Body Lotion, Clarins Moisture Rich Body Lotion

Hands & Feet

I've gotta say... This is where it gets serious for me. My feet give me problems all year, but in the winter I have to take care of them like nothing else. This means constantly making sure that I use a pumice to take off the dead skin on my feet and keeping up with deep hydration, especially in socks. One of my favorite ways to take care of my feet is actually to slather on the Aquafor and then put my feet into a light pair of cotton socks for a few hours to just kind of let them soak in it. Aquafor, honestly, is a bit of a winter feet savior for me and an absolute staple in my collection. I also really like the Maison Jacynthe Vanille Shea Butter for my feet - and it smells a hell of a lot better than the Aquafor.

When it comes to take care of my hands, I'll admit that I'm a little bit of an insane person and I pretty much have to have hand cream in my vicinity at any given time. Recently, I've been loving the VICHY Ideal Hand And Nail Cream, but another favorite of mine that I've used for years is the NIVEA Anti-Age Q10 Plus Hand Cream. Basically, what I look for in a hand cream really isn't something that's going to just smell pretty. I want something that's going to get in there and moisturize the ish out of my skin, because there is nothing more uncomfortable that hands that are dry and cracked and itchy, in my opinion, and it can be hard to keep them hydrated when you're constantly washing your hands. Of course, when my hands are REALLY a mess, again I head straight for the Aquafor. I slather it on like it's going out of style and either stick my hands into a pair of socks and kick back for a movie or a pair of gloves will work if you have things to do. I do prefer a spa type glove, but I'll also happily use a cheap pair of knit gloves that aren't warm enough for a Winnipeg winter and usually cost a buck.

Overall

Mostly, when it comes to taking care of my skin in the winter, the biggest thing for me is that I actually have to actively take care of my skin. With the moisture in the air in the summer, I know I can be a little bit of a slacker (even though I know I shouldn't) but when the weather gets cold, I know the only way to be comfortable in my skin is to really take care of it. I think that really is the most important part. Maybe the products that I personally love or the ways that I've found work best for taking care of my skin won't work for you, but I think the ethos will work. Figure out what products work for you - whether it's DIY products, affordable stuff at the drugstore, or the highest of high end department store products - and then actually use them.

Thanks for reading!