So you’ve probably noticed your skin doing its flaky business at this time of year. Central heating inside and bitterly cold outdoor temperatures lead to confused skin getting both dry and oily and generally needing a bit more attention. Your best friend at such a distressing time as this is an occlusive: something that stops moisture escaping from your skin.
Your best friend at such a distressing time as this is an occlusive: something that stops moisture escaping from your skin
The problem with occlusive is that they tend to be quite greasy in texture, so they’re more of a night-time product. Some of the best occlusive products are Elizabeth Arden’s famous 8-hour cream, which costs €32 for the unscented version, and trust me, you want the unscented version, and good old Vaseline. Before you go locking in moisture though, you need some moisture to lock in. Moisture, as Ben Still informs us in Zoolander, is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty. The term he’s missing here is emollients, which contain lipids that can help the skin to repair and smooth away dead cells.
Before you go locking in moisture though, you need some moisture to lock in
The best moisturisers are often the simplest ones, and products like Oilatum’s Natural Face Repair Cream, €10.99 from Boots, and La Roche-Posay’s Cicaplast B5, roughly €12 from many stockists, can hold their own amongst the most expensive creams. Products aside, it’s also a good idea to let up on heavy physical exfoliation, and avoid long steamy showers, which can lead to irritated and damaged skin.
It’s a good idea to let up on heavy physical exfoliation, and avoid long steamy showers, which can lead to irritated and damaged skin
Your hands are also very exposed to the elements; so don’t neglect those either. My sister introduced me to Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula handcream not long ago, and I’ve since become obsessed with it. It’s fairly uninspiring as a product, but it works.
