Winter is, quite possibly, the harshest season for not just our mental health and bodies, but also our skin. Keeping it from drying out is a massive undertaking and there’s a lot of moving parts when trying to hydrate skin. It isn’t all about lotions and potions. Some of the work is internal, which maximizes all the work we can do externally.

How to Hydrate Skin During Cold Winters

I’ll be the first to admit, I have tried to exclusively hydrate skin from the outside. I never really thought about how important some of the inner work was to my overall skin health. Before I completely gave up and accepted my dried out winter skin, I did a bit of research! I finally learned how important eating the right foods, regular exercise, and drinking water, were to my skin hydration. Even more important: paying attention to all of these things needs to be done all year long, not just when winter’s cold temperatures kick in.

So, what’s behind my hydrated skin? What makes it look and feel the best it has in years, even though I’m battling with menopause and doing my best to age gracefully? Amazingly, simple changes I embraced and committed to creating habits for.

Drinking MORE WATER

Not only does one have to drink water, it has to be clean water. Listen, I use a basic filter system. My goal is to replace it with a Sans Water Purifier in the future. Even more important is actually drinking enough water throughout the day. I’m notorious for not drinking enough water every day. My excuse? I have never had water bottles that kept my water cold enough, or didn’t leak all over my car, or desk.

Whelp, I have no excuses anymore! I’ve got a few different water bottles to use in various areas of my life. When traveling, I enjoy my Brumate Era 40oz, because it’s slim and I don’t have to battle with water bottles in the other cup holder on my center console. When I travel SOLO, I use my Coldest Limitless water bottle. It’s also the one I bring to work each day, because not only do these water bottles not leak, they also keep my water ice cold!!!!

If I’m on the go and want an herbal tea from one of my favorite coffee shops, I have my FrostBuddy To-Go Buddy, which can also be used as a regular water bottle if need be. So, I have water on-hand at all times. The one thing I will say is if you drink a ton of water, plan on having to take pee breaks A LOT.

Powerful but LESS EXPENSIVE Skincare Products

Over the years, I’ve used countless skin products for my face. All of them were okay, and I liked many of them. They were just overpriced and frankly, not worth the expense. Recently, I started using Froya Organics Anti-Aging System. I liked it so much, I decided to get the Stop Acne System for my daughter (she doesn’t have acne, but it has helped keep her face smooth and hydrated, and has cut down on her hormonal pimple outbreaks).

It takes a bit of getting used to, since you don’t wash your face every day. There’s no real “moisturizer” – it’s all balms. It’s price compared to the last skin system I was using from YSE is significantly less. There’s also no SPF protection, so if I spend a significant amount of time outdoors, I use a zinc-based SPF protection so my skin doesn’t get loaded up with toxic crap from SPFs in most moisturizers.

Consider Using a Humidifier

Humidifiers aren’t for everyone, but if you can take on an extra chore (cleaning it and adding water to it), it’s worth the effort to hydrate skin. You’ll notice a major change in your breathing, not just your skin. I have no real recommendation for you on this one, just because this kind of purchase is unique to your budget and lifestyle. All I can share is what the NY Times considers the best from 2024 – you can do more research to find your perfect fit.

Lukewarm Showers (or Baths if You’re Into Those)

Cut the hot showers out of your life. It strips your skin, and dries out your skin like nobody’s business. Do short, lukewarm showers instead. An added bonus of lukewarm showers? If you color your hair, doesn’t matter what color, it’ll help keep the color in your hair longer. SCORE!

Lip Balm

One of my worst habits: picking the skin on my lips. Clearly it’s a bigger problem when I’m dried out. Since I tend to drink a lot of water, I find my lips are not as dry as they used to be, but in the cold temps my lips are the first things to get dry and cracked. Having proper organic lip balm helps save my lips from ending up bleeding from me picking at them all the time.

Vitamin D3

Amping up my vitamin D3 when the daylight hours start to dwindle is another helpful part of my hydration routine. But, it doesn’t stop at D3 supplements. For maximum absorption, I also enjoy MoonBrew Hot Cocoa which has Magnesium Glycinate in it. The magnesium helps me with my sleep, as well as help the D3 absorption, so that’s a win-win! Along with both the D3 and Magnesium, I take vitamin K2. Actually, I take a combo D3/K2 liquid supplement to make life easier on me and my efforts to hydrate skin throughout colder temperatures.

If you have it in your budget, head to a spa and enjoy a facial once or twice during the winter months. Personally, I’m not a fan of facials because the expense doesn’t fit into my self care budget. However, I wouldn’t say no to one if given the opportunity!

Always check with your dermatologist to ask what’s best for your skin, since they’ve been seeing you and are, you know, actual doctors. I’m just here sharing what works for me, and mine.