‘Tis that time of the year again, when the surroundings are lit up with bright lights, shiny decorations, and high Christmas spirits. It is a busy time as it is joyful because of so many things happening around us. Winters bring with them a horde of festivals and holidays, especially Christmas. With all these holidays lining up, we need a special holiday skincare routine.
Christmas means lots of traveling, elaborate feasts, gifts, parties, drinking and late nights. We know that all these together are fun but eventually it becomes a bad combination for our skin. Of course, we can’t help it, holidays are supposed to be enjoyed. After all, it is not every day that we get to celebrate Christmas and within this holiday spirit, we often forget to take good care of our skin.
BAD SKIN CAN RUIN HOLIDAY FUN
Let’s imagine that you are going to a Christmas feast, all your family and extended family members are going to be there. You dress in the coziest yet stylish clothes that reflect the happy feeling in your heart. However, your face looks dull and pale because you had been up all night packing gifts and decorating the tree. It can’t be helped but we can always take extra measures to take care of our skin during busy times due to lack of sleep, junk food or drinking.
Here are a few things that we must guard ourselves from doing these holidays.
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CAREFREE EATING
Often when we meet family and friends we end up eating a lot of unhealthy food. It impacts negatively on our skin. The grease and sugar in the foods damage our skin structure and may cause acne.
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OLD SKINCARE ROUTINE
It’s winter, which means our skin constantly comes in contact with cold, dry air outdoors and warm, dry air indoors. This temperature change wrecks our skin. As a result, what worked well in summer for our skin won’t be that useful, which is why special holiday skincare is required.
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STRESSING OUT
Let’s be honest, Christmas can be stressful. We need to buy gifts, write cards, make sure that no one’s left out, be there on time for the feast, travel, attend parties, throw your own party and all the jazz. Constant eating fried and unhealthy food upsets our stomach which directly impacts our skin. All this stress makes our skin making it dull and tired. Holidays are to relax ourselves from the hectic life of busy schedules we need to be sure that we make the most of it.
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SACRIFICING SLEEP
It is a hard one we know, so many things to do and so little time but we need to try and get enough sleep to keep our skin healthy and happy throughout the day. 
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SLEEPING WITHOUT WASHING YOUR FACE
It is important that we remove the makeup off our face before going to sleep. Makeup particles accumulate on our skin and clog our skin pores leading to bacteria growth, acne, and other skin problems.
Now that we have a list of things to refrain from this holiday season, let’s see what we can do to keep our skin health intact even during the coldest days of winter.
WHAT SHOULD BE OUR WINTER HOLIDAY SKINCARE?
When the weather is cold but there is so much to do and enjoy, taking care of ourselves takes a backseat. Our skin suffers through extreme cold and dry weather outside and warm but dry temperatures inside. The sudden change in temperature deteriorates our skin’s health. The dryness in the weather also impacts our skin making it dry and pallid.
As we know, dry skin is more prone to wrinkle-formation and premature signs of aging, it is important that we keep our skin hydrated. However, we need more than just hydration for better holiday skincare. We have discussed 10 points that will help us to retain skin health during this holiday season.
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ALWAYS MOISTURIZE
Our skin loses softness faster in winters because of the dry and cold air that steals moisture from our skin. So, it is important that we moisturize our skin to keep it hydrated. Moisturize at least two-three times a day or when your skin feels to get dry. It is always better if your moisturizing cream also contains ingredients that protect your skin from harmful UV rays of the sun.
The best way to protect our skin from drying is to use skincare products formulated with natural ingredients like Shea Butter, Manuka oil, Tocopherol, and Rosehip Seed Oil. Shea butter and Tocopherol (Vitamin E) are excellent moisturizers and emollient skin healers. They help to reduce stretch marks and scars to give us flawless and radiant skin. Manuka Oil and Rosehip seed oil keeps our skin fresh and healthy which is why they should be an essential part of our holiday skincare routine.
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EXERCISE DAILY
Exercising is especially very important in winters. When you are in the holiday spirits it is hard to come out of the warm and cozy duvets, and we end up oversleeping or slacking off. We tend to become increasingly lazy during the cold season, especially around the holidays because of which it is important that we must exercise regularly.
Exercising keeps us active, helps to keep our body warm during winters and keeps us healthy and fit overall. It also helps in metabolism and muscle building. It helps to tighten our skin over the muscle mass so that it looks firm and smooth. So, include this habit in your holiday skincare.
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USE EFFECTIVE FACE SERUM
During the night our skin repairs itself even during winters but the dryness still plays a great part in hindering the process. Along with a moisturizer use a nourishing night serum that hydrates and repairs our skin at night. A good night serum penetrates our skin faster to repair it from the inside by supporting the skin collagen structure. By morning our skin looks firm and soft with no traces of tiredness or dullness.
Night serum is an important part of our holiday skincare. It supports and increases the rate of skin’s natural repair system that replaces older cells with the newer ones rapidly. As the process of skin repair slows down with age, night serum is especially important for older individuals and also those who are experiencing premature skin aging. With its skin restoring properties, a good night serum helps in boosting the rate of collagen synthesis in our skin.
One of the night serums that we love is the Bee Elite Essentials Ageless Bee Venom Face Serum. It is intensely nourishing, has anti-aging ingredients and very easily penetrates our skin without making it look oily or greasy. The Bee Venom in it boosts collagen in our skin and Hyaluronic Acid plumps up our skin whereas Manuka Oil makes our skin healthy by keeping it protected from infection, inflammation, and irritation.
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INDULGE INTO RELAXING FACE MASSAGE
Our holiday skincare does not only include topical skincare. After meeting your family and friends, enjoying the feast, exchanging gifts and talking for hours, our skin needs relaxation just like our body. A great way to relax our face is to massage it with Jadestone or Rose Quartz roller. The cold stone helps to relieve the puffiness and bloating by draining the lymphatic fluid from our face. This also makes our face look more sculpted and rested.
Simply gliding the roller on our face outwards from the center helps to increase blood circulation under our facial skin giving it a slight rosy tint. Only 10 minutes of face massage can help our face to relax enough for those dark circles around our eyes to be reduced. That, of course, does not mean that we can give up on our sleep during this festive holiday season.
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GET ENOUGH SLEEP
We all know how hectic festivals can be, especially Christmas and the New Year festivities. In all the things that we need to do, we tend to ignore good sleep. As discussed above, our skin repairs itself when we sleep but without sleep, the repair process of our skin does not start. Lack of sleep delays the repair that our skin needs, making our skin looking tired, dull and pale.
A fulfilling sleep helps us to feel re-energized the next day, our face looks well-rested, soft and glowing. So, even in a busy schedule, getting enough sleep is important to maintain that festive glow on our skin always.
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PRACTICE FACE YOGA
If we aren’t able to get enough sleep, then practicing yoga for face is the best alternative to relax and revitalize our facial skin. We all know the benefits that yoga gives to our bodies but it almost never focuses on our facial skin. Face yoga is a practice that fills up this gap. It works on the facial muscles to give us healthy-looking skin and face.
Face yoga is a great way to work on our face muscles and reduce facial fat. It makes our skin firmer and our jawline sharper. Similar to face massage, face yoga also increases blood circulation underneath our skin. It, however, does not need any extra tool to practice face yoga, unlike face massage.
We can practice facial exercises daily or as regularly by following a few simple stretch-and-hold poses with our fingers at the comfort of our home. Our face muscles become tight making our facial skin look firmer.
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PROTECT FROM SUN
Even if it is cold and the sun rays are weak, our skin needs protection from the UV radiation. UV rays have a tendency to penetrate even the most cloudy or cold weather. This means that even in the cold days of December, the sun’s rays are capable enough to cause damage to our skin.
Apart from that, having dry skin plays an important role in maximizing the UV damage on our skin. Dry skin, being more prone to the attack of UV radiation when facing the weak rays of the sun.
This is why it is important that we wear sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun. The best way to protect our skin is to use a moisturizer that also shields our skin from sun rays. Our personal favorite is the Bee Elite Essentials Ageless Bee Venom Face Cream that gives many benefits in one cream. It moisturizes our facial skin, its active nature-inspired ingredients protect our skin from UV rays and powerful ingredients like Manuka Honey and Bee Venom reduces signs of skin aging with visible differences in just a few weeks.
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INCREASE DIETARY VITAMIN D INTAKE
During the cold, snowy weather even if the sun’s UV rays are able to damage our skin, the sun rays fail to provide enough Vitamin D for our body which is why eating food rich in Vitamin D compensates for the lack of it.
Fishes like Mackerel, Salmon, and Tuna are excellent sources of Vitamin D. Dairy products like Milk and Cheese along with non-dairy soy milk, cereals, egg yolk, and beef liver also provide us with Vitamin D. These foods will help us to maintain Vitamin D levels in our body for proper calcium synthesis that will keep our bones strong and healthy.
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TAKE WARM BATH WITH RELAXING EPSOM SALT
After a day out in cold weather, a relaxing warm bath sounds heavenly which is why we have included it in our special holiday skincare routine. It provides warmth to our body and relaxes numb muscles and limbs. To add to the luxurious experience, add some Epsom salt. It relaxes muscles and reduces stress allowing us to sleep peacefully after a long day.
Just a cup or two of Epsom salt in one gallon of water is enough to get its benefits. The salt helps to reduce soreness and swelling giving us instant relief. After the bath, we must always moisturize our skin because Epsom salt can be a bit drying which can lead to irritation if our skin gets too dry.
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USE EYE CREAMS
No one likes dull, tired-looking eyes during the most awaited festival of the year. Everyone is around and we want to look our best to be a part of the festive spirit. Our eyes need as much protection from cold as the remaining face. Use hydrating eye creams that nourish the skin around our eyes. Proper hydration helps to keep our eyes brighter and reduces dark circles due to lack of sleep or stress.
To keep our eyes bright and lively, using an eye cream before sleeping at night helps to reduce wrinkles and tiredness from around our eyes. Our eyes will look happy and ready for the festivities.
FAQs
Why do I need special skincare for the holidays?
Holidays, especially those in winters are the most awaited ones. These festive holidays take in a lot of effort that puts us under stress. That along with the dry weather may lead to many skin problems. This is why we need special skincare for holidays that can protect our skin from cold harsh weather and reduce stress, both oxidative and otherwise.
How do you know your skin is stressed?
Tired, dull and pale skin are generally the signs of stressed skin. This can be due to lack of sleep, too much work, and constant exposure to harmful factors like UV rays and free radicals. When our skin lacks the bright glow, looks pale and red with dark circles around our eyes, it is definitely under stress.
What is a good night serum?
A night serum with ingredients like Bee Venom, Hyaluronic Acid, Manuka Oil, and Marshmallow Root extracts is an excellent skincare product that penetrates our skin faster and supports skin collagen to make our skin firm and more youthful.
What is Epsom bath salt good for?
Epsom salt has amazing skin relaxing properties, adding it to the bath relaxes our muscles, reduces stress, relieves swelling and pain.
How many hours of sleep should I get for good skin?
We need at least 7-9 hours of sleep daily for healthy skin and mind. Any less than that and our skin starts to show our lack of sleep immediately.
CONCLUSION
This rounds up the list of 10 holiday skincare practices that can keep us looking healthy and beautiful during this season.
- Always moisturize
- Exercise daily
- Use effective face serum
- Indulge into relaxing face massage
- Get enough sleep
- Practice face yoga
- Protect from sun
- Increase dietary vitamin D intake
- Take warm bath with relaxing Epsom salt
- Use eye creams
Also, we discussed 5 things that can potentially harm our skin during winters. Winter is a season that brings with it most awaited festivals but we do not have to stress it. Festivals are for enjoyment, to meet our beloved family members and friends. Take a break and give your skin some much-needed attention these holidays.
While using your winter skincare, ask yourself, Is your skincare routine clean? If you are not sure about it, check out our article on the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of clean beauty. This Christmas give your skin the care and pampering it deserves with clean beauty products.