Have you been missing that gorgeous golden glow that seemed to effortlessly radiate from your skin all summer?

Winter may try to take that from you, but you don’t need to let this happen. Instead, read on to learn what you need to do to keep your summer glow consistent throughout the year.

Develop a Hydrating Daily Skin Care Routine

One of the main reasons behind dull skin is a lack of moisture.

Moisture keeps your skin cells looking plump, soft, smooth, and radiant. However, with the air being so much drier in the winter, moisture evaporates out of the skin at a much faster rate, leaving skin cells looking dull and dry.

One of the best ways to counter this is to develop a hydrating skin care routine that you can follow each day. Ideally, you’ll create two – one for the morning, and one for at night.

A good winter skin care routine goes as follows:

• A mild cleanser, such as the Vine Vera Resveratrol Vitamin C Cleanser
• A gentle, hydrating toner
• Hydrating serums, such as the Resveratrol Chianti Revival Serum from Vine Vera
• A rich moisturizer
• A hydrating facial oil

However, the secret lies in making sure that each of the products you use really is hydrating.

The best way to do this is by checking out the ingredients list. These are some of the most hydrating skin care ingredients that you should hopefully be seeing listed on your hydrating skin care products:

• Hyaluronic acid
• Glycerin
• Ceramides
• Squalane
• Fatty alcohols
• Lactic acid
• Plant oils

Stay Hydrated from Within

A hydrating skin care routine will seriously benefit the skin cells that live on the outer layers of your skin, but what about the ones that lie deeper down?

Unfortunately, the majority of topical skin care products simply aren’t able to penetrate all the way through to the deepest layer of your skin, leaving those skin cells lacking. What makes this worse is that many of those skin cells are vital for some of the most important functions your skin carries out, such as cell regeneration, collagen production, and more.

This is why internal hydration is so important too.

This tends to be easier in the summer than in the winter, since you naturally feel thirstier in hot weather.

If you’re someone who often forgets to drink enough water, here are a few tips to help you to remember:

• Mark a water bottle with time-focused goals
• Set reminders on your phone
• Make water more exciting by infusing it with fruit
• Try to drink a glass of water before each meal, as well as when you wake up and before you go to bed
• Download a hydration app

Stay Active

Did you know that exercise gives your skin a near-instant glow?

It does this by increasing blood flow, and your blood is what carries oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells. Once it delivers this nourishment, your blood then carries away any toxins, which keeps your skin cells functioning well and looking good.

Increasing blood flow improves all of this even further, giving you a beautiful natural glow.

Do you struggle to stay active in the winter?

The temptation to forgo exercise in favor of snuggling on the sofa in front of the TV can be too strong for many to resist. The secret to getting around this is to find a winter exercise that you genuinely love – this will give you that motivation you need to get moving.

A few winter activities to try out include:

• Teaching yourself a different indoor exercise, such as yoga or dance, making use of the many online resources available
• Winter hikes through nearby national parks
• Taking your dog for new and interesting walks. If you don’t have a dog, there are many people in need of help who do – volunteer to walk their dog instead
• Winter sports, such as skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey

Eat a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Are you guilty of letting your diet slide during the winter months?

Comfort foods are a popular winter warmer, but it’s important to keep your diet balanced and healthy throughout the year.

You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “you are what you eat”. This not only applies to the health of your body, but that of your skin too.

A healthy diet will quickly be reflected through your skin, with problematic skin conditions clearing up.

Don’t worry, healthy doesn’t need to mean boring. Here are a few fun and healthy ways you can jazz up your favorite meals:

• Choose whole grains over white and refined, whether it may be bread, rice, pasta, or anything else
• Opt for healthier cooking techniques, such as baking and roasting instead of frying and grilling
• Try recreating your favorite fast food meals
• Challenge yourself to try one new healthy ingredient each week
• Cook with unrefined, extra virgin oils

If you’re still struggling to pack all of the nutrients you need into your daily meals, it would be worth considering dietary supplements. In fact, there are a few supplements in particular that could really benefit your skin, such as:

• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Beta-carotene
• Prebiotics and probiotics
• Zinc
• Magnesium
• Biotin
• Hyaluronic acid

Dress for the Weather

You may want to look your best, but it’s important that your outfit is designed to protect your skin and body from the winter elements.

Not only will wind and snow make you feel cold, which will instantly zap away that summer glow, but consistent exposure will dry your skin out, making it even harder to get your glow back.

Owning a good selection of winter accessories can help to make sure that you’re never caught out, even on the wildest of days:

• Gloves and mittens
• Hats
• Scarfs
• Socks
• Umbrellas
• Windbreakers

Keep spare items of each one in your car, at work, in your handbag, and anywhere else you can think of. This way, you will always be able to protect your skin.

Exfoliate…But Not Too Much

It’s easy for the skin to take on a rough and dull appearance over the winter. Exfoliation provides instant gratification, removing all of those dry skin cells to leave your skin looking fresh and radiant.

There’s no denying that exfoliation is extremely beneficial for your skin, but you need to be careful with this in the winter.

Why?

Because exfoliation leaves your skin without its protective outer layer, making it vulnerable to the elements. Wind, rain, snow, and cold temperatures will take their toll even more.

If you’re exfoliating once a week and taking care to nurture and protect your skin afterwards, then you won’t have any problems.

However, if you’re over-exfoliating, you’ll likely notice your skin soon start to feel raw, sensitive, and easily irritated. You could experience everything from excessive dryness to eruptive breakouts, all because you’ve severely disrupted your skin’s barrier at the worst possible time of year.

If you think that you may be over-exfoliating, stop exfoliating immediately. Give your skin some time to recover before re-introducing exfoliation into your skin care routine. Make sure that you take things slowly and gently this time around!

Learn How to De-Stress

Just about everyone could do with learning how to de-stress. Not only is stress a serious problem for your mental health, but it affects your physical health too, as well as your skin.

How?

In a few different ways:

• It triggers your body to produce more cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. Cortisol increases sebum production in your skin. This makes your skin oilier, increasing acne breakouts
• Stress commonly leads to sleep deprivation, which is the most common cause of puffiness and swelling underneath the eyes
• Stress prevents the skin’s protective barrier from properly functioning, which means that more moisture starts to evaporate out of the skin. This leaves the skin looking dry and rough
• Stress weakens the immune system, which causes rashes and redness to appear on the skin. This same immune interference also triggers flare-ups in other skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, and contact dermatitis
• The cortisol produced by your body during times of stress damages the proteins that give your skin its smoothness, firmness and tightness. Prolonged periods of stress will quickly lead to fine lines and wrinkles

Surprised?

People usually are, not often realizing just how much of an impact stress has on the skin.

But how do you learn how to de-stress?

It’s definitely easier said than done, and takes some commitment. Everyone is different, meaning that the activities that de-stress your best friend may not work for you at all.

So, make a list, write down the following de-stressing methods, and try one at a time whenever you feel stressed. Decide which ones work best for you so that you can narrow down a shortlist of fail-safe de-stressing techniques.

• Do some exercise
• Talk to a friend or family member
• Meditate
• Do something relaxing, such as taking a shower or reading a book
• Do something creative
• Try some breathing exercises
• Write down what you’re feeling
• Take a short walk outdoors

Treat Your Skin to a DIY Facial Massage

Covid-19 has placed quite a few restrictions on people, meaning that your face has probably been missing those ultra-relaxing massages that accompanied your regular facials.

Of course, those massages weren’t simply for pleasure. A facial massage stimulates the lymphatic system, allowing your body to clear away toxins at a much faster rate. This then invigorates both your skin and your immune system, giving you that healthy and happy glow.

The way in which a facial massage increases circulation will also give you a brighter and more vibrant appearance, while smoothing away the visibility of fine lines.

Whether you want to keep things simple or go all out with a 20-step massage routine, a quick search online will reward you with a number of different facial massage videos that you can follow and learn from.

You’ll then be able to incorporate the techniques you learn into your daily skin care routine.

If you really start to get into the facial massage realm, you can take things a step further by investing in a facial massage device. There are numerous at-home skin care gadgets out there that are designed to massage the skin and boost lymphatic drainage, and they’ll give your fingers a break too!

Use Makeup for Some Extra Help

Sometimes, you need an instant fix. While improving your skin care routine and lifestyle is always the best way to achieve and maintain a consistent summery glow, you can always turn to makeup when you need immediate results.

This doesn’t need to be anything complicated…

Simply applying a tinted lotion can give your skin an illuminated appearance. Alternatively, add some illuminating makeup drops to your favorite moisturizer – go for a darker shade if you want to shimmer with a beachy bronzed look.

If you’re good at highlighting, then this is another way to get your glow on. However, don’t be afraid to experiment with multiple highlighters, either using different shades on different parts of your face, or blending a few different shades together. This will add even more depth to your winter glowy look, making it appear beautifully natural.

You may have said goodbye to summer, but that doesn’t mean that you need to say goodbye to your summertime glow. Instead, follow the tips above and you’ll soon be back to your glowing self, with this radiance being one that you’ll then be able to easily maintain throughout the years.