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Great (Cheap!) Ways To Soothe Your Winter Skin

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UAB chapter.

I don’t know about you, but winter weather does to my skin what an inch of snow does to Alabama traffic—completely and utterly wrecks it! Of course the best thing for your complexion (and overall state of mind) is a vacation to PCB—ha ha ha—but here are some other ideas that will soothe your skin that are low on both cost and time!

1. Drink Some Tea

I’m sure most of y’all are heavy-duty coffee drinkers, but take a break from it if possible, for caffeine can seriously dry out your skin, (along with alchohol consumption too). For a week or a long weekend drink some warm herbal tea like crazy, and you won’t believe the difference it makes! Chamomile, green and jasmine tea are the absolute best kinds for cleansing your skin from within and mosisturizing; I highly recommend jasmine, it smells sooo good. Absolutely do NOT feel like you have to shelve out big money for tea products at Nirvana or Starbucks or wherever; CVS, Walgreens and Wal-Mart have some great brands too for a much lower price!

2. Try Some New Showering and Sleeping Habits

Sometimes brand-new skin is only a new habit away! First off, try a new way of showering:

#1. Lukewarm water is your new best friend, not too hot, not too cold, just right. Both hot and cold water dry your skin out and hot water in particular can cause inflammation where the delicate skin on your face is concerned, BIG no-no.

#2. Do not do not DO NOT put your face directly into the shower head! May I repeat, DON’T DO IT HONEY. Even if you are using lukewarm water, all that water is just doing too much at one time to the delicate skin on your face. Gently rub with a wet washcloth instead.

Now try a new way of sleeping!

#1. Regularly wash your pillowcases. Sometimes you forget to wash your face before you go to bed, sometimes you go to bed with a cold, and all that dirt and makeup and germs are just sitting there on your pillow night after night…yeck!

#2. Try sleeping on your back, both science and myself have proved it: it really does help your skin! When you sleep on your side or your back you’re mashing your lovely face into your pillow and sleeping on your back makes it much less puffy and much more smooth.

 3. Some Tried-and-True Beauty Products

CeraVe and Cetaphil are as cheap and reliable as it gets ladies! You can find them at CVS and Walgreens and they are rarely over $10, and there is absolutely nothing in them to cause your skin to break out or dry out. Your skin and your wallet will thank you. Also, Target has lavender-scented Epsom salts now in little portable packets; give your feet a soothing winter soak while you Netflix…I mean do your homework…

  4. Diet…Never Mind, Go To Sephora

This is where I’m supposed to tell you to eat healthy, but forget it. Instead let me tell you some lovely-looking beauty products that are currently on sale at your favorite money-sucking beauty store!

Sephora Collection Creamy Night Mask-Moisturizing + Plumping: was $19, now $10.

Human + Kind Day + Night Cream: was $35, now $17.50.

Sephora Collection Express Cleansing + Exfoliating Wipes: was $9.50, now $5.

Sephora Collection Instant Hydrogel Eye Mask Depuffing + Moisturizing: was $6, now $4.

Shopping is good for your skin, right? “wink, wink”

Katharine is studying for her MA in History at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a lover of history and art history, an indefatigable bookworm and a die-hard fan of classic film and vintage fashion. Strike up a conversation with her about Harper Lee, Jane Austen or Audrey Hepburn and you will make her day!
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