Dry Air Is Coming: 5 Small Changes for Softer Skin This Fall

The first cool mornings feel great. A few weeks later your hands are rough, your shins are flaky and your lips are cracked. Cold air holds less moisture, and indoor heating dries it out even more, so your skin loses water faster than it does in summer. You do not need a new routine to deal with it. Five small changes will do most of the work.

1. Turn the shower down a notch

A long, hot shower is tempting when it is cold out, but hot water strips away the natural oils that keep moisture in your skin. Keep the water warm instead of hot, and keep showers on the shorter side. Your skin should not look red when you step out.

2. Moisturize while your skin is still damp

This is the change that makes the biggest difference. Pat yourself mostly dry, then put your moisturizer on within a few minutes, while your skin is still a little damp. A rich butter or balm seals that water in. A lotion put on an hour later has much less to hold onto.

Our whipped Body Butter is made for exactly this. A pea sized amount covers more than you expect.

3. Switch to a gentler wash

If your skin feels tight and squeaky after washing, your soap is taking too much with it. In the dry months, reach for something mild. A real soap made from plant oils, like our Soap Bar or our castile based Hair and Body Wash, cleans without leaving your skin feeling stripped.

4. Look after lips and hands first

Lips and hands take the worst of the weather. The skin on your lips is thin and has almost no oil of its own, and your hands are washed and exposed all day.

• Keep a lip balm in your pocket and use it before you go outside, not after your lips are already sore.
• Rub a little butter into your hands and cuticles at bedtime, when it has all night to sink in.
• Wear gloves on cold, windy days. It sounds obvious, and it works.

5. Put some moisture back in the air

Once the heat is on, the air in your home gets very dry. A small humidifier in the bedroom adds moisture back while you sleep, which is when your skin does most of its recovering. Even a bowl of water near a heat source helps a little.

Start with one

You do not have to do all five at once. If you pick only one, make it number two: moisturize while your skin is still damp. Most people notice softer skin within a week.