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Every now and then the story of my skin changes drastically. Usually because of the ever-changing climate. Suddenly I steer clear of most of my purifying products and I even reduce the use of my favorite serum. I get this new problem that I promise to tackle every single year: dryness.

Unfortunately some things you just have to let be. Such as, dryness when the climate changes. It’s inevitable and not always your fault. The dry cold weather is no joke. That said – I have found some great products that do help. Right now my skin is doing really good and I have this routine to thank.

These three steps have become crucial in tackling dry skin:

1.Changing your cleansers to milder ones.

2. Hydrating and moisturizing like your life depended on it and

3. Protecting your skin with the right products.

Products received in pr

How to tackle dry skin in three steps

Step 1: Change your cleansers to mild ones

I’m very strict about removing my makeup and cleansing my skin in two steps. For a skin that has large pores and sebaceous filaments, keeping those pores clean is important.

I recently found the makeup eraser*, which has changed my makeup removing game. That cloth is so soft yet effective, I’m amazed. I remove my makeup with the makeup eraser.

After that I wash my face with some product. Lately I’ve used Patyka’s Cleansing Perfect Foam*, which is suitable for a mature skin as well as for my skin, which is combination. It contains calming and moisturizing properties as well as some gentle fruit acids.

If your skintype is dry or normal, you might want to try Patyka’s own 3-step-cleansing ritual, which consists of an oil, this foam and finally their toner/hydrating mist. I’ve tried it, and it feels very luxurious, but too nourishing for my skin.

CLEANSING:

The makeup eraser*
Patyka Cleansing Perfecting Foam*

My favorite cleanser is still Lavera’s Cleansing Balm*, but right now I’ve ran out of it and I’m trying to use my other products.

Step 2: Hydrate & moisturize

I’m talking about both hydrating and moisturizing, because those are actually not the exact same thing.
Hydrating means bringing water to your skin – which it needs, to look radiant, soft and healthy.
Moisturizing means locking in that water and keeping it hydrated.

Basically what this means is that you should stack products. First your lighter water-containing products like toners, mists, essences or serums. Then your moisturizer. Korean skincare routine like.

Right now I’ve been loving BYBI’s Mega Mist, which contains hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is awesome for hydration, because it can hold onto a lot of water (and we just learned that our skin needs water!). I usually apply it on moist skin, just so it has some more water to hold onto (that’s a tip I learned from Nude blog).

I’ve also started to add Loccitane’s essence on top of that mist. I wrote about it here*.

After that, I apply my moisturizer. For day and night use, I have Patyka’s Sacred Lotus Soothing Lotion. I got it before winter and thought it wouldn’t work for me, but now I think the exact opposite. It’s an awesome moisturizer. It smells amazing and it works wonders – for my skin, anyway. It doesn’t leave my skin shiny nor matte. Radiant is possibly the right word. It contains natural oils such as almond oil and jojoba oil.

HYDRATING:

BYBI Beauty Mega Mist
L’Occitane Aqua Reotier Moisture Prep Essence*

MOISTURIZING:

Patyka Lotus Soothing Radiant Lotion
PURA D’OR Organic Moroccan Argan Oil

I also always apply argan oil in the evening. I apply it under the moisturizer, on top of it or mix it with my moisturizer (Patyka). It doesn’t really matter how I apply it – most important thing is to use it. Argan oil is the queen of oils, because it suits both dry, mature and oily skin. It should also help with scarring, so my acne scars are definitely getting their fair share of this. My sister, who has extremely dry skin, also swears by argan oil. Psst! She shared all her dry skin secret here in this post!

Step 3: Protect your skin

This is partially the same as moisturizing – moisturizer locks in the hydration, but it also protects the skin. It’s like a barrier between your skin and the world.

For my skin, I feel like makeup is enough to protect my skin from the harsh winter. Makeup is so much more than just something that makes you pretty – it actually can have skincare benefits and it does take care of your skin (as in, being a protective barrier).

However, on those days that I’m not wearing makeup, I like to wear a thick(ish) cream. If I’m going for a long walk or run outside, I like to apply a layer of Babe Balm* as my protector. It does leave my face a bit shiny, but I’ll take that instead of a red and dry poor skin. I’ve used that product for quite some time now and I think it’s become a holy grail product for me. It’s cuteness and luxury in one tube. It’s the best hand lotion as well and for dry skin you could possibly try it as a night mask. Oh – and this product has an amazing sweet scent.

Weleda’s Skin Food* or Skin Food Light is a good multi-use product option for the Babe Balm. I recently got to try Weleda’s Skin Food Light, which is a lighter version of their classic Skin Food lotion. Even that Light-version is super moisturizing for me, so it’s perfect for protecting my skin against cold. I also sometimes use it as a night cream, since it doesn’t matter if my skin looks a bit shiny in the evening. That product also works as a hand cream or body cream for dry spots.

MOISTURIZING & PROTECTING:
BYBI Beauty Babe Balm*
Weleda Skin Food Light*

*adlink

Thanks for helping with photos @pinjaelisa

What are your top product picks for winter?

Good reads:
Hyaluronic acid on Paula’s Choice

*adlink

Finding good hair products for naturally curly hair, that is more on the wavy side, is hard. Especially conditioners. And curl creams or gels as well, actually. Usually people with wavy hair want to smooth out their curls and the products are advertised to do just that (with silicones).

I prefer products that are mostly made with natural ingredients and without silicones. A good conditioner needs to be very smoothing and slick so that I can untangle my hair with it, but it can’t make my hair too sleek – otherwise my waves won’t get as defined.

And since you already saw the title, you know that I have good news. I have found great new products for naturally curly and wavy hair. These are actually so far the best that I have tried. And best of all, they are available not only internationally, but in my own country as well.

Hallelujah.

Briogeo Curl Charisma products for naturally curly and wavy hair

Briogeo’s ideology seems perfect for me. Briogeo’s products are 6-free, meaning that they don’t contain sulfates, parabens, phthalates, silicones, DEA and synthetic color. Now I’m not an expert on ingredients, but I do like to avoid ingredients, that are questionable and possibly toxic (like like phtahalates and DEA). I also feel like some of the ingredients are just unnecessary – like silicones and synthetic colors. These are some of the reasons I prefer using more natural cosmetics. Their ingredients rarely come up negatively in a google search. And as I’ve been using conditioners without silicones, I can definitely say you don’t need silicones to make your hair smooth.

Briogeo’s products are also cruelty-free and mostly vegan.

In these photos I have used the Briogeo conditioner and the gel on my hair and let my hair air dry.

Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Shea Curl Defining Conditioner

The Curl Charisma Conditioner is wonderful. It’s made for type 2A to 3C curls. Basically what that means is that it’s for those that get loose waves, to those that get spiral curls. Here’s a good photo to check your curl type.

This conditioner makes untangling my hair easy and leaves me with soft hair. At first I thought it was gonna be too heavy for my curls, because it felt so sleek, but it’s actually perfect. Turns out, my hair does need a lot of moisture (shocker for a curly girl, I know).

It contains ingredients like rice amino acids, shea butter, quinoa extract, tomato fruit ferment and almond oil that moisturize, protect, create definition and prevent frizz. What I like about the ingredients, is that there’s not too much oils (they are are quite in the middle of the INCI list) and that there’s not coconut oil. I feel like coconut oil in my hair just doesn’t work.

All in all, this conditioner is great. I’m so happy I found it!

*Briogeo Curl Charisma Conditioner

Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Quinoa Frizz Control Gel

This product, as well, is recommended for type 2A-3C curls.

This gel is so nice, because while it gives me some hold, it also seems to give me some shine and moisture. It’s very lightweight and doesn’t really dry down to a stiff cast, as gels tend to do. I would say this is definitely beginner friendly as well, since you can’t accidentally end up with crazy stiff curls. It looks and feels very natural on the hair. It’s very hard to overdo it.

I also like that this product doesn’t really have a scent. It doesn’t smell like anything in my hair.

How I use it: After shower, I scrunch it on either wet or towel dry hair in upward motions.

*Briogeo Curl Charisma Frizz Control Gel

Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino + Avocado Leave-in Defining Creme

I also recently bought the Curl Charisma Leave-In Defining Creme and it’s been great as well.

If you need even more hold, you could try Curl Charisma Leave-In Defining Creme. That gives nice texture and hold. It’s a bit thicker than the gel, but it still doesn’t leave a cast. It’s a creme, but a bit gel-like. It’s also recommended to use together with the Frizz Control Gel to get the best results. I usually just use one of those though, because I’m scared of using too much of product.

*Curl Charisma Leave-In Defining Creme

Briogeo conditioners for curly hair

Besides these I bought the *Blossom and Bloom Conditioner, because I was curious to see if the other Briogeo conditioners would work as well. And the conditioner is nice! It’s more lightweight than the Curl Charisma one, but it untangles my hair well and leaves it nourished. If your hair is dry and curly, I would still choose the Curl Charisma one. But if your hair is not that dry and gets weighed down easily, you could try this one instead. But all in all, all Briogeo conditioners would suit curly hair, since they are all silicone free.

What are your favorite products for naturally curly hair? I’m on a mission to find lots of great products.

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How to tackle dry skin in 3 steps