By: Gigi Rone
It’s past time to put away your summer skincare favorites to make room for your winter essentials. Winter brings sharp winds and frigid temps that promote dry, scaly skin. No one knows this better than those living in the coldest parts of the world. Keep reading to discover how women around the world care for their skin in the winter.
Chicago, Illinois
When you think of cold American weather, Chicago likely comes to mind. Most of the U.S. experiences all four seasons, but for Chicagoans, the winters are long and brutal. With temps dropping lower than -15°F, combined with piercing wind chills, it takes a few tricks to keep Windy City skin protected. Here’s one: use your moisture mask as an overnight leave-on moisturizer. Instead of washing off “after 5 minutes,” estheticians from downtown Chicago’s Skin1 Spa advise leaving the moisture mask on overnight so your skin hydrates while you sleep. This helps prepare your skin for tomorrow’s wintry exposure.
Russia
When Russia was more closed to the world, under Communist rule, women had limited access to trending beauty treatments; thus, they worked with what they had. In bathhouses, or banyas, they would cleanse their pores with steam in the ‘hot’ rooms, and close their clean pores shut with vodka-spiked tea in the ‘cold’ rooms. Not only does vodka warm the body, it’s been proven to close pores and tone skin.
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Canada
Canadians sometimes call themselves “winter survivors.” Snow blizzards and freezing rain are rites of passages for the residents. Provinces like Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean can see over 11 ft. of snowfall and north Canada snows 9 months out of the year. With winters like this, winter beauty hacks are also useful. One smart beauty hack is to wrap plastic bags or plastic wrap around socked feet. This way if your boots get wet, your feet stay dry and smooth. It’s a great hack considering winter feet often get cracked and scaly. When this happens, Canadians love applying whipped hemp oil to penetrate skin with deep moisturizing properties.
Greenland
We marvel at Greenland’s gorgeous landscapes and raw beauty, but it’s the country’s frigid winters that put this island on the map. Here, winters are not only cold, but also dark and cloudy. Greenland winters can see less than three hours of daylight. However, Inuit’s skin remains tanned and glowing. Researchers have studied how this is possible in skin seldom exposed to the sun. It comes down to a diet rich in vitamin D from fresh seafood.
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Vitamin D helps regulate skin tone and deepens your glow. Our bodies can’t produce vitamin D on its own; you’ll either need sun exposure or diet to get your daily recommended value. Excessive sun exposure can be dangerous, so tweaking your diet is the safest way to boost your vitamin D levels. Try incorporating a Greenland-inspired meal several times a week for skin to enhance your glow.