Skin care routines – for harmattan
Skin care routines – for harmattan are quite different from other seasons. The Harmattan season is upon us, and it’s not so forgiven like other seasons!
The harmattan season starts late November – late January, and this year is no exception. The harmattan season can be cool and also harsh. The cool wind which also brings a lot of dust can cause a lot of health problems, such as catarrh, cough & can trigger asthma etc.
During this season our skin is more susceptible to dryness and our lips chap if not taken care of, that is why we need to take extra care of the skin during this period so we are not caught looking unfresh.
Skin care routine which we are used to might not be the best for us during this season because we need to focus more on preventing whatever that will dry out our skin. These are the best ways to care for our skin during the harmattan season:
Skin care routines: stay hydrated
You might be wondering is drinking water part of skin care routine ? I SAY YES because Staying hydrated this season is a MUST during the harmattan season. We must stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water. Do not wait for when you are thirsty before you drink water. Take as much as 7-8 glasses of water during this season. Drinking water might not be able to solve skin aging/drying, but your skin is a reflection of what goes on the inside of your body.
ALWAYS MOISTURIZE
Another skin care routine we MUST do during this season is moisturizing our skin.
A moisturizing product used for protecting, hydrating and lubricating the skin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moisturizer
A moisturizer helps to add moisture to the skin and keep it from drying out. Using just the regular body lotion might not be the best for this season. Most body lotion just helps to hydrate the skin and does not seal in this moisture added. That is why the use of BODY OILS is advised this season.
Making use of ULTRA HYDRATING BODY LOTION along with your favorite Body Oils: BRIGHTENING RADIANCE OIL or LIGHTENING RADIANCE OIL, will help seal in moisture and keep the skin well moisturized all through the day.
Another type of moisturizer to use this harmattan season is BODY BUTTERS. They are very good and will help to deeply moisturize the skin.
Our body butter: SHEA-ALOE BODY SOUFFLE, is a moisturizing body butter. It deeply moisturizes the skin for 24 hours, giving the skin a supple youthful glow. It is made up of natural ingredients such as emollient like shea butter, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil etc. it also contains skin lovingly humectants such as Aloe – vera, glycerin which will help deeply hydrate this skin This product should be included in your skin care routines.
AVOID HOT BATH
After a long day, we long to get into the shower and have a hot bath. No matter how tempting it is to take a hot bath, please avoid it. A hot bath tends to strip the skin of moisture which leads to dry skin.
AVOID HARSH BODY CLEANSERS
This is not the time to use facial or body cleansers containing alcohol or astringents because these ingredients tend to dry up the skin.
Facial skin care routines such as cleansing the face twice a day is also encouraged this season due to dust, oils and other makeup residuals.
USE YOUR SUNSCREEN
The sun is known to be very hot during the harmattan season, applying sunscreen every 2 hours is a MUST. This will help protect our skin from the UV RAYS and its damaging effect on the skin. Ensure your sunscreen is broad-spectrum with at least UV 50.
SKIN CARE ROUTINE FOR THE LIPS
Do not be caught with chapped lips or licking your lips severally when there are a variety of lip balms in the market. Do not forget to exfoliate your lips for a mild lip scrub, to remove all dead cells from the lips. Apply and reapply lip balm often. You might want to ditch your lip gloss or lip stain for a good lip balm that will help hydrate and moisturize the lip.
SKIN CARE ROUTINE – EXFOLIATION
Skin care routine such as exfoliating the skin can never be overemphasized. As earlier mentioned the harmattan brings a lot of dust which can be trap on our skin, that is why It is important to exfoliate our skin this season.
WHAT IS EXFOLIATION
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface of your skin using a chemical, granular substance or an exfoliating tool.
Exfoliation helps to get rid of dead cells and gives you a glowing healthy skin. It also helps products function properly. Choosing the right exfoliating technique for your skin type will minimize your risk of irritation and help you achieve the best possible result. It is key to find the right exfoliating product. Ensure you do not exfoliate a wounded skin.
Finally, taking care pf our overall health is important, here are some quick non skincare tips:
WEAR PROTECTIVE CLOTHES THIS SEASON
It will be a wise choice to ditch skin revealing clothing’s this season. Ensure you wear cloths that will cover you and keep you warm this season. due to the dust, making use nose mask is encouraged Wearing the right clothes in this harmattan season helps to prevent common infections or diseases such as catarrh and cough that spread during this season.
CARE OF YOUR HAIR
Ensure you are on protective hair style during this season. our hair is more susceptible to dryness which will to hair breakage if not properly moisturize.
TAKE YOUR FRUITS AND VITAMIN C
We should make sure that we take more fruits and fruits containing Vitamin C or over the counter Vitamin C tablet this season. This vitamin is one of the most important vitamins you need during Harmattan. It is well known and researched that vitamin c helps to boost your immune system to fight possible infections like cold and flu.