It’s easy to think that all face masks are good for us. They’re a treatment, right? How can special treatment be bad? But depending on the weather, or our skin type, or even just our skin’s current #mood, the wrong mask could do us dirty.
If we have super dry skin, steer clear of harsh pulling clays or even exfoliating acids, which can be hard because we want to dissolve those dead skin flakes. However, we need to nurture our skin barrier and be kind and cognizant of our skin’s current condition before slapping on a face mask and considering it a favor.
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On the other hand, if we have oily skin, we don’t want to get eight hours of REM under an emollient sleeping mask or overdo it with hydrating facials. It’s all about balance and assessing what our skin’s needs are.
Ahead we’re sharing our favorite powder face masks to add to your skincare routine.
If you’re feeling itchy, flaky, sallow, or dull, you’ll want to go straight for a hydrating mask and skip the harsh stuff. Colloidal oat kernel, chamomile flowers, carrot seed oil, coconut milk, jojoba, rose, and a few other key players nourish deeply while providing moisture. It’s the ultimate pink drink for our skin.
When we are stressed, PMSing, or maybe letting our diets get a little out of hand (hello holidays), we need to balance and clarify. This is when we should be reaching for a clay mask, and this one with mineral-rich French green clay does the trick without over-drying. Neem, lavender, and spirulina are anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and mineralizing for a soothing plan of attack for current and brewing breakouts.
Sometimes our skin is not quite dry, not quite oily, but it’s clearly upset. This can happen in harsh climates, or when we’ve overdone it with skincare (over-exfoliation … please don’t, but OK, it happens). Soothe and calm freaked-out skin with hibiscus, marshmallow root, aloe, calendula, and chamomile to reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation.
Rhassoul, rosehip, turmeric, gotu kola, sea buckthorn, and a few other superstars will restore a glow and some color to your cheeks while gently pulling out impurities. These ingredients soothe while fighting future breakouts and inflammation, and at the same time boost circulation for rapid healing and instant radiance.
This brightening mask is made with 100% pure, edible superfoods. Plus, it’s highly recommended by our BeautyLeeBar Community. “It’s a powder formulated with clean, good-for-you ingredients; add a few drops of water and it turns into a gel-like paste. I use this bowl and brush to apply—self-care at its finest. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and rinse off to reveal healthy, glowing skin. Like using the Paris filter but IRL!”
When you’re not quite suffering active breakouts, but feel bogged down by blackheads and an overall lack of luster, time to give your skin the ultimate smoothie. Chlorella, spirulina, and mango juice help to nourish the skin and dissolve impurities. This mask is so nutrient-dense and yet so gentle, that we go back on our word with this one exception. Use this baby any time for a healthy glow.
CATEGORY IS FACE. Comment below where you from and the skincare product that has been saving thy face!
Dry skin is uncomfortable and can be hard to treat. When your skin is dry and cracked, though, it can be even more challenging to deal with. Because the skin on your hands, feet, and elbows is thick, it can be prone to these skin issues, especially during the winter. To learn how to prevent it from happening and how to heal cracked skin in these areas, keep reading.
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What Causes Dry, Cracked Skin?
Environmental factors like cold temperatures and a lack of humidity (hi, winter) can cause the skin to become drier than usual and lead to cracking. Other causes include hot water (so stick to lukewarm showers and baths), harsh cleansers, and skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis.
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How to Address Dry, Cracked Skin on Your Feet, Hands, and Elbows
Keep Your Showers Short
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) states that keeping showers and baths short, using a mild cleanser, and opting for a warm instead of a hot water temperature can help prevent dry skin.
Pay Attention to Skin-Care Ingredients
The AAD stresses that those with dry, cracked skin should pay close attention to the ingredients in their skin-care products. Avoid products that contain dehydrating and potentially irritating ingredients like alcohol, fragrance, and harsh sulfates.
Use a Humidifier
Humidifiers can benefit your skin all year but are particularly helpful when your skin needs extra moisture in the fall and winter. The AAD suggests using a humidifier to add some much-needed moisture into the air to help relieve dry, cracked skin.
Moisturize Your Skin Regularly and Use Healing Ointments
Moisturizer or lotion can help replenish and lock in moisture. The AAD recommends applying hand cream after you wash your hands. We like the allergy-tested La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Hand Cream because it not only moisturizes with shea butter and glycerin but also helps soothe damage from cold weather and frequent hand-washing. When it comes to your feet and elbows, hydrate the areas as needed, especially after taking a bath or shower while your skin is still slightly damp.
If you’re experiencing cracked or chapped skin and your go-to cream or lotion isn’t doing the trick, reach for a soothing balm like the CeraVe Healing Ointment. Formulated to relieve irritation and extreme dryness and restore the skin barrier.
The terms dry skin and dehydrated skin are frequently used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. If your skin feels rough, flaky, and tight, it could mean that you have dry skin, but it can also mean that your skin is just in need of a hydration boost. Vague? We get it. To explain, we tapped board-certified dermatologist and BeautyLeeBar.com expert Dr. Dendy Engelman.
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The Difference Between Dry and Dehydrated Skin
There is a minor (albeit important) distinction between dry skin and dehydrated skin. Dehydrated skin is a skin condition, and it can affect all skin types. Even oily skin can be dehydrated if it is lacking in moisture and hydration. “Dehydrated skin can be the result of not drinking enough water or liquids,” says Dr. Engelman. “It can also be caused by irritating or drying products, which can strip the skin of its moisture.”
Dry skin, on the other hand, is askin type. “ Anyone can be categorized as having a dry skin type if you have minimal oil production,” says Dr. Engelman. Many factors can play a part example age, climate, genetics, hormones, or untreated dehydrated skin.
The moral of the story? Dry skin lacks oil, and dehydrated skin lacks water.
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How to Know if Your Skin Is Dry or Dehydrated
“Dehydrated skin feels parched and crepe-y,” says Dr. Engelman. “It might have an oily film on the skin because dehydrated skin can be mistaken for dryness by skin cells, causing them to produce excess oil as a result.”
Dry skin tends to flake, so if you see lifted skin — white flecks, usually — you probably have dry skin, Dr. Engelman says. Because dehydrated skin can affect all skin types, it’s possible to suffer from dehydrated skin and dry skin at the same time. When in doubt, consult with a dermatologist.
“ Dry skin will benefit from products that replenish oil and repair the lipid layers of the skin,” Dr. Engelman says. The SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 boasts a maximized concentration of lipids in its formula — including 2% pure ceramides, 4% natural cholesterol, and 2% fatty acids — to help restore the skin’s moisture barrier and provide up to 24 hours of hydration.
Omega Fatty Acids: Fatty, moisturizing molecules that hydrate while visibly restoring and plumping. Hyaluronic Acid: Visibly plumps and supports hydration on the skin‘s delicate surface. Acai Berry Sterols: A plant sterol that is known to mimic and support the cholesterol found naturally in skin.
Tri-Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid: A powerful humectant in three molecular sizes, that helps boost skin’s moisture content, plump, and smooth skin on multiple levels. Ceramides: A lipid that naturally occurs in skin that helps strengthen the skin barrier and moisturize. Oxygen: Upon contact with air, creates a blanket of bubbles to energize skin and help active ingredients penetrate.
Triple Lipid Complex: Helps to restore skin’s natural lipids and fatty acids for glowing, smooth, healthy-looking skin. Peptide Protein Blend: Nutripeptides support the skin barrier function and help protect the skin from free radical damage. Lily Root Extract: Tightens the look of skin, and helps reduce water loss and support long-term moisturization.
Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 from The Ordinary is formulated with a combination of low, medium, and high molecular-weight hyaluronic acid, as well as a next-generation hyaluronic acid crosspolymer, at a combined concentration of 2% for multi- depth hydration. This system is supported with the addition of B5 for enhanced surface hydration.
Kiehl’s Vital Skin-Strengthening Hyaluronic Acid Super Serum strengthens skin while helping defend against skin-aging stressors for youthful, radiant skin. These stressors include UV exposure, pollution and extreme temperatures along with tobacco, stress, lack of sleep and nutrition which can cause dullness, dehydration, fine lines and other signs of aging.
Pro-Vitamin B5 promotes long-term hydration and healthy looking skin. Three molecular weights of Hyaluronic Acid pull moisture deep into the skin (and keep it there) to instantly smooth the skin’s surface. The silky formula is fast-absorbing and never sticky—designed to layer with moisturizers and makeup.
Winter is nearly here, and with it comes the perennial emergence of our archnemesis, chapped lips. This might actually be the most annoying skincare woe that can befall anyone’s face. The cracked, irritated mess can crop up from seemingly nowhere, causing a painful and utterly unattractive situation we are forced to wear like a scarlet letter painted across our pouts. And if it seems like your lips are more prone to chap during the colder months, you’re not imagining things. We consulted two of our favorite dermatologists, Loretta Ciraldo, MD, FAAD, and Dendy Engelman, MD, FACMS, FAAD, and they both agreed that the brutally cold winter weather can have just as much of an effect on lip health as anything else.
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” Chapped lips occur when the lip barrier becomes compromised and results in dryness, redness, cracks, and irritation,” Dendy says. Many of us know this discomfort all too well. So what can we do to treat and prevent chapped lips? Thankfully, there are plenty of options. Our duo of doctors gave us all the tips we’ll need to keep our lips smooth, hydrated, and perfectly kissable this winter and beyond. Keep scrolling for the goods.
Chapped lips can occur for several of reasons, but according to both Ciraldo and Engelman, the root causes tend to be pretty specific. ” Lips are primed to be chapped because they have a lower density of oil glands, are in daily contact with saliva that contains alpha-amylase (a digestive enzyme that can break down skin), and are always exposed to the elements, so they take a beating from the sun, the cold weather, wind, and heat,” Engelman says.
Additionally, Ciraldo adds that a significant amount of water loss in the body can cause dryness in the lips, meaning that on those days when you ingest too much salt or don’t drink as much water as you should, you’re running the risk of chapped lips on top of the myriad other health issues dehydration can cause. ” Start to address chapped lips as soon as they start. If you wait until your lips become uncomfortable, it can be very difficult to resolve,” she adds.
” If you are a lip licker you have to stop! Although this seems to give temporary comfort, it actually makes chapped lips even worse,” Ciraldo explains. ” It’s very helpful to keep your lips coated with Aquaphor Healing Ointment to prevent water loss from lips.”
#2: Scan Your Oral Hygiene Products for Possible Irritants
Ciraldo also points out that irritation from some lip and even some oral hygiene products can be the underlying cause of severe chapping. ” Lip stains, some matte lipsticks, and mint or cinnamon flavored toothpaste or dental floss [can cause chapped lips], she says.
” Traditionally, the longwear formulas tend to be drying, as they’re not formulated for moisture. Stains also don’t provide great moisture,” Engelman explains. ” If a plain balm doesn’t excite you, there are tinted lip balms that have great staying power and offer protection from wind burns that can often result in an infection,” she adds.
We love this tinted lip balm by Kosas, because it offers a nice flush of color on a variety of skin tones, while also delivering a hydrating dose of hyaluronic acid to the lips.
It should come as no surprise that SPF is just as crucial for your lips as it is for the rest of your face. Especially when your pout is compromised and more sensitive to the elements, our experts agree that coating the lips in sun protection will help you on your healing journey. Ciraldo points out that prolonged outdoor activities in the cold are an especially important time to load up on protectants.
Engelman says that exfoliating is also a good idea for treating chapped lips. ” If your lips are peeling or flakey, try an at-home exfoliation method with sugar and honey, which has healing and soothing benefits,” she says. Be gentle, though! And be sure to use a soothing ointment or salve to keep the freshly exfoliated skin moisturized and protected.
This jumbo lip balm is packed with moisturizing ingredients like organic coconut oil, organic cocoa butter, candelilla wax, and organic rosemary leaf extract. It feels comfortable on the skin, and we love that the formula is housed in a biodegradable paper tube.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: This medicated salve is a fix-all product everyone needs to own. Whether you’re soothing chapped lips, crispy cuticles, or parched elbows, this stuff gets the job done.
Supergoop! is one of our favorite brands for clean, highly efficacious sun care products, so it’s no surprise that their lip balm is also a winner. We’ll even give it extra brownie points for the added sun protection.
This exquisite combination of coffee grounds, raw sugar, and macadamia oil vigorously exfoliates the skin, leaving behind a light layer of oil and the softest lips you’ve ever felt.
Engelman mentioned that topical antioxidants like beeswax are great for repairing chapped lips, so this scrub by Burt’s Bees offers a double dose of healing.
Spreading this jeju green tea-infused balm onto the lips is like coating them in this molasses. Even after a full night’s sleep, you’ll wake with product still intact and any inflammation calmed.
In the same way that sheet masks push moisture and nutrients into the skin, this cute pout-shaped gel mask sits on top of the lips to plump and hydrate them with collagen, hyaluronic acid, and rose flower oil.
We love a multi-tasking products, and this buff-mask hybrid from Kari Gran is a prime example of a one stop shop for all your lip care needs. It’s also non-toxic, which is a major plus.
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