I have had dry skin my entire life. Like, pretty intense dry skin. If I don’t have a skincare routine for my entire body, you can see a scale-like print on my arms and legs, my scalp gets dry and flaky, and my face is easily confused for sandpaper.
This is also true if I use the wrong products. And while my skin needs extra love all year round, winter is a season where I think a lot of us can use a little extra glow, no matter our skin type. So for the sake of NOT gatekeeping, I’m sharing some of the best products in my bathroom – because if they can make my hair and skin healthy and hydrated, I’m pretty confident you’re going to love ‘em, too (not to mention, some of them would make great stocking stuffers).
Want Glowing Hair & Skin This Winter? Here’s What You Need
It probably goes without saying that I’ve tested out a lot of products. Anyone with a sort of “extreme” need usually goes the distance in order to find relief or comfort, which is exactly what I’ve done for my dry skin. Thankfully, there’s a lot of good stuff out there. My bathroom products certainly switch up from time to time as I find a new gem, or as I simply crave a refresh from season to season, but these 8 products have been mainstays – many that I’ve been repurchasing consistently for years.
If you’re hoping for lips that aren’t cracked, the best hair of your life, a glowing face, or a body that literally is so hydrated the light bounces off you, my winter skincare routine is here to help.
This is the one product that if you’re not already using, you need to start immediately.
When I was in my twenties my hair stylist educated me on dandruff vs dry scalp, of which I suffered from the latter, especially in the winter. I immediately began taking care of my hair as seriously as my aching dry skin on my face and body. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized just how important scalp care is to having healthy, bouncy hair. Much like makeup artists preach that your makeup depends heavily on your skincare prep, that movie-star-quality hair depends on how well you’re treating your scalp.
The easiest way to get started? A good scrub.
A scalp scrub is super important for getting rid of the remnants of your hair sprays, creams, and dry shampoo powders that build up which shampoo alone can’t get out. We wouldn’t let goop build up over time on our bathroom sinks without a good routine scrub, so don’t let it happen on top of your own head.
A scrub also helps rid your scalp of dry flakes (my original problem), and promotes better moisture retention in the process! This is the product that is going to do so much more for you in the long run than any cream, oil, or conditioner, and can even help minimize those very products you’re using in the styling process for taming frizz, dryness, etc because you’ve tackled the root problem (haha, dad joke).
Skip the conditioner and try this.
Something I did when I first began on that journey to healthier hair in my twenties was swapping my conditioner for a mask. Most masks will direct you to use it once or twice a week after your shampoo + conditioner routine, but I preferred the results I was getting on those days I used a mask, so I swapped my routine around permanently.
Believe me, using a mask over a regular conditioner makes ALL the difference. As someone with thick hair, I can use less product, too, since deep hydrating masks are so thick and richly made.
Moroccan Oil products have always been a favorite simply for the brands’ divine smell, but these are also products that work so beautifully well, too.
Finally, a clean body wash that doesn’t make my skin feel stripped dry.
Osea is a brand I’ve been waxing poetic about for a long time now, but it’s only because the love affair with these products is REAL. I’ve had a hard time with “clean” body care products working well in terms of moisture, because they often end up feeling watery, don’t provide any visual proof of protection (ie: my skin still looks scaly dry), and simply don’t give me that relief I need to itchy, dry skin.
This has been the complete opposite result of Osea products. They smell incredible, they LOOK phenomenal on my skin, and my skin feels like it gets healthier the longer I use them. Osea Body Wash is one in particular I’m using obsessively right now, as it’s a wash that finally doesn’t make my skin feel dry and achy after using it and I can actually have peace of mind about what it’s made out of.
The must-do step before your favorite face cream.
When it comes to my face, this serum packs a one-two punch. I’m always looking for the dewey, plumping benefits of hyaluronic acid, but I’m also a big fan of a little self tanner.
I’m picky about self tanner on my face, in fact I swore them off a few years back because I was getting rashes from many of the brands I was trying out, but I was elated to find this one not too long ago. It’s incredibly gentle on my sensitive skin, it has the nourishing properties of a face serum, and it’s just a subtle, glowing hint of color. Nothing orange, nothing dramatic. It’s truly perfect for the winter months, when a little color on my face can actually change my entire mood for the better.
Public Service Announcement: serums aren’t just for your face!
I’ve used serums in my multi-step face skincare for years, so when I realized there were serums for the body I jumped at the chance to try them out. Osea makes one of the best in the game, and while you can use it alone (especially if dry, achy skin isn’t really an issue for you), it works even more incredible when you layer it (much like you would in your face routine).
Osea’s Anti-Aging Body Balm is one I’ve gifted to a lot of people.
I liken it to a cross between a serum and an oil, but with a silky finish unlike any of them, and with the benefits of firmer skin thanks to Alaria seaweed. Bonus – this is a product that makes your skin physically glow and catch the light, so it’s a fun one to lather up in for special occasions (or anytime you want to be the most radiating in the room).
One of the best parts about shopping at Nordstrom is you can get my favorite products in multiple different bundles, which makes it an easier way to replenish your stock or a super helpful way to try out new-to-you products.
It’s all about the layering.
Body oil can be used alone, and is especially effective straight out of the shower when you’re still damp. But as someone with that achy, scaly skin, my oil routine is a bit more hardcore. While “normal” skin can easily get away with using just one of these post-shower hydrating products, I literally layer them all (in order of how I’m listing them in this post). Never in my life have I had skin that felt so hydrated and silky, while also feeling like I look like a million bucks, then when I layer Osea serum, body balm, and body oil.
If you were hoping for a body lotion recommendation, don’t skip this body butter (it’s like a super rich lotion). It’s another Osea product I’ve purchased on repeat and still love, I just currently can’t stop with the serum, balm, and oil routine – the glow factor has me hooked.
And, of course, they make The Mother of all lip oils.
Listen, lip oils are kinda my thing. I buy way too many, am always applying way too much, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. However, I have paused on my lip-oil-try-out’s upon finding Osea’s Hyaluronic Acid Lip Booster.
This lip oil has all of my favorite (+ mandatory) things: the thick sponge for applying, a minimal yet fresh scent, and a long-lasting quality that actually hydrates my lips instead of drying them out. But this also has the major bonus of being from my dream clean brand. I’d argue this probably works better than any chapstick or balm you’re currently using, plus it LOOKS phenomenal on your lips.
Xx,
Amy
Thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! Your beauty selection is always stocked full of my tried and true favorite products, which makes raving about them soooo much easier. And to our readers, thank you for, well, making it this far in the post 😉 and for your continued support! Love you!
Let’s be friends on Instagram or come hang with me over on TikTok: Sharing life with my husband + kid, daily style & beauty faves, and never-ending Taylor Swift dance-athons…all with a good dose of relatable mom nonsense, too.
