I’m a skincare expert – here’s 8 hacks to help smooth your skin including using honey and apple sauce
COLD weather combined with less daylight can make your skin dry and dull.
Expert Ridah Syed explains: “It’s the combination of constantly going outside into the cold and then coming into the warm that causes problems.
“We don’t tend to drink as much water in the winter compared with summer and instead rely on dehydrating tea and coffee.”
Ridah is a medical aesthetician at Skinfluencer London who has treated celebrities and royalty for more than 15 years.
Here, she tells Clare O’Reilly some of the techniques you can practise to look after your skin during the day and at night.
She also reveals the store cupboard faithfuls alongside a range of affordable products that won’t break the bank when the cold starts to bite.
Face
THE air is dryer in cold temperatures, which pulls moisture out of the skin.
Indoor heating can also make this worse, so intervention is needed.
DAY: Rather than using it to make your porridge, oats can be brilliant for the skin too. This is why beauty brands such as Aveeno put it in their moisturisers.
You can use it in combination with homemade apple sauce as this is a great ingredient to hydrate tone, lighten and cleanse the skin.
Apples are full of antioxidants that fight skin problems due to UV and pollution damage.
To use, mix two tablespoons of each together to form a paste. Then apply for 15 minutes before rinsing.
Oats, which have healing and moisturising properties, can be used to nourish, calm and soothe the skin.
But if you would rather pick up a quick fix, try Aveeno’s moisturising cream with natural colloidal oatmeal, Justmylook.com, £9.86.
NIGHT: Our skin regenerates at night as that is when cell mitosis – the division of cells – takes place.
The optimum time for skin renewal is between the hours of 9pm and midnight.
Experts say you should exfoliate two to three times a week – and it’s especially important at night.
Yoghurt is filled to the brim with lactic acid which eases away rough and lacklustre surface skin cells to uncover much newer, brighter ones.
Using just plain yoghurt – one that has no preservatives – apply a thin layer and leave for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water.
Pairing sugar and lemon is a great exfoliator too, especially if followed by olive oil, which hydrates and restores your skin.
Mix the lemon juice with granulated sugar and apply in circular motions.
Rinse off thoroughly after you have exfoliated for 10-15 minutes. Then apply olive oil as a moisturiser and blot off any excess oil with a cloth.
Lemon tightens pores, evens out the skin tone and the sugar removes dead skin cells, cleaning the pores.
If you suffer from hyperpigmentation, turmeric is clinically proven to help. It also reduces skin irritation and wrinkles over the course of at least four weeks.
Mix one tablespoon of natural, plain yoghurt, honey and turmeric powder together and place on the face for 15 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.
Or a quick alternative is Botanics All Bright purifying face scrub exfoliator with natural AHAs, Boots, £5.49.
Neck
PEOPLE often say you can tell a woman’s age from her neck alone, so it’s a critical area to moisturise, especially as the weather cools.
DAY: Honey is an excellent humectant, which means it helps skin retain moisture without making it feel oily and offers regenerative benefits.
Mix half a tablespoon of Manuka honey with a few drops of water to form a creamy paste. Apply to your neck and leave on for 15 minutes and then rinse with warm water.
Manuka honey is packed with natural antibacterial properties to help reduce inflammation and encourage hydration.
Almonds and olive oil can offer terrific skin benefits.
The fatty acid content from the almonds can penetrate the skin, leaving it soft and supple, while olive oil contains vitamin E, which protects against free radicals that can cause imperfections such as fine lines, dullness and dehydration.
Use ground almonds or grind them yourself with a pestle and mortar and mix with one tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl.
Spread the mixture on the neck and collarbone and massage gently.
Leave for 15 minutes and then place one damp cloth on the area for a further five minutes before washing it off thoroughly.
But if that sounds like too much hard work, pick up this bargain buy, Anatomicals: That’s What We Call Stung Skin boosting honey face mask, 15ml, thefragranceshop.co.uk, £1.50.
NIGHT: Pineapple is a skincare superfood. Containing vitamin C, bromelain and antioxidants, it can help prevent and treat acne, fine lines, sun damage and uneven tone.
Rub a piece of the fruit on the entire face, neck and décolleté areas. Rinse it off after a few minutes.
Pineapple isn’t just useful topically either. Eating it will benefit you, too – in fact, some studies suggest ingesting it is just as good as using it topically.
So whether you eat pineapple or rub it in, the fruit can help enhance your skin’s glow.
But if you’d rather pick up a ready-made product, try Garnier’s Ampoule pineapple sheet mask, Wilko, £4.
Eyes
UP to 80 per cent of women suffer from eye bags or puffiness at some point in their lives.
Thankfully, your morning cup of tea can be the answer to fixing them.
DAY: The tannins in tea can help reduce puffiness and get rid of dark circles.
Soak a tea bag in warm water and place on your eyes for 20 minutes.
But if you’d rather stick to making drinks with your tea bags, another option is Simple’s Kind To Skin soothing eye balm for sensitive skin, Boots.
NIGHT: Coconut oil is a much-loved oil and is great for removing make-up. It is also delicate enough to be used as an eye cream.
Use cold-pressed coconut oil and apply it using your ring finger in a circular motion.
You can also make your own cucumber eye pads by blending half a cucumber with half a cup of water and one tablespoon of turmeric powder.
Put cotton pads into a bowl and let them soak up the cucumber water.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill the pads. Once ready, apply pads for 15 minutes to eye contour area.
Alternatively, pick up the Body Shop’s Cooling Cucumber eye sheet mask, £6.
Hands
OUR hands are the most used part of our body.
The cold weather exacerbates dryness while excessive hand washing can irritate your skin.
DAY: Avocado is packed with omega fatty acids which are great for your skin. It also contains vitamins A, D, and E as well as moisturising and healing properties.
Mash half a ripe avocado with one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil which is abundant in antioxidants.
Apply to clean, dry skin and leave the mask on for 10 to 15 minutes and then rinse off with lukewarm water.
Both ingredients help to seal cracks between skin cells and leave your hands feeling incredibly soft.
But if a DIY face mask isn’t your thing, try TonyMoly I’m Avocado nutrition sheet mask, New Look, £3.75.
NIGHT: Adored by the ancient Egyptians for smoothing skin, mix olive oil with aloe vera on a 1:1 ratio for a hand moisturiser you can use before bedtime.
Apply it on your skin and leave it for ten minutes, then wash it off with warm water.
Alternatively, pick up Babaria hand cream with olive oil, notino.co.uk, £3.50.