Winter is here and it is not relenting. With it comes icy weather, whipping winds and dry, flaky skin on your cheeks. There is something to be said for apple cheeks in the autumn, but it's not so cute in the winter when your skin feels chapped and the air feels raw. You might want to hide under a blanket, but you can't always do that through the winter months, especially if you have work to get to and responsibilities to maintain.

The good news is that with some care and attention, your skin is going to be easy to take care of in the winter, just like it is every other month of the year. You can keep your skin healthy and make it glow all winter long, so all you need to do is make sure that you are sitting comfortably and reading this article and you'll have the skin care tips that you need for that glowing healthy skin.

• Don't forget your SPF. You might have packed your spray sunscreen the last time you went on vacation, but it's just as handy in the winter when you are on the way to work as it is on the beach in Portugal. Making sure that you are using sunscreen is important even through the winter, because you're still going to have to deal with the UV rays of the sun. The sun protection factor is going to be higher even in some of the winter days, so keeping your skin protected should be your concern.

• Moisturize, moisturize and keep on moisturizing. The air is crisp and cold in the winter months and it's not so great for your skin, especially on your face that is exposed to the elements all the time. The dry air can compensate for the loss of moisture with your skin and steal it away and make sure that it's less hydrated before you go back to bed. In the evening, make sure that you are moisturizing your skin to keep it looking soft and supple and hydrated. You will seal moisture in better with an oil based moisturizer than a water based one.

• Keep a humidifier going. The dry air in the house can be just as damaging to your face and your skin as the cold winter air outside. Humidifiers work to add moisture back into the air, and that keeps your skin hydrated. It can also help you with those cold and flu symptoms so if you've got something going round in your neighborhood, you can avoid it.

• Those long, hot showers. Shorter, cooler showers should be something that you take throughout the winter months as well as summer months. Those hot showers are great for warming up, but they can leave your skin to dry very quickly. This leaves you feeling tight and uncomfortable even when you use moisturizer. Next, limit your showers to around 15 minutes and use lukewarm water instead of hot water to preserve the natural oils of your skin.

Until next time

Zoe
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For those of us with busy lives, it can be hard to find time to go to the gym or go for a jog. Commitments like work, childcare and housework can often take priority. And when we finally do get some free time, spending that free time doing a workout is often the last thing we feel like doing. 

This results in many of us not getting the amount of exercise we need. But what if exercise didn’t have to take up so much extra time from your day? By finding ways to make workouts shorter and by combining them with other everyday tasks, it may be possible to more easily slot a workout into your day. Below are 5 tips for doing this.

Embrace HIIT workouts

High intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are designed to pack a lot of exercise into a short amount of time. They’re largely cardio-focused - which means they’re great for improving heart health and burning fat. This post offers more information on the impact of HIIT workouts. 

A HIIT workout can be as short as 20 minutes. You can also carry out these workouts practically anywhere whether it be at the park or at home. This makes them a very flexible form of workout that you can easily fit around commitments.

You should aim to do 2 to 3 HIIT workouts per week in order to get results. These could be done first thing in the morning, during your lunch break or in the evening - whenever you’re able to find a spare 20 minutes. 

Turn housework into exercise

Instead of having to choose between housework and a workout, why not do both at the same time? Housework is typically quite physically active, but often not enough to truly work a sweat up. However, it can be turned into a workout by combining exercises into household chores.

A few examples of how to integrate exercise into housework include:

• Doing squats and leg raises while doing the washing up.

• Incorporating lunges while doing vacuuming - as well as going the extra mile to lift furniture and vacuum behind. 

• Putting clean laundry away HIIT-style - this could include putting away 5 items of clothes and then doing five reps of an exercise (such as squats, sit-ups or push-ups) and then repeating until you’ve put away all the laundry.

Work out while catching up on TV

It’s also possible to exercise and catch up on your favourite TV shows at the same time. This could be a way to incorporate exercise in the evening without having to leave the house.

One of the best ways to do this is to watch TV while cycling on an exercise bike. You can still give the TV your whole focus while also getting a cardio workout.

This type of exercise may not be ideal for everyone - some people may prefer to reserve watching TV as strictly a downtime activity. However, for others it could still be an effective way to blow off steam. 

Replace short drives with bike rides

Many of us use our car to run small local errands that could be easily done via a bike. By cycling these small journeys instead of taking the car, you could get a small amount of exercise into your day, and it won’t take that much more time than driving it (in some cities in rush hour you could even make your journey quicker by cycling it).

A bicycle with a basket could even enable you to go grocery shopping. You may not be able to do a whole week’s shop, but when you need to pick one or two items, a bike could be all you need. 

Get active with the family

You also shouldn’t have to choose between exercise and family time. There are many forms of exercise that you can do with your family, which could be fun at the weekend. This could include going for a family bike ride together, going swimming at the local pool, playing games at the park or even simply going on a walk together.

Got very young kids? You could consider using an infant carrier or a sling to go on walks. There are also bicycles you can buy with carriages or seats for young kids, as well as prams you can buy that are made for jogging. These could allow you to get some exercise into your day without having to ask someone to look after your little one.

Until next time

Zoe

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