By Kim Putens

The holidays are over and the winter blues have set in.  You looked fabulous getting through the holiday parties, the trips to see Santa, and the late-night shopping adventures, but the hectic schedule and craziness have left you feeling blah.  So, here’s how to survive the winter blues and look good doing it.

Take care of your skin.  When your skin looks great, your makeup looks even better.  During these cold, drab winter months, it’s easy for our skin to start looking dull and lifeless.  A couple of ideas to jumpstart the appearance of your skin – apply a mask, experience a deep exfoliation, and apply a richer moisturizer.   Try a mask that has rejuvenating properties.  Masks that rejuvenate the skin work to exfoliate off dead skin and bring back its natural glow.  These masks specifically get the blood flowing to the surface so that the skin looks youthful and glowing.  A deep exfoliation will get rid of the layers of dull dry skin that have accumulated as a natural winter blanket on the skin.  Most over the counter physical exfoliants – the granular ones – will do the trick.  Chemical exfoliants with glycolic acid are also very effective.  Finally, make sure to apply a richer moisturizer than usual.  These winter months are incredibly dry and impact the skin’s natural moisture levels.  Using a proper moisturizer is important in providing relief and in diminishing the look of dry, aging skin.

Take care of your hair.   For many of us, our mood and how we approach the day is dependent upon the way our hair looks.  Frizzy hair, split ends, and lifeless locks are consequences of the dry winter months.  Frizzy locks are very common.  There are many ways to help the hairs lay flat.  Try a deep conditioning mask once a week or once a month, depending upon how frizzy the hair.  Apply to the hair, wrap in a towel, and allow the hair to marinate in the conditioner.  Rinse and let air dry to give your hair a break from the heat of a blow dryer.  On a daily basis, use leave in conditioners and de-frizzing styling products on the hair before heat styling.   To combat split ends, get your coif trimmed frequently.  Lifeless locks can be revived with a change in routine.  Try a clarifying shampoo once a week to combat build up caused by using lots of hair products such as hair sprays, styling aids, and heavy conditioners.

Take care of your nails.  With all the worries over flu season and winter colds, we tend to wash our hands more often in the winter months.  This causes our hands to become dry and our nails brittle.  Give your hands a treatment to keep them looking youthful and your nails healthy.  Once a week, apply an extra deep moisturizer to your hands and wrap them in socks overnight.  The next morning, your hands will feel smooth and be less dry and cracked.  It will also help to improve the look of your nails as the moisturizer penetrates to make them less brittle and prone to breakage.  For added protection and help, apply a cuticle moisturizer over the entire nail bed and cuticle area.  Finally, keep nails trim and deal with breakage immediately by filing with an emery board to prevent further breakage.

Take care of your feet.  Feet constrained in high heels and fancy shoes during the holiday season are in need of a respite.  Nurture your tootsies with foot soaks, foot scrubs and foot moisturizers.  Once a week, give your feet the soak they deserve.  Look for foot soaks with moisturizing ingredients and soak them often.  After the soak and while your feet are softer, use a foot file to scrub off the dead skin.   Finally, apply a deep moisturizer to keep the feet feeling soft and smooth.  As with your hands, try applying a deeply moisturizing foot cream and stuff your feet into socks overnight.  The heat of the socks reacts with the moisturizer to make them softer and more hydrated the next day.  Trying doing this once a week or as needed.