Prep Your Skin for Cooler Weather and the Holiday Rush

As the air turns crisp and holiday lights start to twinkle, our calendars fill up and our skin often pays the price. Between colder temperatures, drier indoor air, and the stress (and sparkle!) of the holiday season, maintaining healthy, radiant skin can feel like one more thing on your to-do list.

The good news? With just a few simple adjustments, you can keep your skin glowing no matter how packed your schedule or how chilly the weather gets.

Here are practical, time-saving tips from our Skin Authority professionals to prep and protect your skin for winter and the holidays ahead.

1. Switch to a Richer Moisturizer

As humidity drops, your skin’s moisture barrier needs extra support. If you usually use a lightweight lotion, now’s the time to swap it for a cream-based or oil based moisturizer that locks in hydration.

Look for ingredients like baobab, avocado oil, ceramides, hyaluronate and squalane. They help strengthen your skin barrier and prevent dryness and flaking.

Pro Tip: Apply your moisturizer right after showering or washing your face, while your skin is still slightly damp. This helps trap moisture for longer-lasting hydration.

Ultra Rich Mositurizer is a luxurious botanical-rich moisturizer that helps replenish your skin's moisture barrier to protect from environmental damage, soothes irritation, and reduces dryness for a softer, more even skin tone through the colder, drier winter months. 

2. Don’t Skip Sunscreen

Even when it’s gray outside, UV rays can still cause damage, especially when reflected off snow or glass. Make sunscreen a year-round habit.

Choose a broad-spectrum SPF 50 or higher, and apply it after your morning moisturizer. Skin Authority is leading the way in toxic free moisturizing sun protection that also balances your microbiome for improved skin clarity. Your future self will thank you when you’re still glowing in those holiday photos!

SkinSuit™ 3-in-1 Moisturizer is a multitasking powerhouse that hydrates, restores, and protects in one effortless step. The silicone-free formula is packed with nature’s most potent hydrators —avocado, coconut, baobab oils, aloe, shea butter, cucumber, mango, carrot seed, green tea, blueberry, and pomegranate — to replenish and lock in essential moisture, reinforcing your skin’s natural barrier, while nurturing your skin’s microbiome, preventing inflammation, dryness, and chronic conditions. Powered with a chemical-free 17.5% zinc oxide SPF 50, it provides broad-spectrum defense against sun damage, environmental pollution, infrared light, and blue light from digital screens.

3. Gently Exfoliate to Keep Skin Smooth

Cold weather can lead to a buildup of dry, flaky skin that dulls your complexion. Exfoliating once or twice a week helps reveal brighter, softer skin — but go easy!

Opt for our Fear Free glycolic exfoliants over harsh scrubs, which can cause irritation when your skin’s already sensitive from the cold. AND there is no transepidermal water loss so you stay more hydrated!

Resurfacing Accelerator is a 15% leave-on exfoliating peel gel that helps transform your skin for a firmer, smoother, and more radiant appearance without causing dryness or irritation. Gentle enough for daily use, it exfoliates to reveal fresher, healthier-looking skin. Use it regularly during the dry winter months to help increase the absorption of your rich moisturizers and to balance your skin's pH.

4. Hydrate From the Inside Out

It’s easy to forget about internal hydration when you’re sipping hot lattes instead of cold water, but your skin still needs plenty of fluids.

Try swapping one cup of coffee for herbal tea, or infuse warm water with lemon or cucumber for a soothing, skin-loving drink. Hydration also supports elasticity and helps prevent that tight, dry feeling winter skin can bring.

Remember Vitamin D is a hormone which are nature’s skin moisturizer so add a topical dose of D3 to your routine each day to optimize skin’s natural D making ability.

D3+ Serum combines a topical dose of vitamin D with a powerful peptide complex to produce bright, luminous, and healthy-looking skin. It promotes improved skin function, replenishes proteins needed for growth, healing, and barrier protection, while reducing signs of photo-aging, environmental stress, and sun damage that may have occurred this summer.

5. Pamper With a Weekly Mask

Holiday stress? Meet your new ritual. A weekly hydrating or calming mask can help restore balance and give you a few much-needed minutes of relaxation.

Look for formulas with sulphur, eucalyptus and clays for deep hydration. Bonus: Pop on a mask while wrapping gifts or watching your favorite holiday movie.

Calming Mask is powered by 3 types of detoxifying clays, therapeutic minerals, and healing agents to exfoliate, clear pores, reduce blemishes, and minimize the appearance of redness. Relieves breakouts, soothes eczema, psoriasis and calms inflamed skin. Great to use as an all-over mask for an at-home spa experience or to spot treat any holiday stress induced breakouts.

6. Simplify Your Routine During Busy Days

Between travel, gatherings, and late nights, sticking to a full skincare routine might not always be realistic — and that’s okay.

Focus on the three essentials:

• Cleanse in the am and resurface in the pm (to remove makeup and impurities)
• Moisturize (to repair and protect)
• SPF 50 (during the day, no exceptions!)

Keeping it simple ensures your skin stays balanced even when life gets hectic.

Fan Favs Mini Collection is perfect if you're just starting your skin care journey. It includes our most popular face products in a convenient mini-size to get you on a simple, yet effective routine. Used in a daily AM/PM routine, these products will plump, tighten, brighten, smooth, and hydrate your face to a smooth, bright, and clear complexion.

7. Protect Lips and Hands

Your lips and hands are often the first to show signs of winter dryness.

• Keep a nourishing lip gloss with SPF in your bag and reapply often. SkinSuit™ Protective Lip Gloss is an advanced, sheer lip gloss that promotes soft, hydrated, and smooth lips while shielding them from harmful UV light (Broad Spectrum SPF 30), blue light from digital screens, infrared radiation from electric devices, activity-induced heat, and pollution. Enjoy the perfect blend of beauty and defense with our protective lip gloss, ensuring your lips stay nourished and protected throughout the day.
  
  
• Use hand cream after every wash , and if you’re tackling dishes or wrapping gifts, slip on a pair of cotton gloves overnight with a thick layer of our Fear Free glycolic exfoliating cream for an at-home spa moment. Illuminating Body Peel Cream dissolves rough dry skin, while smoothing and hydrating. Plus, it's fortified with vitamin D for enhanced skin immunity and full body nourishment!

8. Manage Holiday Stress (Your Skin Will Notice!)

Stress can trigger breakouts, redness, and dullness — all the things we don’t want before a family photo.

Build in small moments of calm: a walk in the cold air, a few deep breaths before bed, or a five-minute meditation while your moisturizer sinks in. Remember, healthy skin starts from within, and a peaceful mind helps it shine.

Bottom Line

Winter and the holidays can be hectic, but your skin doesn’t have to suffer. By making a few mindful adjustments, such as richer moisture, consistent sunscreen, gentle care, and a little self-kindness, you can stay glowing all season long.

So go ahead: light the candles, sip your cocoa, and show off your winter radiance.