I’m just getting over the first cold I’ve had in years, and I have to say that my skin didn’t handle it well. Three days of decongestants, nose blowing and feeling tearful left my skin in a bad state. It was dehydrated, dry and chapped in a few places. Time for a bit of TLC.
The skin around my nose was raw and peeling, despite my use of ‘luxury’ tissues, so needed something to soothe and repair. For this, I used Mama Mio Keep Calm nipple balm, £12. Patted onto irritated skin, it immediately soothes, moisturises, and prevents further peeling. It also acts as barrier to protect skin from additional irritation and damage. It’s all-natural, unscented, and works extremely well on chapped skin and lips. I’m never without a tube in the medicine cabinet.
As expected, the skin on my eyelids flared up and became quite scaly and uncomfortable. To get it back under control, I slathered both lids in DHC Concentrated Eye Cream, £27.90. This lovely, light-but-effective cream contains olive oil and squalane to combat dryness. It also contains a humectants in the form of glycerine and hyaluronic acid to pull moisture to the skin and hold it there. Ginseng, cucumber, and horse chestnut extract help to soothe irritation and calm inflamed skin.
The last product I used to help with skin recovery is an old favourite that I’d drifted away from over the last year or so. I recently discovered a new way to use it that worked extremely well for adding moisture back into my dull, grey, dehydrated complexion. It’s such a success that I’ve added this method to my daily skincare routine.
I’ve sung the praises of Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Moisturising Lotion before. It can be a bit difficult to get hold of in the UK, but you can buy it on Amazon if you don’t mind waiting a few weeks for it to arrive.
It’s best to use this product immediately after cleansing while the skin is still damp. The idea is to add hydration back to the skin quickly once it’s been depleted by the cleansing process. To do this, pour an amount about the size of a 20p piece into the palm of your hand and then gently pat it into the skin. Wait about 60 seconds and then do it again. At the height of my illness, I repeated this process up to seven times, and it made a huge difference to my skin. Despite the fact I was quite unwell, my skin looked healthy and plumped.
Fig and Pen 