The days are getting longer. The sun, hanging lower in the sky. Soon enough, you’re going to find yourself in the midst of another polar vortex, covering each and every square inch of skin in a desperate attempt to keep the cold air from freezing you to your very core. Before that happens, though, it’s important that you do all that is necessary to prep for the frigid weather to come—by switching out your normal grooming products for their winter-ready counterparts.
Like squirrels need to gather nuts and bears need to eat a whole bunch of stuff, or whatever, you need to revamp your product choices before your skin can comfortably hibernate through the long, cold depths of winter. (Unless, of course, you want it to look like a dry, chapped mess when it reemerges come April. In which case, by all means keep using what you’re using.) Likewise, we’ve put together a list of necessary trade-ins you can make now, before the weather really gets real and it’s too late.
Clinique for Men Maximum Hydrator, $34, macys.com
Turn Your Moisturizer Up to 11
You’re already using a moisturizer, right? Good. Unfortunately, though, with whipping winds, frigid air and “wintry mix” turning the world around you into a veritable tundra for the next few months, irritating your skin exponentially more than normal, ordinary lotion simply isn’t going to cut it. Bummer. Luckily, there’s stronger stuff out there. Formulated with the most oomph per ounce, Clinique for Men Maximum Hydrator guarantees to sooth skin even in the most brutal conditions.
Kiehls Ultimate Man Body Scrub, $15, neimanmarcus.com
Exfoliate Away the Itch
Have you ever noticed that the colder it gets, the more you find yourself scratching? Well, that’s not the wool sweater you’re wearing. No, it’s actually more likely due to things like central heat, which suck moisture out of the air, leaving your skin parched in the process. Quell the resulting itchiness by swapping out your normal bar soap for one with a heavy-duty exfoliator. Besides, well, scratching the itch, it’ll get rid of dead cells and increase blood flow to the skin, encouraging the body to repair the damage.
Aesop Elemental Facial Barrier Cream, $60, aesop.com
Upgrade Your Face Defense
Ordinarily, as long as you’re following general skin care rules, you don’t much extra for your face to look its best. But winter isn’t ordinary, and with your face being the one swath of skin truly exposed all day, you’re going to need more than just genetics and a touch of moisturizer to keep to it up. Aesop’s Elemental Barrier Cream should do the trick; it’s designed to provide your visage with a blockade against difficult weather, so you don’t immediately look a mess everytime you walk outside.
Ernest Supplies Lip Protect, $7, ernestsupplies.com
Most Popular
Never Forget Your Lip Balm
While we’re on the topic of your face, let’s focus in a bit on one part in particular: your lips. Turns out, they’ve got some of the thinnest skin on your entire body, so it’s important to keep them protected if you don’t want them cracked and painful all season long. The trouble is, if you’re anything like us, losing lip balms is basically a pastime. Which is exactly why Ernest Supplies has a monthly subscription option for their products. So that next time you lose a tube of Lip Protect, you can rest easy knowing that another is on it’s way.
Anthony Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum Sunscreen, $33, dermstore.com
Keep Up the SPF
Just because you’re not going to be lounging on the beach for the next few months, doesn’t mean than you can let your guard down when it comes to UV-protection. This is especially true in particularly snowy locales, as any skier will tell you, as the sun’s rays have a tendency bounce off brilliant white snow and give you a hearty mid-winter sunburn. Make sure that doesn’t happen by putting a little SPF into everything you use.
Actually, that’s a good rule year-round.
Related Stories for GQWinterSkincareGrooming