Rituals for Cold Weather

Cold weather changes the brief. The air holds less water, wind lifts the skin's own barrier faster than it can rebuild it, and the products that felt generous in August can feel thin by December. None of them changed; the conditions did.

Cleanse cooler, cleanse shorter

Hot water strips what winter is already short of. Keep rinses lukewarm at most and keep a gentle cleanser to sixty seconds on the skin. If the face feels squeaky afterwards, the cleanser has become too strong for the season.

Seal, do not pile

In winter the answer is not more layers but a better last one. Press a few drops of oil or a richer cream over serum on damp skin and the layers beneath stay where they belong. Hands, lips and the corners of the nose want the same treatment.

The body, remembered

Shins and forearms get the least oil and the most hot water in the house. A body butter on towel-dried skin within a minute of the shower does more than any treatment later in the day. Then a candle, a cold room, and an early night — the ritual takes care of the rest.