As we near those cherished, final days of summer, the sniffles prepare to make their seasonal debut! With the stuffy noses, scratchy throats, fevers and bodily fatigue that often accompany a cold or flu, taking proper care of skin becomes ever more challenging. When we’re sick, our body’s responses and mechanisms change. Indeed, there steps that need to be taken to ensure that skin stays healthy and glowing while we’re feeling ill.
Read on to discover our team’s favorite tips to avoid dehydrated, flaky, spotty, and flushed skin during cold and flu season.
1. Use a Humidifier While Asleep
The decongestants we use while we’re sick are known to dehydrate the skin, leaving it looking parched, dull, and dry. Sleeping with a humidifier on at night keeps the air in the room moist, allowing skin to better fight dehydration.
2. Moisturize Your Nose
The red and irritated skin around the nose that stems from the ceaseless blowing, wiping, and sniffling runny nose is often one of the least pleasant parts of being sick. To combat this, apply a soothing moisturizer or cream for dry skin repair and comfort. Look for creams and moisturizers containing jojoba oil, shea butter, safflower oil, squalane, and sweet almond oil. Ingredients like these are rich in lipids and ceramides – helping to rebuild and repair the skin’s moisture barrier that suffers while sick.
3. Sheet Mask Therapy
A glowing and healthy look is dependent upon proper hydration and moisture levels in skin. When fighting a cold or the flu, keeping your skin as hydrated as possible is crucial as you lose more fluid than you normally do. One of our favorite ways to hydrate while sick is to apply a cold sheet mask. Relaxing, reviving, and refreshing – everything you (and your skin!) need when trying to recover from a cold.
4. Mint Products
While your body fights infection, skin often looks pale and lusterless. Fortunately, mint products have the ability to stimulate blood flow beneath the skin’s surface, giving skin a much needed boost. Additionally, a minty aroma can ease breathing by cooling and liberating stuffy nasal passages! Look for products containing peppermint essential oil or make your own DIY products with peppermint oil!
5. Eucalyptus Oil
Nothing freshens you up while you’re sick quite like a steaming hot shower. One of our favorite sick day tips is to apply a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil to the shower to decongest, clear your head, and help improve respiratory comfort. Make sure to reach for the moisturizer after you hop out of the shower to help skin retain hydration. Look for creams with hyaluronic acid to effectively replenish skin moisture.
6. SPF
Being sick doesn’t mean you should skip SPF application. Combining irritated dry and flaky skin with a lack of sun protection is just like asking for lasting skin damage. Look for a hydrating sunscreen to guard skin and nourish it back to health.
7. Drink a lot of Water
This blog post wouldn’t be complete without the age-old health tip: “drink lots of fluids!” Your water intake has more to do with keeping your body healthy rather than your skin hydrated. Drinking water helps your body flush out toxins and keep your body temperature at bay!
