War on Dehydrated Skin

Cleanse right, morning and night

I have officially declared war on dehydrated skin. Since I moved to Colorado, I’ve noticed how beautiful the people are here — inside and out. But their skin reflects the landscape: parched and punished. Joy of the active lifestyle comes at a cost here: The national rate for skin cancer is 19.7 per 100,000 people, but in our state it’s 21.9 (according to the Colorado Health Institute).

I’ll save my rant about SPF for another day, but for now let’s start with the very essence of maintaining healthy skin: hydration — and it starts with cleansing right, morning and night. Say it with me.

First of all, if I catch you washing your face with hot water, I swear…! My husband sticks his face in the scorching shower. Please don’t do this. We’re not washing a cast iron pan. If you singe the oil out of your skin, your face will be shedding snow flakes 3 hours later. Cold is best. Lukewarm if you’re weak.

Secondly, foaming cleansers are like I70 on a Sunday. Don’t do it or you’ll regret it. Like hot water they rob your skin of its natural oils. In the appalling humidity of New York, you could get away with it. But here, it’s bad news.

Lastly, “double cleanse” for double health. This means cleanse with an oil-based cleanser (I sell a great one, just saying), and then cleanse again with a water-based cleanser. The first cleanse takes the crud, makeup, and dirt, and the second cleanse smoothes and hydrates. Do this morning and night.