Check out this blog post with all my favorite clean beauty brands! For the latest on all beauty news, add yourself to my Instagram Beauty Channel or email newsletter.
——
Say goodbye to winter dry skin woes. I’m sharing my must-have Beautycounter products for dry skin that will hydrate you from head to toe.
The Countertime line is designed for dry & mature skin
Wherever you may be, you might be noticing your skin changing with the change of the seasons. Just like we often eat with the seasons (berries and fresh greens in the summer… pears, citrus, and squash galore in the winter), our bodies have varying needs at different times of the year.
With winter, we are often met with cooler, dryer temperatures, leaving our skin thirsty for moisture and hydration.
While my skin tends to be on the drier side year-round, I definitely notice changes to my skin in the cold, winter months. I turn into one of those alligator skin commercials if I don’t proactively add winter moisturizers!
It doesn’t help that we’re indoors more than ever this season and having the heat on constantly can make our skin feel parched. (Especially because I tend to sit on the floor next to the fire – literally burning the moisture off!!)
Beautycounter Products For Dry Skin
I use several of these products year-round, but they always steal the show from November through March. Here are my top recommendations of safer Beautycounter products for dry skin.
For Face
Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Cream
The shining star of the Countertime line is the supreme cream night cream. If you could only buy one thing for your face, get this! (The whole line is designed for dry skin – read my post about it here.) The night cream is thick, luxurious and has plant-based alternatives to retinol: Bakuchiol and Swiss Alpine Rose. I can still feel it on my face in the morning – a nod to how well hydrated it keeps my skin overnight.
Ingredients:
- Retinatural Complex: Bakuchiol has been shown to provide skin-care results that are comparable to retinol—without harmful side effects such as skin irritation and increased sun sensitivity—and Swiss Alpine rose boosts the skin’s antioxidant defense.
- Tetrapeptide: Helps increase skin elasticity, minimize the appearance of lines, boost visible firmness, and smooth skin surface.
- Fermented Sugars: A blend of fermented sugars helps soothe skin while helping slow the visible effects of aging by optimizing hydration for renewed skin.
When to use: Apply nightly to a clean face. I apply after my treatment product (the Countertime Radiance Serum or Overnight Resurfacing Peel).
Brightening Facial Oil
I add the brightening facial oil to my routine in the winter specifically for that extra layer of hydration. Lightweight and silky smooth, Beautycounter’s facial oil is formulated with a propriety blend of 7 natural oils to nourish skin and improve radiance. Facial oils can be used alone to boost hydration or mixed into your favorite moisturizer or foundation to give your skin a luminous glow.
When to use: I put a few drops into my hand and press it into my skin rather than rub. I use it a few times a week, after moisturizing.
Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm
This delicious-smelling, multi-tasking balm is brimming with uses and benefits. It’s one of my favorite “at the sink” cleansers because you can smooth it on with your fingertips and rinse it off (or not!) It’s a nourishing cleanser, a melting makeup-remover, and a deeply replenishing overnight mask. It also hydrates with nutrient-rich raspberry and cranberry seed oils and promotes a brighter complexion with radiance-boosting vitamin C.
When to use: a) apply to dry skin and massage into skin to melt off makeup and cleanse skin, or b) apply after cleansing and leave a thing layer on your face as an overnight mask.
Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion
This lightweight day time moisturizer sets you up for hydrated skin all day long. It offers the essential building blocks of hydration, nutrition, and oxygenation:
- Squalane: derived from olives, it draws moisture into the skin and visibly restores elasticity.
- Phytic Acid: sourced from rice, this gentle exfoliator boosts radiance and helps skin breathe for a natural-looking glow.
- Plum Oil: rich in omegas 6, 9 and vitamin E, it helps provide nutrients for vibrant, healthy-looking skin.
- Shea Butter: helps hydrate and condition skin.
Use it daily in the morning after a light cleanse and serum. Follow with SPF.
Countermatch Recovery Sleeping Cream
A great option for those with combination skin, this advanced blend of hyaluronic acid, plum oil, and tara gum creates a protective layer to help replenish hydration and revitalize skin while you sleep — so skin looks youthfully smoother, softer, and more radiant in the morning.
When to use: Apply (1-2 pumps) nightly to a clean face.
Clean Swipe Hyaluronic Lip Balm
This is the ultimate cure for dry, chapped lips formulated with hyaluronic acid, jojoba seed, and avocado seed oils, plus a blend of mango and murumuru seed butters; the nourishing formula is all kinds of creamy and conditioning, melting into lips for buttery-soft comfort that never feels greasy.
When to use: I have the translucent shade next to my bed, and I apply before I go to sleep every night.
This is new and comes in 3 tinted and one sheer color!
For Body
Body Butter
Ideal for very dry skin, this rich body butter features shea butter and mongongo oil to hydrate and nourish, plus organic sunflower oil, aloe, and chamomile to soothe and smooth. Its thick, buttery formula melts into skin and absorbs easily without feeling greasy.
When to use: Apply to skin after a shower or bath. It pairs especially well with the Sugarbuff Body Polish in Lemongrass.
Luminous Hydration Body Oil in Citrus Rosemary
Have you ever tried a body oil instead of a lotion? You might love it! The website describes this oil as so: “This silky, lightweight oil cocoons your body in nourishing hydration.” A cocoon of anything this time of year sounds heavenly! Grapeseed, argan, rosehip and passion fruit oils all work hard to lock in moisture and keep skin soft and nourished. The citrus rosemary scent is divine too.
How to use: Massage all over body until well absorbed. Use after shower or bath for best results.
Melting Body Balm
This is one of my all-time favorite products for its epic tropical scent! This rich, luxurious body balm smells like coconut and pineapple had a baby with a Monoi flower scent. It looks like a think balm, and then melts into skin as a nourishing oil. I am obsessed with this on my upper arms, which get extra dry in winter, and I get whiffs of it all day! It’s also my hand cream of choice.
When to use: Apply to clean skin after bathing. It’s great for hands, cuticles, dry elbows and cracked feet.
Softening Hand Lotion
A daily essential for happy, hydrated hands. This lightweight, moisturizing lotion features conditioning ingredients like jojoba oil and shea butter to leave hands soft and smooth. It absorbs quickly, and leaves a subtle, refreshing neroli scent.
When to use: Apply to hands after washing or whenever the need a dose of moisture!
Tips to keep your dry skin happy & hydrated this season:
Wake up to water.
Drink a glass of water upon waking (try warm water with lemon too!) Not only will water on an empty stomach hydrate you right away, it’ll also wake up your digestive system.
Continue drinking water throughout the day; if you’re feeling chilled, enjoy a cup of hot herbal tea. I often have tea when I am the coldest around 2-3pm.
Eat watery foods.
The more water you can get from your food, the more water your body will have to naturally hydrate your skin! Think cucumbers, celery, and spinach. I don’t drink as much cold water in the winter because I’m always cold myself, so food can make up some of that difference. And hot tea really helps!
Tame the long, hot showers.
It may be nice to step into a steaming shower after being outside in the cold, but hot water tends to dry out our skin even more. (Ugh!)
The hot water coupled with soap removes our protective oils leaving us dry and itchy. Hot showers plus cleansers are double trouble.
If you must make the water scalding, try not to keep it that way the whole time. Once you warm up, notch back the heat.
Avoid drying cleansers.
Harsh, drying cleansers strip your skin of its natural oils and can leave behind acids that make your skin feel tight and dry.
Even if you have oily skin, these cleansers can often do more harm than good as they tend to dry out the skin, causing it to produce even more oil to compensate.
Carol says
I’m excited to try out some of the products that were recommended and see how they work for my skin. Thanks for putting together such a helpful and comprehensive list!