Tag: korean bath mitt

beauty

Winterproof Your Skin

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Friends, if you start on a routine TODAY, you will be buttery-soft by Christmas – I promise!

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If you start taking care of your skin, you’ll be softer than these munchkins (courtesy of Daily Monitor)

With the air steadily getting colder and drier, I’ve been getting back into my winter skin routine, which involves shielding myself from the elements, heavier moisture and more intense exfoliation. It’s funny – the skin on my face is combination/oily, so I tend to stick with water-based, oil free facial moisturizers. But the skin below my chin is so dry: I could rub down in vegetable oil and it would be just fine LOL!

This time of year, I’m focused on exfoliation and hydration because these are a surefire way to get soft skin. The trick to exfoliation is to *carefully* double up, using both mechanical (body scrubs, body brushes and exfoliating mitts) and chemical (acids that remove dull, dry skin) products. I use a body scrub once a day, and a mild chemical exfoliant twice a day. I like both Shea Moisture’s body scrubs as well as St. Ives. I find that Shea Moisture’s products have finer, grainier scrubs that really buff away dull skin, but St. Ives is less expensive and not as grainy.


In place of the scrubs, I occasionally use my Korean bath mitts (I’ve written about them previously). But if I use the mitts, I  avoid using the scrubs for at least 3 days afterward. The mitts do a great job of getting rid of dry skin.

As far as chemical exfoliants go, I rely heavily on AmLactin. The lotion is gentle enough for daily use but extremely effective. I use it twice a day on all of the skin below my chin, and it has every inch of me feeling soft and supple. This one is a two-for-one: it exfoliates and moisturizes simultaneously.

I pay careful attention to my skin when using exfoliants. If I feel a bit sensitive (that sometimes occurs with the skin on my chest and upper arms), I’ll either skip my scrub or my AmLactin. I also apply an additional layer of AmLactin to my feet right before bed, because the skin on my feet isn’t as sensitive as the rest of my body. I recommend that you pay careful attention to how your skin reacts and adjust accordingly.

Those are the products I use for soft skin all winter long! Do you have any product recommendations? Please let me know in the comments below!

beauty · international

Review: Korean Bath Mitts

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Let me tell you all: I *will* be enjoying baby soft skin this winter. Of course, that’s my decree every year. But this year, I have a new tool in my arsenal:

I ordered these Korean bath mitts from Amazon and was kind of confused over how to use them. Fortunately, the customer reviews were invaluable: kudos to the reviewers that gave tips on using these.

Here’s the short version of how to best use these:

  • Don’t use these on your face! They’re far too abrasive for the delicate skin on your face. I’ll admit: I tried these on my face initially, because the photo on the package depicts a woman using it on hers. My skin behaved just fine and yes, my skin even looked better after using this twice a week. But, I noted that my skin felt more sensitive – not uncomfortably so, but it was noticeable – so I stopped. The reviewers on Amazon advise against using this on the face, and I’ll second that recommendation.
  • These shrink up – a lot. The smaller size makes for a snug fit on the hand, so just expect the shrinkage and you’ll be fine.
  • The best way to use these is to soak in a tub for ten minutes, then rub the skin with the mitt while wet. That removed the dead skin gently and effectively.

I’m enjoying these mitts, even though I was surprised by the shrinkage and used them on my face when I shouldn’t have! I tried using them the recommended way and I loved how soft my skin felt, as well as how my skin responded to moisturizers afterward. I’ll be purchasing more and keeping these in rotation during the months to come!