It seems to be the time of year for everyone to have either a touch of cold or a full blown case of flu. I’ve been suffering myself this week and I have even had to take time off work and a lot of my colleagues are ill. My skin completely changes when I have a cold or flu so wanted to share my skincare saviours for cold or flu impacted skin.
Hydrate
You need to keep hydrated, this goes for your entire body, inside and out. Make sure you’re consuming more water than usual to flush out all your germs and to hydrate your skin.
Moisturising Cleanser
Make sure your skincare isn’t too drying, my skin feels particularly dry when I’m sick with the flu and the last thing I want to do is put anything drying on my skin. I use a moisturising cleanser such as Lush’s Ultrabland (full review here). This thoroughly removes my makeup without drying my skin out, leaving it feeling moisturised and hydrated. When I’m ill I don’t wear makeup if I can help it, therefore I use Ultrabland to give my skin a thorough clean and a little bit of a treat too.
Gentle Toner
I’m not a massive advocate of toner’s, but I do love to use The Body Shops Aloe Vera Calming toner. I sometimes find I can’t remove all of the Ultrabland with water alone – I use a face cloth, but when my nose and lips are sore from constant blowing, the last thing I want to do is rub it. I there use a small amount of this toner on a cotton pace and sweep it over my face.
Serum
You really need to up the anti with your skincare when you’re sick, so make sure you’re layering the moisture. I’ve been using Aesop’s Parsley Seed serum recently, it’s not too heavy and instantly absorbed into my skin, I also love the packaging.
Moisturiser
I really hate using moisturiser when I’ve got a cold or the flu, this probably sounds ridiculous, but when your nose and lips are red raw from blowing your nose constantly, it stings so much!!!! I decided to be brave today and slather some on. I decided to use The Body Shop Vitamin E sorbet. This moisturiser is unlike anything I’ve used before, in that it is cooling on the skin. This is great after the gym, but I’m so pleased I used it on my raw skin today as it felt amazing. No stinging either!
Lip Balm
If you have a blocked nose, chances are you will spend your nights looking like your catching flies, and by morning your lips will be dried out and cracked. I woke up with blood all over my teeth as my lips had split during my sleep!! Make sure you’re keeping your lips moisturised, using a good quality lip balm. I currently look like I’ve had semi-permanent lip liner as my lips are red raw around the edge of my lips – not attractive! I recommend Lip Repair by Skin Chemist London.
Don’t Scrimp on Tissues!
There is nothing worse than using cheap tissues or toilet roll on your nose when you’re absolutely loaded. I’ve been using Kleenex all week but my face was so sore today that I’ve bought Balsam Kleenex. A little more expensive, but definitely worth it!
Do any of you have any tips for skincare whilst ill?
Lauren xx