Skiing and Winter Family Holidays: Best Family Skincare Products

by Angelina Villa-Clarke

Harsh winds, freezing temperatures, snow, rain and ice can all play havoc with the skin’s condition whatever your age, causing it to lose essential oils, moisture and water and leaving it feeling dry, tight and irritated. Mix into that central heating and the numerous layers of clothing you need for family skiing and winter holidays, and it’s no wonder we often emerge from the darker months with less than perfect complexions.

Here’s our guide to winter wonders to combat these problems and put a spring in your family’s step again. All prices were correct at the time of going to press.

Children and Teenagers

Sensitive and tender young skins need to be well protected in harsher weather just as they do in hot climates. Ideal for babies who have patches of dryness is the new Tiddley Pom Organic Soothing Lotion (tiddley-pom.com, £8.99) with organic lavender and camomile essential oils, which can be gently applied after bathtime to ease away any irritation.

Kiwi brand Living Nature uses natural native plants of New Zealand, known for their healing properties, in all its products. Its Little Body Lotion (livingnature.com, £12.25) for babies and toddlers contains anti-microbial manuka oil and nourishing active manuka honey.

Gaia’s natural and organic skincare for babies includes hydrating baby washes, oils and lotions, all of them featuring in the travel-handy Gaia Organic Baby Starter Kit (find-me-a-gift.co.uk, £9.99).

When temperatures drop, many children experience inflamed and chapped skin. The Little Green Sheep’s Organic Baby Nappy Balm (thelittlegreensheep.co.uk, £6.95), which can be used on other sore patches on their little bodies, is a soft parabens and nasties free balm with beeswax, a natural antiseptic, coconut oil and shea butter to treat dry and flaky skin.

Cool Kids’ Lip & Cheek Protector (naturallycoolkids.com, £7.99), a must for holidays in the snow and ice, is flavour-free so little ones won’t be tempted to lick it off. If your child is prone to colds and runny noses, it also provides a protection barrier to prevent redness and sore skin from all that nose-wiping.

Yes to Blueberries Smoothing Daily Cleanser (victoriahealth.co.uk, £12.99), great for teens, uses blueberries (rich in Vitamin C) and apple (rich in antioxidants and natural AHAs) to help brighten and nourish the skin’s surface, and lemon peel to sweep away dirt. The same firm’s Yes to Carrots Body Butter (£10.99) is brilliant for very dry skin, combining the antioxidant power of beta-carotene from organic fruits and veg with minerals from the Dead Sea, as well as being rich in shea butter and vitamins A and E.

On the subject of foodie ingredients, well-known doctor brand Perricone MD has launched a new offshoot label aimed at younger skins: Super by Dr Nicholas Perricone, employing the benefits of super foods and nutrients, such as turmeric and sulforaphane found in watercress, into a range of innovative beauty treats. Its Super Hyper Hydrator Daily Moisturizer (getsuper.co.uk, £29.50) promises to keep skin looking supple, deeply hydrated and vibrant due to its coconut water and squalane – a natural oil from olives.

Lush products are also perfect for teenage skin, especially the Lush BB Seaweed Mask (lush.co.uk, £5.99), which deep cleanses and softens all skin types with its fresh seaweed, rose absolute and calming aloe vera.

Women

Dry and chapped lips can be one of the worst side-effects when the temperature drops, but Korres Lip Butter (korres.com, £6) melts on the lips and leaves them with a lovely tinted finish. The jasmine option using the healing properties of wild rose, pomegranate and guava gives lips a natural sheen. Or try Essential Care Organic Lip Silk (essential-care.co.uk, £5.50) with vitamin-rich coconut oil, calendula and orange oil. The same organic brand’s Ultra Rich (£18) is the ultimate moisturiser to winter-proof your skin, with shea butter and plant oils to give nourishing protection from the wind, rain and snow without blocking the pores.

Dove Spa’s Banquet Succulent Day Cream (dovespa.co.uk, £27.50), aimed at replenishing very dry skins with its plant oils rich in essential lipids, also contains UVA and UVB filters. Or new from Clinique is its Moisture Surge Intense (Clinique.co.uk, £30), with a gel formula brilliant for ‘thirsty’ skin, offering a ‘plumping’ effect so your complexion looks radiant and healthy. Alternatively, Korres Watercress Extra Moisturising Cream (korres.com, £19) is a great-value addition to your kit, using the water-retaining qualities of watercress to keep skin hydrated through the day.

Using concentrated formulas of active ingredients designed to rejuvenate and heal, serums are a wonderful way to make sure your skin keeps in excellent condition during the winter months. Award-winning Imedeen’s Expression Line Control Serum (imedeen.co.uk, £77.62) is pricy but claims to visibly reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with a cocktail of scientific products. Meanwhile, Australian brand Black Chicken Remedies has just launched its Love Your Face Serum (Selfridges.com, £55), following the huge success of its wonderfully scented body oil. The serum uses 11 therapeutic oils to give fuller, radiant skin.

Payot’s Nutricia Masque (payot.com, £21.50) promises ‘emergency repair’ for the driest of skins – leave on for 10 minutes and its quinoa extracts and royal jelly work to eliminate tautness and red patches. Or Gazelli’s Triple Youth Ultra Nourishing Saviour Mask (urbanretreat.co.uk, £25) makes a dried-out complexion look hydrated and luminous if you leave a thin layer on the skin twice a week.

There’s nothing like a long soak in the bath to banish the winter blues, so make sure you add something to the water that can work hard while you rest. Ahava’s Liquid Dead Sea Salt (ahava.co.uk, £16) can be used as a pre-soak exfoliator or to enrich your bath water, with a mineral-concentrated solution to detoxify and regenerate the skin.

Wonderfully old-fashioned looking E. Coudray’s Foaming Cream (roullierwhite.com, £27) with musk and freesia leaves skin delicately scented and silky to the touch. G. Baldwin’s Soothing Bath Oil (baldwins.co.uk, £7.85), meanwhile, uses the relaxing properties of lavender and camomile for the ideal wind-down soak.

After luxuriating in the tub, rehydrate with a body cream or oil. Made on Foxbury Farm in Kent, the Mitchell and Peach brand uses home-grown lavender and locally sourced honey, violet root and rose; the Body Cream (mitchellandpeach.com, £36) is indulgent and sweet-smelling. Emma Hardie’s Natural Lift and Sculpt Body Butter (feelunique.com, £49) uses citrus essential oils combined with rose and jasmine to uplift and shea butter and inca inchi oils from Peru to thoroughly moisturize limbs.

Doctor Renaud’s Peach Hydrating Body Milk (doctor-renaud.co.uk, £28) is packed with hydrating (and tasty) ingredients such as honey, pear, fig and almond extracts to leave skin supple and smooth. Caudalie’s Vine Body Butter (caudalie.com, £19) will also make your mouth water, this time with goodies sourced from the vineyard – grapeseed oil, rich in omega 6 and vitamin E, combined with Vinolevure, Caudalie’s unique formula extracted from wine yeast and used for its moisturizing properties.

A tiny amount of Shiffa’s Soothing Body Oil (urbanretreat.co.uk, £50) goes a long way – use just before bedtime and its blend of nut, fruit and flower extracts will relax the body and mind and soften skin while you sleep. Aromatherapy Associates Renew Rose Massage & Body Oil (aromatherapyassociates.com, £36) has uplifting rose absolute to leave skin silky-smooth and evening primrose to condition dehydrated skin.

For those troubled by stretch marks, scars or ageing skin, Phyta Lotion (phytacol.com, £8.99) uses rosehip oil and extract as well as vitamins A and E to help improve the appearance of skin blemishes and roughness caused by weather exposure. Or Suti Purity Organic Balm (nutribeautyproducts.com, £22) is a fantastic all-rounder ideally suited to those exposed to freezing temperatures – calendula, camomile and lavender work to cocoon skin by protecting exposed areas from environmental extremities.

Hair can also become brittle, dry and lacklustre without much sunshine. An intensive conditioning treatment, such as Alberto Balsam’s Intensive Conditioning Treatment (boots.com, £1.07) with honey and almond extracts or V05 Treat Me Right Rinse Out Conditioning Treatment (boots.com, £4.28) are cheap and easy ways to maintain shiny, healthy hair. Or Macadamia Hair Deep Repair Masque (lookfantastic.com, £23.95) combines macadamia and argan oils with teatree oil, camomile, aloe and algae extract to help rebuild damaged hair and give shine and elasticity.

Men

If you’ve overdone it on the slopes, soak in Gelspa Revive Gel Bath (boots.com, £9.99), which turns your bathwater into a luxurious thick creamy gel infused with rosemary to opens pores and deep-cleanse the skin while softening and rehydrating aching muscles.

Follow up with Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula for Men (boots.com, £2.65), a no-nonsense, masculine version of its much-loved cocoa butter cream for face and body.

Connock London Kukui Oil Wonder Balm (connocklondon.com, £18.50) is a great little portable gem to combat dry and rough skin on elbows, lips and hands, with kukui oil, monoi, cocoa butter and mango butter to deeply moisturise cracked and sore areas.

Just launched by leading men’s barber Carmelo Guastella, Melogy Shaving Oil (melogy.com, £32), light and non-greasy, is made from natural ingredients such as jojoba, evening primrose, clove and orange, 99% of them certified organic. Follow with a good moisturiser to replenish the skin and ease any irritations: Malin & Goetz Face Cream (liberty.co.uk, £55) gives an intensive boost and is suited to sensitive complexions, while Queen Sensitive Skin Oil (queen-cosmetics.com, £17.65) is gentle enough to use on dry, itchy and flaky areas caused by eczema or dermatitis.

Lastly, Phyto’s Reparative Shampoo and Express Conditioner (lookfantastic.com, £10.50 and £12) to repair weak or damaged locks are perfect for men with no time to spare for fancy treatments.