Skincare is a full-time, year-round job. It is essential and ever more vital during the winter months when dry air has a field day on your skin. As temperatures drop, your skin struggles to retain moisture, and the effects of winter are more visibly noticeable on darker skin tones. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, darker skin tones are more prone to dryness, itchiness, inflammation, and other seasonal conditions. Scratching due to these can lead to hyperpigmentation, which lasts a lot longer in darker skin in comparison to lighter skin.

While stocking up on moisturizers and cleansers is a start, so is reaching out to your kitchen for remedies that are just as effective and inexpensive. Adding a DIY mask to your otherwise skincare routine will help keep winter skin problems at bay. Read on to find out which products to invest in, and what DIYs you can cook up for your melanin-rich skin.

Natural Organic Skincare Products

As of late, skincare brands and consumers alike are more mindful of what we put on our skin. This has given rise to many organic skincare lines opening up. A promising, Black-owned natural skincare brand for women of color is Kaike.

Founded in 2015 by Keli Smith in the suburbs of Chicago, KAIKE (pronounced ‘cake’) is a fun, plant-based skincare brand that believes in celebrating skin. The brand’s collection offers a spectrum of multipurpose hair and body balms, cleansing oils, and exfoliating body scrubs. And, the products have a light, yet sweet fragrance. Like a #pieceofKAIKE but for your face! The brand is vegan, cruelty-free, all-natural, and free of preservatives. Their bestsellers include:

  • The Sugar Scrub is a gentle exfoliator. It nourishes to help smooth and soften skin. According to a licensed aesthetician, Niecey Duncan, “People tend to over-exfoliate during the winter, to rid their skin of flakiness.” Darker skin is very vulnerable to exfoliation. Using a gentle exfoliator and keeping it to once per week during winter will show beneficial results. With Kaike’s Sugar Scrub, a little goes a long way. Incorporated with rich oils like coconut and avocado, the skin feels smooth and well cared for.
  • Frosting is Kaike’s first-ever product and a dream to apply on your freshly showered skin. This multipurpose moisturizer melts like butter on your skin. By multipurpose, we mean you can also use it to nourish your hair. This is incredibly hydrating and a winter favorite among women of color as gushed about by influencer AishaBEAU. Its rich ingredients like mango butter and coconut oil lock in moisture while vanilla oleoresin and apricot kernel oil help combat free radicals. The deep penetration into the skin helps lock in moisture and keeps skin conditions like eczema at bay. Its ingredients are incredibly versatile and can also help act as a healing balm for burns, rashes, scrapes, and insect bites.
  • Melt Oil Cleanser is your skins best friend this winter. Composed of a blend of powerful anti-oxidant oils like grapeseed, apricot kernel, hemp seed, and castor, it cleanses the skin and removes makeup and dirt. It effectively hydrates, nourishes, and repairs the skin. Women with oily skin types often forgo using this, thinking it will further aggravate their skin, but that is far from the truth! One of the reasons why our skin overproduces oil is that it is scorched and needs a boost of hydration. Melt has the perfect blend of beautifying oils that eliminates hyperpigmentation and sets our oil balance back to normal.

In short, although the beauty market is saturated, given this brand’s commitment to using cruelty-free, all-natural ingredients, they are definitely a must-try!

DIY Skincare Masks

Masks are the best way to perk up dead, ashy looking skin. Most masks are multipurpose. Not only do they hydrate, but they also cleanse, nourish, and repair skin. Masks and moisturizers go hand in hand. Always follow a mask pack with a generous application of a hydrating moisturizer. Below are some masks that will lock in moisture during the dry winter months:

Aloe Vera and Almond or Sesame Seed Oil

Have a layer of dead skin on your face? Look no further than your garden. Yes, you guessed it—Aloe Vera, the succulent that speaks the language of your skin (Bayer College Of Medicine: Using Aloe Vera Has Multiple Benefits).

Combine one tablespoon of its gooey goodness with 8-10 drops of sesame seed oil. Leave on overnight. Wash in the morning to see a clear, soft, and well-nourished face. #IWokeUpLikeThis never looked better.

Cocoa Butter and Olive Oil

Cocoa butter is a great friend to dark and light skin tones alike. A little of this goes a long way. Mix a spoonful of each: cocoa butter and olive oil and a ½ teaspoon of ginger paste. The ginger acts as an astringent, and helps remove stubborn dirt stuck in pores. Apply for 20 minutes, and remove with a towel soaked in lukewarm water. Say, “hello” to hydrated, clean skin!

Greek Yogurt Mask

With three simple ingredients, this mask is like a glass of water to your skin. What you need is two tablespoons of Greek yogurt, one egg yolk, and a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Start by whipping up the egg yolk. Fold in the Greek yogurt, and lastly, add the olive oil. Apply to face for 5 minutes, remove with a warm washcloth, and feel a difference with just one application.

Avocado and Banana Mask

This mask is a lifesaver for dry skin in desperate need of a hydration boost. Take ½ of each fruit and mash the ingredients together with a tablespoon of honey. Honey’s anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties will help fight infections while the fruits hydrate and repair your damaged skin. Let your mask sit for 10 minutes, remove it with a warm washcloth and follow it up with your favorite moisturizer.

Bottom Line

With the weather turning chilly, the harsh winter months are just around the corner. As such,  your skin can use all the extra hydration it can get–whether it’s from commercial all-natural products like Kaike, or from ingredients found in the comfort of your home.

To all melanated beauties, no doubt your high melanin content provides you with an added boost of protection against the sun. Nonetheless, it does not mean you forgo a good skincare regiment. Setting up a good skincare routine with cleansing, exfoliation, and moisturizing is all you need to combat the dry weather (Medical News: Black skincare: The top 5 tips).

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