Winter Skincare Special
Strategies from the experts
This is time of year when—at least in most of Europe and the United States—every part of our body is covered up except for one: our faces. And while consistent cold weather isn’t terrible for our skin, my expert friends in the industry tell me that changing between hot and cold environments — as we do all the time in winter — wreaks havoc on our complexions.
In my friend Michael Haar’s barbershop, this is the time of year that he starts to see some customers coming in with “visibly drier skin, and red patchiness along their face and the borders of their nose.” Larissa Thomson, who runs a beauty store/spa, sees people coming in with “excessively dry skin.” And given that this season’s sudden drop in humidity makes our skin “cracked, irritated, and dry,” in the words of my dermatologist Lance Brown, he also gets an increase in patients asking what they need to do. To get us through the winter season looking and feeling good, I asked some of my favorite experts for their advice.
Personally, I’m a big believer in using all kinds of facial products — as Yolanda discovered when she recently relocated her stash without realizing I’d been using most of it — but the good news is that it turns out that rather than needing to buy a whole bunch of new things, the general wisdom seems to be that using the right two or three products, and adopting plenty of other habits that don’t cost a thing, is all you need.
Before we get started, thanks to my panel:
Lance H. Brown, M.D.
Lance is my dermatologist — I get great care at his private practice, and he’s also on the faculty at NYU’s School of Medicine, and a leading specialist in skin cancer detection.
Michael Haar
Michael (@mikewillcutyou) owns the excellent Haar & Co. Barbershop in the West Village.
Roberto Polidori
Roberto operates the Genco barbershop in Rome — its history dates back to 1597 (yes, you read that right) and the business counts Caravaggio as an early client.
Larissa Thomson
Larissa is the founder of clean beauty retailer ONDA (a great store and the best spa in Tribeca) who chooses everything they stock herself after an exhaustive evaluation process.
Patrick Kidd
Based in Sydney, Patrick (@patrickkidd), a former barber and electrician, is now the creator and owner of Patricks, a line of high-performance grooming products that just seem to keep attracting new investors and attention.