When we think about healthy skin, there’s just a glow about it. You know what we’re talking about: toned, dewy—but not greasy—glow from the inside out. Whether you’re struggling with dull, lackluster skin or maybe you just want to change up your skincare routine without adding makeup to the list, we’ve got six tips to help you achieve that dewy look you love.
It’s important to remember that a skincare routine that gives you a dewy glow may only be a couple of products and steps away, but it does take a little extra self-love in the form of time. But hey, you’re worth it! Ready to get your glow on—ok, let’s dew it!
Dewy Skin 101: Why is skin dull in winter?
Many people love that freshly tanned golden hour look after the first couple of warm summer days. It’s just one example of how the appearance of your skin can change throughout the year. The opposite of that summer glow is the dull look and feel you might experience in the winter. Why is that? The biggest factor is overall sky dryness. From forced air heat, cold and dry temps, and low humidity, winter is not always your skin’s BFF, and it’s the reason your skin may look duller in the winter.
Spoiler alert: Your routine may change throughout the year, so it’s important to revisit your routine and evaluate what works for you. The changing of the season is a great time to dew just that.
Top Tips to Make Skin Look Dewy Without Makeup
Listen up and put away your makeup kit because regardless of what season you’re in, we are sharing our top tips to make your skin look dewy and awake even when it’s cold and all you want to do is sleep in.
Create a skincare routine that’s actually about self-care.
Your skin is part of YOU. Of course, we can recommend products that will keep your skin glowing, but that inner glow really comes from you and your lifestyle. A good skincare routine offers you a time to take a pause and do something for YOU. Embrace this time for yourself.
Bonus tip: Add a bath to your weekly self-care routine for some extra R&R.
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Exfoliate to remove dead skin.
Out with the old. In with the new. When it comes to your skin, that might not always be happening. While your skin is making new cells, sometimes the old don’t shed the way you’d hoped. This is one of the main reasons your skin might look dull, especially during the drier seasons of the year. This makes exfoliation essential. When adding exfoliation to your skincare routine, start out doing it twice a week and be careful if your skin is overly dry or irritated.
Three ways we exfoliate:
- For a gentle polish, apply product to damp skin. This provides a mild exfoliation for sensitive skin as the water dissolves the sugar and salt. It’s a great place to start your exfoliation routine.
- Apply to completely dry (or toweled off) skin, using product directly on problem areas like elbows, knees, and feet. Rinse off.
- Polish like the pros! For a five-star polish, apply a layer of your favorite ZENTS Body Oil on dry (or toweled off) skin and then apply Body Polish over it. The Polish won’t dissolve on the Oil like it does with water, and this gives you a coarse polish.
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Don’t skip the moisturizer.
Ok, so you’ve got your exfoliation plan down. Next step: Add a moisturizer to achieve the dewy skin you’re looking for. As you age, your skin loses some ability to retain moisture. While staying hydrated is key to overall health, water alone won’t increase your skin’s ability to hold moisture in. When your skin sheds cells, it needs more moisture to repair itself. And areas like your face, neck, and chest are places where your body can shed cells more rapidly. If you’re noticing a theme, you’re not wrong.
Using moisturizer can help those younger skin cells do their thing. Plus, that little massage you give yourself while applying moisturizer helps to stimulate blood circulation and increase new cell growth. And hey, it feels pretty good too. We weren’t kidding when we said skincare is actually self-care.
Want to increase the power of moisturizer? Click here to shop our lotion + oil duo set →
Add oil to up your hydration game.
Speaking of moisturizing your skin, let’s talk about your stratum corneum (SC)—the outermost layer of your skin. One of its many jobs is to arrange and form a barrier to prevent transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
Simply put: When your skin looks dull, it is likely not holding as much water as it could. Adding occlusive moisturizers, like oil and unlike a humectant, can prevent evaporation of water and reduce TEWL because it, too, can help form a barrier that allows replenishment of water in your SC.
In other words, give your SC a little boost and add oil to ensure you’re keeping your skin glowing and moisturized.
Drink water.
Let’s keep this one simple: Dewy skin is really code for hydrated skin, and if you’re wondering how to make your skin look dewy without makeup, the short answer is hydrate, hydrate, and yes, you guessed it, hydrate!
Being hydrated won’t turn back the hands of time, but it will help the overall tone of your skin. If you’re dehydrated, the stratum corneum—remember, the outermost layer of your skin—won’t spring back when you push on it. Rehydrating will give your skin that bounce back effect and help to ensure you’re staying healthy.
Focus on sleep.
Sleep is essential to your mood, how you feel about yourself, and yup, your skin. Research has shown that, “at baseline, poor sleepers had significantly higher levels of TEWL.” Just another example of how a great skincare routine that gives you a dewy look without makeup is really about self-care.
Achieving the look you want and getting healthy skin doesn’t have to involve extreme measures. Putting together a lifestyle and routine that works for you is a great place to start. Whether you’re catching more Zzzs, locking in moisture with oil, or just drinking an extra glass of water each day, the power to get that dewy look without makeup can be accomplished with these easy tips.
Tried any of our tips to unlock those #glowupgoals or have more tips yourself? Click here and share them on our social media! We’re always down to up the ante when it comes to that health, hydrated, glow up game.
