Hot Skin Care: Ole Henriksen's Winter Skincare Tips, Great starter kits too

By April MacIntyre Dec 17, 2010, 21:08 GMT

With winter’s cold temperatures, our skin requires extra protection and comfort too. Ole Henriksen, skincare guru and founder of the OLEHENRIKSEN skincare line and the OLEHENRIKSEN Spa in Los Angeles, CA shares his tips for weatherproofing your skin against the cold winter season.

Monsters and Critics' Christmas 2010: The coolest, hottest most unique gift ideas and best new products for everyone this Christmas and Holiday season. From clothing to jewelry, spirits to skincare and everything in between, here is one of the tried and true finds for the Monsters and Critics' Best of Holiday Gift Guide for you to check out:

A hot celebrity fixture and destination here in Los Angeles is the OLEHENRIKSEN Spa, where A-Listers and average folk mingle and are pampered and buffed to perfection for any big event, or just as part of a skincare and wellness maintenance.

With winter’s cold temperatures, our skin requires extra protection and comfort too. Ole Henriksen, skincare guru and founder of the OLEHENRIKSEN skincare line and the OLEHENRIKSEN Spa in Los Angeles, CA shares his tips with Monsters and Critics for weatherproofing your skin against the cold winter season.

From Ole:

· When showering have the water temperature be pleasantly warm, but not hot. Hot water is very drying on skin. · Avoid using a body brush with sharp bristles in cold weather because it will strip your skin of its natural oils. For exfoliation, the key is to use a body scrub that thoroughly removes dead and dry skin cells, while leaving your skin feeling soft and hydrated, such as our rub n’ buff salt scrub. Apply by wetting your entire body and then turn off your water. Massage the scrub into your skin in long, soothing, yet firm motions. By avoiding any running water during the activation of the scrub, you maintain the density of the formulation, while not wasting any product by seeing it run down the drain.

· After showering, give your skin an added boost of moisture, by applying an extremely thin layer of a body oil, such as our lavender body oil, prior to applying body lotion. It will add luminosity and ensure skin remains moist and nourished around the clock.

· Your hands also require special attention in cold weather. At night, exfoliate hands with a scrub followed by an application of hand cream. It will leave your hands and cuticles feeling incredibly soft.

· When you cleanse your skin, regardless of skin type, it is very important that you use lukewarm water as opposed to hot water. That is the first step toward guarding your complexion against unnecessary dryness. Activating your cleanser with a soft, round flat vegetable sponge is a great way to gently eliminate any dead skin cells, and get circulation going. Avoid thick face clothes, since they don't glide gracefully across the face and neck, and often have a coarse texture.

· Using creams that contain higher concentrations of essential fatty acids is the best way to maintain a soft and glowing complexion in even the coldest of environments. Oils like sunflower seed, grapeseed, black currant, hazelnut, avocado, sesame, almond and wheat germ all have a high content of essential fatty acids and are known for their ability to comfort, soothe and protect skin. Fats do not freeze in cold weather, unlike water and water based extracts, so they will help maintain a velvety skin texture and prevent capillary breakage.

All OLEHENRIKSEN products are available at www.olehenriksen.com.

Recommended to try for first-timers new to Ole's skincare are his affordable All Skin Types Kits. A deluxe tote for the Normal/combination skin starter kit was what we tried out, and loved the straightforward effectiveness of each individual product.

This kit gives you a complete day and night routine for the normal to combination skin type. The products are designed to achieve optimum tightening and brightening results addressing hydration and employing anti-aging ingredients such as a high concentrate of vitamin C, alpha hydroxyl acids and anti-oxidants.

Each product feels sensational, smells wonderful & is easy to use every day. Major love for the on the go™ cleanser, this non-drying gel cleanser is loaded with vitamin C. Water activated for a rich lathering action.

Next item is the pick me up™ face tonic. This is a super gentle toner with alpha hydroxy acids, vitamin C and chamomile. Follow this for day with the herbal day creme™ Light and fluffy stuff, it protects and hydrates with sunscreen and powerful anti-oxidants. Feels great too.

Nighttime brings the bright white pure perfection® creme. This creme is heavier in that it will sit on the skin for a minute and not absorb immediately like the day creme, which is good. You can feel the work this one does as glycolic acid sets in and refinishes the skin overnight for wrinkle repair and renewal. Packed full of anti-oxidants to protect from environmental damage. Loved it.

Other products in the kit include Ole's firm action mask™ This pore refining mask uses fine clays and herbs to re-contour the skin, and gives the skin an immediate boost and lift. The walnut complexion scrub™ is a potent exfoliating, foaming scrub with ginseng that deeply cleanses pores. Densely textured, smooth gliding and energizing face scrub when you need to refine and deep clean that skin.

All the products have a citrus or herbal slight fragrance from the natural ingredients they are comprised of, and are cruelty free.

April MacIntyre is Monsters and Critics' smallscreen and people/celebrity editor who loves to visit and celebrate small American businesses when she can. You can contact her on Twitter