During the autumn and winter months, our skin and hair are subject to the damaging effects of the elements.
Luckily we at Shepherds have over 18 years experience and have put together the perfect guide to keep your grooming game on point this autumn/winter.
1. Diet, The Elements and Winter Clothing
The cold weather is a key factor in drying out our skin and the elements can have some damaging effects on our body. During the colder months, our skin is more likely to become dry and our body can easily become dehydrated. It’s important that you are drinking a lot of water and helping your body rehydrate your skin.
Your diet is another big factor when it comes to grooming too. What you put into your body is key to how you look on the outside. The quality of the skin and the hair that grows out of your body will be healthier if your diet is better. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables, especially foods that are high in Iron and Vitamins B, C and D are great starting points to help feed your body with the essential nutrients it needs to help your skin and hair health.
A healthy shaving routine is something that should be maintained all year round, but during autumn/winter, you need to take extra care. It’s common for many of us to cover our necks with fabric (scarfs, turtlenecks etc.) when the temperature plummets. The last thing you want is for your neck to become irritated by a poor shaving routine and a fabric coming into contact with your skin before it’s had time to heal and re-hydrate.
2. The Ultimate Guide to Winter Shaving
Soften up the skin before shaving. Using pre-shave beard oil such as almond, coconut or chestnut oil will soften up the hairs and help your razor cut through more smoothly.
Make sure you are using a good quality razor that isn’t going to irritate your skin. A good quality razor used with shaving cream and a pre-shave oil will heavily reduce the likelihood of shaving burns and irritations.
Apply a high-quality moisturiser after shaving to rehydrate the skin. During autumn/winter, you may need to apply more moisturiser than usual to keep your skin hydrated.
Don’t apply cologne post-shave. Applying cologne to your face and neck area is a huge cause of skin irritation and due to the alcohol in the product, it will dry up your skin. The best place to apply cologne is on the back of your neck. The two glands on the back of your neck warm the cologne and create an aura around your body.
3. Beard Maintenance
Asides from shaving your facial hair it’s also commonplace for people to grow out their beards during the end of the year. If you are looking to maintain your beard then we recommend that you use beard oil and that you use a beard shampoo to clean your beard. Combing your beard regularly will also untangle any hairs and remove dry pieces of dead skin.
4. Skincare
Exfoliating more than 2-3 times a week is also a big factor that can damage your skin. It’s common for people to over-exfoliate during autumn/winter to fight against the dead skin. If you exfoliate more than 2-3 times a week then you are actually removing live skin cells from your body and can damage your skin. If your skin is dry then you need to use a good quality moisturiser and rehydrate your skin through your diet.
Moisturising is something that should be done more regularly during the colder months. We recommend that you moisturise every day and using this with night oil before bed is a great way to rehydrate your skin whilst you are sleeping.
5. Exercise
As a society, we are less likely to exercise during the later stages of the year. It’s easy to understand that with the dark nights people are less likely to run and office parties can easily steer us away from the gym.
That being said, exercising is essential to the health of your skin. Besides the obvious health benefits of exercise, the sweat that you generate through exercise cleans out the pores in your skin and keeps it healthy. By not exercising sweat can begin to build up underneath your skin and develop into spots.
6. Product Selection
Selecting the perfect product and knowing what goes into your grooming products should be a priority. Most people check what goes into their food and read the back of food packaging, but not many people do the same with grooming products.
It’s important you do your research to find out what products are best for your skin and hair. At Shepherds, we have created high-quality products and list all the ingredients used in them (along with the best ways to apply them) on their product pages.
7. Visit Your Barbers
The recommended time to visit your barbers is every 2-3 weeks for a beard trim or every 4-6 weeks to have your haircut. At Shepherds we don’t just offer you the standard service, we are here to find out more about your lifestyle, the products you use and how you can go away from your appointment and maintain a healthy grooming routine.
Everyone has a different lifestyle, a different type of hair and a different type of skin, so it’s important to find a routine that’s right for you. The advice given in this article is general advice to get you started on improving your grooming game this autumn/winter. We are happy to build upon this and offer personalised advice and information to help you develop the best grooming routine right for you.
