Favourite winter must-haves!

My winter must-haves

One word springs to mind, DRY! Whether it's your hands, face, legs, feet or even hair! 

What do I use to keep myself feeling great and moisturised during the winter months?

                                                  All over body moisturiser:
                                                                Palmer's Cocoa butter! 
This stuff is amazing for my skin. You can use it all over (apart from the face as it's quite thick) it's good for moisturising very dry areas such as knees, feet and elbows! It smells really good, but if you don't like a strong smelling lotion then you can get a fragrance free version! It doesn't sink in SO quickly that it fails to provide you with the moisture you need, but it also doesn't linger too long on the skin! Just give it a couple of minutes to dry before putting jeans/any tight clothes on :) I put this on after showering to prevent my skin drying out!

                                             Facial moisturisers/routine

Clinique dramatically different moisturising lotion*
This is one of my daily essentials, I use it as part of my 3-step skincare regime. *I use the lotion because I have dry combination skin, if you have oily skin, then it is recommended that you use the Gel. If I don't moisturise, then my skin becomes flaky and red, and blemishes occur. 

 E45 Cream

I use this in place of my Clinique moisturiser if my skin is extremely flaky and dry during the winter months! It's really handy to carry around, you can also use it as a general lotion for your hands, feet, legs etc :) (plus it's really cheap!)

      

Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream

I've just discovered this product, thanks to recommendations from @sharan23 & @becomingfab (twitter) I've only used it a few times, but the results have been amazing already! It really does buff away the dead skin cells, revealing fresh new skin. Plus, as it's a cream, it leaves you feeling moisturised and not tight like some exfoliators!

(full review coming soon)

                                           Hand & nail lotion

Soap & Glory Hand Food

This product is great to carry in your handbag, so you can use it whenever you feel your hands getting chapped! This product has that great Soap & Glory smell, and I just feel great using it! (sometimes use it on my feet too, if I have no Cocoa Butter to hand!)

So there you are, some of my favourite winter skincare products! I will be doing a Lipcare review soon, as I have a few products in that area to talk about :)

Thank you for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment!

Below, a list of places you can buy these products 

& average prices!

• Palmer's Cocoa Butter (around £3.49) Boots, Superdrug, Bodycare
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion (RRP £15-£27 various sizes) Boots, Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser
• E45 Cream (round £2) Boots, Superdrug, Bodycare, most Supermarkets
• Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream (£16.50) Boots, Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser
• Soap & Glory Hand Food (£2.30-£4.75 50/125ml) Boots

T-Gel Shampoo for dry hair: Does it work?

T-Gel Shampoo for dry hair: review


Do you have a dry, itching, flaking scalp? Well let me tell you, this product could be what you're looking for! 


Why did I try T-Gel?


Since I was put on very strong Acne medication (age 12) I have had terribly dry skin on my scalp (a side effect of the drug). At the time, the Dermatologist supplied me with Nizoral, a powerful (but pretty pink coloured!) psoriasis treatment for the scalp. Nizoral retails for about £7 (around the cost of a prescription, UK).  While this product is good, it can't be used daily, and this is what I need to keep my scalp under control.


Now that my acne is under control (I still get flare ups now and again) my scalp has improved, however I still need to have that dandruff shampoo handy, just to keep it at bay. I have tried T-Gel shampoos before, and the main turn off is the AWFUL SMELL! If you have ever tried T-Gel then you'll know what I mean! This meant that I stopped using the product, and inevitably my dry itching scalp returned......


What makes the T-Gel for Dry hair different?


So now that I'd stopped using the regular T-Gel, what could I do? I was looking around the specialist shampoo section in Boots, and came across the T-Gel for Dry Hair. It claimed to do the same as their other shampoos, but be milder and more nourishing for your hair. It does just this! The clear colour  suggests that there wouldn't be that awful smell, and yay, it has no trademark T-Gel whiff! This product is great for clearing your scalp, and you can even use it daily because it's not as harsh as their other products. It removes the flakes and excess oil gently and leaves my hair looking silky.


How do I use my T-Gel for Dry Hair?


I use my T-Gel Shampoo for Dry Hair, whenever I feel my scalp getting that little bit flaky (especially in the cold weather). At the moment, my daily shampoo is Tresemme moisture (I will be doing a review on this product) and I feel that these work great together! My routine:


1. wet hair, use a 50p sized amount and lather in to hair
2. massage in to scalp to dislodge any flakes
3. rinse well (repeat if necessary, I find once is enough)
4. follow with conditioner (I like Herbal essences 'beautiful ends')

I am glad I've found something which I can 

keep in my bathroom, in case of a flaky, itchy scalp! 

Pro's:                                                                    Con's:

- nourishes hair whilst clearing the scalp              - I can't think of any con's!

- price (around £4)

- no smell (yay!)

- suitable for daily use

                          Alternatives?

These alternative products are by no means inferior to the T-Gel I have just reviewed, but they just have more disadvantages than T-Gel for Dry Hair, in my opinion :) If you don't mind spending that extra money, then I would say that Nizoral is a good option. Also, if you don't mind strong smelling products, then I would go for regular T-Gel, which is really good too! I just prefer T-Gel for Dry Hair, because it's slightly cheaper and has no smell :)

       I hope that this review has been of some help, feel free to leave any comments regarding the product or your own experiences!