By and large, my skin is pretty balanced and predictable. But the most predictable thing about it? That if Bay Area winter conditions seesaw between warm and cold and humid and dry, it will become hypersensitive and result in mild patches of eczema, with lots of redness and dryness as an added bonus.
If you’re in the same boat, here are a few favorites that are my tried and trues. Trilogy’s Ultra Hydrating Face Cream is thick, creamy, with a slight scent of manuka honey, and can stop dryness in its tracks. Shockingly, it also dries matte. If you want something built for dry and highly sensitized skin, I’ve also been known to rely on Avène’s excellent Tolérance series, which is super benign but still feels luxurious.
But for skin that is plain pissed off, I swear by Gladskin. I discovered their eczema cream when Violet had a gnarly case of it as an infant. After months of trying, it was the ONLY thing that solved it. Not prescriptions, not Aquaphor, not petroleum jelly. It’s like putting spackle on your face it’s so thick, but give it a minute—it does soak in. And besides being incredibly hydrating, it includes what I like to think of as a “skincare probiotic” to heal the skin barrier and make your skin less sensitive to irritants that cause the redness and eczema in the first place. Joe is also eczema prone (it’s clearly genetic!), and is now a Gladskin faithful. We also really like their Redness Relief cream, which is geared towards rosacea.
These aren’t year round products for us, for sure—they serve a very specific purpose when your skin is having a 9-1-1 sensitivity moment. Too heavy in warm weather, I find having a fresh one of each ready in early winter is the ticket. But as we wait for spring, if you’re in the midst of angry late winter skin, give ’em a try. They’ll have you sittin’ pretty well before summer.
