Here’s your ultimate winter glow up guide to get healthy, happy, and glowy this cold season.
Winter has a way of sneaking up on us.
One day, you’re still in your fall groove, and the next, you’re waking up to cold mornings, dewy air, and a craving for hot chocolate.
I know some people don’t like the cold, but for me, winter has always been the season of joy and coziness. I can’t help loving it.
But here’s the thing about winter that not enough people talk about: it’s actually the perfect season for a glow up.
No, seriously! Let me list down the reasons very quickly.
Why Winter is Perfect for a Glow-Up
- Natural reset season
- Less social pressure
- Cozy routine-building weather
- Dark evenings = more free time
- New year proximity (perfect time for a fresh start)
- Visible transformation by spring
- Less distractions
If those aren’t enough reasons to convince you to work on yourself, then how about this:
During winter, you have to deal with dry skin, low energy, and seasonal blues, which means your body and mind need more care than ever.
So if you’re ready to make this winter your season, here are 10 simple, doable ways to glow up in winter without losing your mind or your budget:
10 Winter Glow Up Tips
1. Rebuild Your Skincare Routine
Cold air is not your skin’s friend. It strips away moisture, leaves your face feeling tight and uncomfortable, and can turn even normally glowy skin dull and flaky.
You can’t use the same lightweight gel cleanser and moisturizer you used in summer. You gotta upgrade.
Switch to a gentle hydrating cleanser that won’t strip your skin of its natural oils.
Look for something creamy and soothing (not foamy and harsh). Your face shouldn’t feel squeaky clean after washing it.
Next, bring in a thick moisturizer. This is not the time to be afraid of feeling a little greasy.
Your skin needs that extra layer of protection against the cold dry air. Ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid are your best friends right now.
If your skin still feels tight after cleansing, even with a good moisturizer, add a facial oil to your routine. Just a few drops pressed into your skin after moisturizer can make a huge difference.
It seals everything in and gives you that dewy, healthy look that can be hard to achieve when the air is so dry.
2. Moisturize Everything
Your face isn’t the only part of your body that needs extra love in winter.
Your hands, your body, your lips—they’re all suffering.
The solution is simple but requires consistency: moisturize everything, all the time.
Keep body lotion next to your shower and apply it immediately after every single shower or bath. Your skin absorbs moisture better when it’s still slightly damp, so don’t wait until you’re fully dry.
Hand cream should live on your nightstand, in your bag, at your desk, basically everywhere you spend time.
Your hands go through so much in winter between the cold air and constant washing, so they need frequent hydration.
Lip balm should be in every bag you own. There’s nothing worse than having dry, cracked lips and no balm in sight. Keep backups everywhere!
3. Romanticize Your Evenings
Winter evenings start early. It gets dark at like four in the afternoon, and suddenly you have all these extra hours of darkness to fill.
Instead of scrolling mindlessly or feeling the seasonal blues creep in, romanticize your winter evenings.
Dim the harsh overhead lights, light a scented candle, and put on your fuzzy socks.
Make yourself a warm drink, pick up a book to read, or queue up a show you genuinely love (not anything random to fill the silence).
Winter is nature’s way of telling us to rest, reflect, and restore our energy. Fighting against that rhythm just makes you feel worse.
So, lean into hygge fully. Let yourself be cozy and rest without guilt.
This is how you prevent burnout and keep seasonal sadness from taking over.
4. Move Your Body (Even If It’s Indoors)
When it’s cold and dark outside, the last thing you want to do is work out.
But movement gives you a natural glow that no product can replicate.
It improves your circulation, which brings color and life to your face.
It boosts your mood and energy, and helps fight off the winter sluggishness, which means better productivity and focus.
But your workouts during winter don’t have to be hard. Just move and get your heart rate up a little bit.
You can do yoga in the living room, a 20-minute pilates video, or walk around your room while listening to a podcast.
Stretch your body every morning, follow along to a light workout on YouTube, or walk outdoors on the rare days when the weather is warmer.
This is how you maintain the glow even when the weather is trying to steal it from you.
It’s the perfect way to remind yourself that you’re alive and capable.
5. Eat Cozy But Healthy Meals
Your body needs extra support in winter, and food is one of the best ways to provide it.
When you eat well in winter, your skin will look better, your energy will be stable, and you won’t get hit as hard by the season’s heaviness.
Now, winter food can go one of two ways: you either lean into maximum comfort and end up feeling sluggish, or you try to stick to your summer salads and feel unsatisfied and cold.
But you know what the sweet spot is? Finding foods that are both comforting and nourishing!
Let me give some examples:
- Warm soups loaded with vegetables and legumes
- Roasted root vegetables with olive oil and herbs
- Oatmeal with cinnamon, nuts, and fruit
- Herbal teas with home-baked cookies
Foods like these will make you feel satisfied and cozy without leaving you in a food coma.
This is also the season to focus on immunity-boosting foods because everyone around you is getting sick.
Add garlic to everything you cook, use turmeric in your soups and curries, eat citrus fruits for vitamin C, and drink ginger tea.
You can absolutely enjoy comfort food, but make sure you’re also giving your body what it needs to thrive.
P.S.: Since we are on the topic of food, I also wanted to remind you to please drink your water in winter.
Have at least eight glasses a day, and make it slightly warm.
Just because you’re not sweating doesn’t mean you don’t still need hydration. It’s essential for your glow-up!
6. Try a Hair Revival Routine
I love nearly everything about winter, but not a fan of what it does to my hair.
The cold weather and having to wear hats and scarves—it all adds up to dry and weird hair that doesn’t look its best.
To tackle this, it’s best to stick to a good hair care routine.
A weekly hair mask becomes essential. Look for deep conditioning treatments that focus on moisture and repair.
Apply it to damp hair, leave it on while you do other things (this is a great excuse to have a longer everything shower), and rinse it out.
Your hair will feel softer and look shinier.
Oil your scalp regularly, especially if you deal with dryness or flakiness in winter (coconut oil works best for me).
Let it sit for at least thirty minutes, or overnight if you can, before washing it out. This will help with both the health of your scalp and the condition of your hair.
And yes, try to let your hair air-dry when possible.
I know it’s cold and going outside with wet hair feels miserable, but constant heat styling on top of winter dryness is a recipe for damage.
If you must use heat, always use a heat protectant first!
And when you need a visible change, get your hair trimmed to remove dead ends.
A little change to your hair can make you feel like a completely new person, and winter is the perfect time for a subtle refresh like this.
7. Journal and Reflect
Winter is the ultimate reset season. It’s literally nature’s pause button.
Everything slows down, goes dormant, and prepares for the next cycle.
To sync up your energy with the quiet of winter, start a journal (even if you’ve never been a journaler).
You can make it pretty and aesthetic, but the main goal is to have a space to process your thoughts and feelings.
Write about what you want to leave behind from this year. The habits that aren’t serving you, the thought patterns that keep you stuck, the relationships that drain you.
Getting it all out on paper helps you release it instead of carrying it into the next season.
Also, write about what you want to attract:
- What do you want more of in your life?
- What kind of person do you want to become?
- What experiences do you want to have?
- What does your ideal life look like?
This kind of reflection will give you an inner glow up that’s just as important as the outer one.
When you’re clear on who you are and where you’re going, it shows.
You carry yourself differently, make better decisions, and stop settling for less than you deserve.
8. Refresh Your Winter Style
You don’t need to buy a whole new wardrobe to glow up your style.
You just need to elevate what you already have and make better choices about how you present yourself.
Add a statement coat that makes you feel like the main character every time you put it on.
Invest in a few cozy scarves in colors that complement your skin tone.
Start wearing that gold jewelry you’ve been saving for special occasions, because getting coffee on a winter Tuesday morning is special enough!
Paint your nails every Sunday night so you feel pretty and confident going into the next week.
Keep trying new nail colors that feel wintery (like deep burgundy, chocolate brown, or a classic dark red).
When you look good, you feel good. That confidence is visible to everyone around you, and that’s the real glow up, my friend.
9. Do Small Acts of Self-Love Daily
It’s great if you can arrange a stay at a cozy cabin this winter. Luxuries like these are sure nice.
But you know what brings lasting glow up? It’s the tiny things you can afford to do every day to make yourself feel loved.
Here are some ideas, off the top of my head:
- Wear perfume even if you’re staying home all day
- Moisturize your cuticles and push them back gently
- Speak kindly to yourself when you look in the mirror instead of finding flaws
- Keep your room tidy and clean
- Make time for a hobby that genuinely makes you happy
- Put on a cute colored lip balm when your lips feel dry
- Have your morning coffee in silence
Each self-love act will boost your joy and make you want to keep your glow-up habits going.
So, pour into your self-care cup every single day, because you are the only one who can do this for yourself.
10. Prioritize Your Sleep
Winter is the perfect season to lean into more rest and more sleep. Your body asks for it and actually needs it too.
Create a winter night routine that makes you all cozy and sleepy.
First of all, turn off all screens at least thirty minutes before bed.
The blue light messes with your melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Next, make yourself a cup of herbal tea (chamomile is great for sleep) and sip it while reading in bed.
Put on a calming playlist or nature sounds, and do some light stretching or meditation.
Good sleep is the foundation of everything else on this list.
When you’re well-rested, your skin looks better, you have more energy to move your body, you make better food choices, and you’re more emotionally resilient.
Ready For Your Winter Glow Up?
Winter doesn’t have to be something you just survive.
It can be the season where everything clicks for you, and I hope this post can do that for you.
This glow-up routine will help you take care of yourself in a way that actually feels good.
It’ll also help you create habits and routines that carry you forward into the new year feeling strong, glowy, and ready for anything.
So, if you’re ready, then get started! Your winter glowy self is waiting.
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