With a record-breaking winter, our weary skin suffer. Hopping back and forth between freezing temperature outdoors and then turning the heat up indoors can take a toll on your foxy face. Below are my favorite home remedies to combat even the driest and most lackluster skin.

Have you ever wondered why your luxurious skincare products aren't working? This may be because you're simply applying your products on the surface and they're not absorbing deep enough for optimum effect. You must open up your pores so your skin can receive and retain the ingredients. 

An easy way to fix this is by steaming up before soaking in. After boiling some water in a small pot, take it off the stove, and stoop over it with your face directly over the steam while closing your eyes and stirring it regularly with a wooden spoon. You may even cover your head and pot with a large throw for a better purifying sauna experience. Add drops of essential oils for a therapeutic steam.  Do this with care as the water and pot are burning hot! After 10-15 minutes, cleanse, dry off, and apply your favorite toner and moisturizer.

Increase product penetration by exfoliating with a good gentle scrub during the winter that doesn't dry out your skin. Blend white or brown (I prefer brown) sugar and olive oil and you'll be able to slough off dull dead skin that prevents you from absorbing important ingredients. Add a few drops of lemon or a dash of turmeric powder for a healthy glow. 

While it's essential to open up your pores to absorb your favorite skincare products, it's also critical for clear skin to tighten up the pores and avoid impurities and enhance smoothness. The best pore tightening mask is a blend of original yogurt and lemon juice. This ridiculously simple mask will have your skin tight and glowing after 10 minutes. It even reduces the appearance of dark spots. 

One of a girl's best friends is green tea! Besides providing a busy gal with needed caffeine, it can be a perfect rejuvenating mask with antioxidants. Green tea has the ability to improve and enhance. Seep a small handful of green tea leaves, wait 10 minutes for it to cool down, and soak the tea up with a thin towel or cheese cloth and rest it on your face. This works best when you lie down for at least 15 minutes to allow the skin to soak up the hydrating mask. Feel free to dip the towel back in the tea a couple times to re-wet for a good full soak. Do this after cleansing and before applying your moisturizer.

Another miracle regiment is the cucumber mask. Cucumber is universally known for its cooling and hydrating effect. If you have a juicer, juice 2 cucumbers and add a quarter cup of water and mix it up. You can also blend 1 cucumber in the blender with the same amount of water. Like the green tea mask, use a thin towel or cheese cloth to receive the cucumber liquid and rest it on your face for 15-20 minutes. If you don't have either appliances, slice up the cucumber as thin as possible, lay them on your face, soak a thin towel with some ice water (but make sure it's not dripping wet), and lay the towel on top of your cucumber-covered face. Your refreshed and hydrated skin will love you afterwards. 

These natural remedies will nurture your skin through wintry weather for a flawless face and glowing complexion. Enjoy and send me your thoughts! 

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@YvonLux is a marketing CEO and founder of VANT4GE, LLC who is also a social and beauty influencer, Yvon Lux. She is also a published blogger and editor for her Apple News channel.

The young female founder has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, Modern Luxury Magazine, and various other media outlets. Connect with her on Instagram and subscribe to her channel! Follow her on Twitter if you can handle sarcasm and politics.