Though trying to defrost from below freezing temperatures takes longer than your mom's chicken breast fresh out of the freezer, having and using these items will guarantee you a less physically and mentally paining season.
Perhaps the most important thing is to have the proper winter apparel. For the first time in my life, I am eager to wear the heaviest and most warm items, unlike my middle and high school self, who refused to wear a jacket in a snow storm. Some extremely important yet obvious items to have are a heavy jacket (Goose down or parka strongly recommended), toasty winter boots (Sorel or LL Bean recommended), and a warm hat.
While that may seem like a lot, those outerwear products should be just the beginning of your bundling-up process. Though they're often overlooked and laughed at, a face mask is incredibly important yet very inexpensive; a true life changer. Despite their making me incapable to use my phone screen, gloves are possibly the most important piece of winter apparel to have, second to thick and high socks. These may seem like a hassle and a ten minute ordeal to plan before each venture out the door, but it's probably a lot more beneficial than having your limbs freeze off.
One of the most overlooked harms of winter is the damage that the weather causes to our hair and skin. The cold weather means extreme dryness and breakage, so to keep these essential items in your backpack and/or bathroom may save you from looking like a skeleton with breaking hair and a peeling face.
For haircare, I apply an overnight deep conditioning mask once a week and rinse it out in the morning. This moisturizes every strand of hair from the roost to the ends and makes a complete difference in my hair, leaving it with that after-haircut feel. Aside from that, it's important to not over wash your hair and to always remember to blow dry your hair before going out. If your hair is generally oily or extremely thin and you do not want to apply a heavy mask to it, then I strongly recommend taking 1 pill of Biotin per day.
For skincare, it's so important to travel with chapstick (Aquaphor is my personal favorite) and hand lotion (Olive Oil based is strongly recommended; ask your nail technician for some during your next visit). These two products can be life savers during the day when you aren't in the comfort of your own home and are forced to bear the pain of cracked lips and hands.
Another tip that I practice each night after I wash my face is to crack open a Vitamin E gel pill and massage the oil into my face. If you have extremely dry skin, then I would also recommend doing this in the morning, but if you're worried about not having enough Neutrogena oil pads to absorb the oil during the day, then I would simply do so at night and wash it off in the morning.
Despite following these daily procedures, getting sick is often times inevitable during the winter temperatures. If you feel yourself coming down with an illness, immediately take Vitamin C, drink hot tea with lemon and honey, and sleep for as long as you possibly can without skipping any class.
If the weather conditions are dangerous, take the bus, if there is one available, or leave a little earlier than usual to walk carefully to class. If you're like me, though, then you will probably sleep until the last second possible, try speed-walking to class, nearly slip and then proceed to call an Uber.
Taking care of yourself is one of the very few things that you have control over during the Winter months, and it's something that's so important and easy to forget to do. Remember that following these few tips will only make you more happy and healthy. If Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide can help any student through years of teen hurdles, then this Winter survival guide can help anyone through a few months of cold temperatures.
