Winter Skin Care – Advice from Body Care
Protect your skin against the elements by choosing natural products designed to help your skin heal. Cleanse carefully, moisturize mindfully, be prepared to protect, and you will be well on your way to glowing winter skin!
Cleanse
The last thing that dry, flaking skin wants is to be scrubbed with a strong cleanser or a stripping soap. Harsh cleansing agents like sodium lauryl sulfate can irritate and aggravate already sensitive skin. Soap tends to remove a lot of oil, which can leave stressed skin even drier.
Choose a gentle, non-foaming cleanser when your skin is feeling tight and dehydrated. A cleansing milk or cleansing oil will remove dirt and makeup without leaving skin robbed of its much needed moisture. For something a bit more clarifying, cleansing grains are becoming increasingly popular. They can be made with ingredients like oats, clay, rice powder, even honey. Combine with a bit of water in the palm of your hand to create a paste, and gently massage into the skin (no scrubbing please!). If you really can’t break the bubble habit, be sure to choose something with added moisturizing ingredients, like aloe or sea kelp.
Moisturize
Ok, this one is pretty obvious. But not so fast – just because it`s a white cream in a jar does not mean it will give your thirsty skin the hydration it needs.
Look for natural ingredients that can help your skin to really heal from winter stress and actually retain moisture, like shea butter, coconut oil, hyaluronic acid, rose, and jojoba.
While the front label may promise moisture, the back label may reveal ingredients that can actually irritate skin. Look out for known allergens such as triethanolamine (TEA), parabens, BHT, proplene glycol, EDTA. Be sure to avoid anything with diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, or quaternium-15. These preservatives, in addition to being infamous allergens and irritants in themselves, slowly release formaldehyde into the product – not just an allergen, but a carcinogen to boot.
When it comes to scents, choose carefully. Certain essential oils can actually help the skin to reduce inflammation, promote cellular regeneration, and relieve itchiness, but synthetic fragrances, even natural and organic extracts, can irritate some individuals.
Protect
Winter is beautiful. Skiing, skating, or simply enjoying the quiet of a fresh snowfall, are unique pleasures of our climate. Before facing the biting wind and cold, we naturally reach for hats, scarves and gloves. So don’t forget to protect delicate lips and cheeks!
Lip balm is a must for preventing chapping, flaking, and worse, splitting. Products with beeswax will stay on for longer without having to be reapplied. For extended or windy outings like sledding, consider giving your cheeks a protective layer against the elements. Weleda makes two great ones: Cold Cream (their original recipe from 1921!), and Calendula Weather Protection Cream (although found with their baby line, it is great for the whole family.)
Meadow Rose – Body Care Buyer
Sources – ewg.org/skindeep
A Holistic Perspective – Don’t forget about protecting and healing your skin from the inside out! Health and nutrition can have a profound effect on our skin.
Check out tips from Holistic Nutritionist Jeanette Rauch for her 3 top foods for healthy winter skin, and Holistic Nutritionist Alex Picot-Annand’s 3 favourite supplements to support our body’s largest organ.
