Wellness woes when it comes to winter skincare
For many of us across North America, we are firmly settled into the winter season and the one place we’re feeling it most is on our skin. As the weather cools, a few things start to happen. Colder outdoor air mixed with dry, sometimes irritating indoor air and heat can wreak havoc on our skin if we’re not prepared to make adjustments.
People report that cold air combined with lower levels of humidity can result in dry air that draws moisture away from the skin. You might notice your skin feeling cracked or chapped, it may feel itchy, and you may even notice that fine lines and wrinkles appear more pronounced. Fear not, we’re here to share the natural wellness products that can help support your skin to feel healthy, nourished and deeply nurtured, even in the depths of the winter season.
What you need to know most about winter skincare
A lot of people don’t consider that the products they use to take care of their skin during the warmer months aren’t necessarily the products that will make the most sense when it comes to providing the right amount of TLC during the colder season.
Being agile and adjusting your product selection according to your personal skincare needs can help prevent the onset of seasonally compromised skin health, and keep you feeling soft, supple and supported into the new year. Read on to learn more about our top picks for winter skincare.
Products to support winter skincare: facial moisturizers
One of the most important steps in taking good care of your skin is to select the right facial moisturizer for not only your skin type, but your skincare goals. Many myths exist when it comes to moisturizer; some people think they should skip this step if their skin is oily, or others consider that moisturizing once per day is sufficient to keep the skin feeling plump and comfortable.
The truth is, all skin types benefit from moisturizing daily, and typically twice if you wash your face morning and night. Moisturizing helps your skin stay hydrated and refreshed, it can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and most importantly, it helps protect your skin’s moisture barrier from becoming depleted, irritated or dry. Here are the moisturizers we recommend for each skin type:
For skin that is normal or combination: Glow On is a replenishing moisturizer that helps protect against environmental effects that can cause damage to the skin. It’s made with fresh, balancing and nourishing ingredients like parsley seed oil, shea butter and oat kernel extract for skin that feels regulated and supported.
For skin that is sensitive or irritation prone: Calm-O-Mile is a gentle and nurturing moisturizer that helps provide hydration to skin while maintaining visibly calmed and healthy-looking skin. It’s made with light, herbaceous and floral ingredients like blue chamomile, apricot kernel oil and calendula for skin that feels smoothed and soothed.
For skin that is dry or has visible signs of aging: True Dew is our richest and most deeply hydrating moisturizer that promotes skin’s elasticity and firmness to improve the appearance of skin that is dry, dull and in need of a boost. It’s made with floral, nurturing and softening ingredients like rose, avocado oil and hyaluronic acid for skin that feels supple and restored.
For skin that is oily or acne prone: Claritea is our lightest formula, created specifically to provide balancing hydration to oily skin types, while helping to reduce the appearance of blemishes or visible signs of inflammation like redness. It’s made with fresh, cleansing and protective ingredients like tea tree, camelina and raspberry seed oil for skin that feels calm and clarified.
Products to support winter skincare: face masks
Face masks are one of the supplemental products we recommend during the dry skin season to provide your skin with the natural wellness it needs to look and feel its best. According to your personal needs and preferences, face masks can be used 1-3 times per week to provide an additional supportive boost to the skin. Our favorites:
Hydration Mode overnight face mask: this mask uses a combination of 100% natural essential oils and other powerhouse plant-based ingredients to help the skin renew overnight, encouraging softer, smoother and plumped skin in the morning. Ingredients like deeply hydrating hyaluronic acid and moisture-locking and replenishing milk thistle combine with essential oils of rose geranium and elemi to help deliver improved tone and texture.
Radiance Mode face mask: this brightening and replenishing face mask is made with locally sourced glacial clay and was formulated to relieve dullness and refine your overall complexion. Kisolite clay, plant-derived squalane, mulberry root and licorice leaf combine to provide a comfortable to wear clay mask that is refining and revitalizing to leave skin feeling glowing and radiant.
Products to support winter skincare: body butter
An often-neglected part of our winter skincare routine is the skin on our body. As equally important as taking care of our facial skin, our arms, legs, back and torso also need to be cared for with ingredients that help nourish and replenish the skin when it’s feeling depleted.
Our favorite way to treat the skin we’re in is with our richest and most deeply restorative skin hydrators, our body butters. Each body butter uses three different butters in its base, shea butter, cocoa seed butter and mango seed butter. These skincare superfoods are known to provide many benefits as they are rich in vitamins and essential fatty acids, they are skin-softening, and they provide the longest lasting hydration.
Carrot body butter: this fan-favorite is earthy, fresh, grounding and balancing, with a blend of carrot seed oil, geranium, patchouli and roman chamomile, particularly well-loved after exposure to the elements like wind and sun.
Yoga body butter: this restorative formula is citrusy, floral, harmonizing and peaceful, with a blend of orange, patchouli, cedarwood and vetiver, and complements self-care rituals like meditation and yoga practice.
Sleep Well body butter: this encouraging and calming butter is gentle and soothing, with a blend of valerian root, lavender, jasmine and neroli, the perfect accompaniment to a restful sleep routine.
Tantra body butter: our sweet and spicy blend of woody, floral, citrusy and earthy essential oils contain sandalwood, champa, ho wood and ginger root, and is thought to help encourage feelings of perseverance, renewal and overall emotional health.
Muscle Melt body butter: a best-selling formula to help ease and decompress your hardworking body, this blend of sweet birch, eucalyptus, marjoram and rosemary helps warm and stimulate the skin to feel refreshed and replenished.
Top tips for winter skincare to stay glowing and radiant all season:
Aside from the 100% natural essential oils and natural wellness ingredients we love to relieve dry skin and promote skin that feels supple and supported, here are some of our favorite tips and tricks for looking and feeling your best through the winter and beyond:
- Add moisture to your air. Indoor heat and naturally drier air are some of the main culprits when it comes to the skin and body feeling depleted. Try adding a diffuser to your space to introduce increased moisture to the air, while also providing many benefits through essential oils.
- Protect yourself from the wind. Wear a scarf or high collared jacket when spending lengthy periods of time outdoors to reduce the chance of further moisture depletion to the skin from the wind.
- Prioritize sun protection always! It’s tempting to think that shorter days and longer nights means you don’t need to protect your skin from the sun. Yes, safe sun exposure is important for optimal health, but keeping your skin protected with an SPF30 or higher, 356 days a year, is one of the best ways to promote overall skin health.
- Limit your use of hot water. Try to keep temperatures in the bath and shower limited to warm rather than hot, to avoid over stripping necessary oils from the skin that can lead to further dryness.
- Keep yourself well hydrated. In the same way it’s important to add moisture to the air during dry season, it’s imperative that you hydrate your body from the inside out. Focus on clean, pure water when possible and limit your intake of caffeine, juice and soda.
Here’s to a season of healthy-looking, supple and supported skin!
"Healthy skin is a reflection of overall wellness.” - Dr. Murad
