SEASONAL SKINCARE WINTER

As the weather changes, we like to address one of our favorite topics – seasonal skincare. Due to many changing factors throughout the year, your skin often calls for and craves different treatment. In colder weather, there are three main actions we seek in products to keep our skin healthy, vibrant and glowing the entire season.

When creating your winter skincare ritual, be sure it includes MOVERS, HYDRATORS, and PROTECTORS.

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MOVERS

are products that help to stimulate circulation of blood and lymph. Movement reduces inflammation, allows for new nutrients delivery to cells, and carries waste away from cells and tissue. In the winter, Movers are crucial because we are more stagnant. We aren’t getting as much sun and we typically are not getting as much movement or exercise. Here are some of my favorite Movers from our line:

Oil Cleanser: Deep Clarity This product is my go-to all winter long for so many reasons! I recommend using Clarity with an extended face, neck and chest massage. Breathe in warming aromas of Turmeric, Rosemary and Ylang Ylang. The lipid oils in this cleanser dissolve surface congestion, while the essential oils absorb deeper and more quickly into the skin to stimulate movement. With muscles and nerves relaxed, and lymph and circulation boosted, Clarity is capable of unburdening and nourishing our tissues beneath the surface. Remove Clarity with a warm steamy organic cloth. The first round should remove any excess cleanser by using small circular motions. The following two (or more) rounds of warm cloth should be ‘compressed’ into the skin. This ritual from beginning to end is key to making Clarity so effective.

California Body Oil:  Bare Heart
This is like a full body lymph and circulatory treatment! It combines Cedar, Fir and Spruce to stimulate movement, alongside Vetiver and Sandalwood to ground. On cold days, I apply immediately after a hot bath, and I can feel the oils keeping the flow going, and my body can stay warm for hours as a result. I find it most helpful for hips and thighs, as well as underarms and breasts- these are areas that becomes easily stagnant.

Our Antioxidant Mask is another potent Mover from our line. This mask is warming and nourishing in the winter months, and includes Frankincense, Cocoa and Red Clover. Of course our beloved seasonal Honey Rose Spice Mask is a Mover as well, with Clove, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

 

 

hydrators

Keeping skin hydrated in colder months can seem like a daunting task. It is as though we have everything working against us— we are drinking less water and fluids, dehydrating heaters are blowing in our faces full blast, and we take hotter showers and baths which can lead to transepidermal water loss. Increasing both internal and external water based hydration will help to keep skin supple and hydrated.

We have so many plant options for hydration, and when I formulate with whole plants I look for starchy, sugary plants that are able carry a lot of water within their own cells. The chemical make up of these plants is what enables them to deliver hydration to our own skin. Phytochemicals like polysaccharides, betaine, niacin and other B vitamins help make deep, long-lasting hydration possible.

Hydrating Elixir I: Phytonutrient Replenish
This product is a game changer for hydration— not as light as hydrosol, not as thick as a serum. Our skin thrives when given both ample water hydration from ingredients like hydrosols, alongside nutrients and saccharides found in whole plant extracts to help deliver and hold this hydration. This Elixir is like a mist/hydrating serum combination.

Hydrosols like Rose and Frankincense are complete hydrators with humectants like palmitic acid. Then we layer in our denser hydrators, like Marshmallow, Reishi Mushroom and Astragalus. As someone who has never needed hyaluronic acid in my life time, I can tell you that it is not necessary when whole plant super-hydrators like this are in the line up! Lastly, we layer in antioxidant-rich plants to provide an even broader range of nutrients such as Vitamin C, resveratrol, flavonoids and tannins, which come from plants like Hibiscus, Gotu Kola and Hawthorne.

Other notable Hydrators from our Laurel Skin line are our Gentle Mask and Almond Rose Exfoliant. Both of these products contain many of the same super hydrator plants like Rose and Marshmallow, alongside dense nutrients to assist in deep, long lasting hydration.

 

 

protectors

After we have thoroughly hydrated our skin, it is essential to protect it from the elements and seal in all that water-based hydration. We do this with lipids that are similar to our skin’s protective barrier. Ingredients like Jojoba, Beeswax and Pomegranate Seed provide a unique blend of fatty acids, ceramides and phytosterols which mimic and support our skin’s already existing (or non-existing in many cases) protective lipid barrier.

Recovery Balm: Soothe + Mend
Of all of our Balms, Recovery Balm tends to be the most popular in colder months because it is the most centered around healing. Anyone who suffers from rosacea, eczema or chronic dryness will attest that these conditions typically worsen in extreme cold. I lovingly refer to our Recovery Balm as a ‘hug’ for our skin— it carries that comforting energy. Healing Tamanu Nut Oil is the star of the show, and we work with a local community on a tiny island to get it. They harvest and press this oil themselves into rich, bright green lipids. Our protective Shea Butter is owned, harvested and pressed by a family collective in Ghana, and our regenerative Helichrysum for this product artisan distilled for us by a talented human named Julien.

Eye Balm: Delicate Concentrate
This tiny jar is filled with whole plants that strengthen the thinner and more fragile area around our eyes. Each vibrant, thoughtfully chosen plant in this Balm reduces inflammation, stagnation and puffiness. Bilberry and Fennel go through 3 lunar cycles of maceration and cold pressed Cranberry fruit and seed are some of the heroes of this formula that make it a potent Protector.

Both our Unburden Serum and Night Balm are also winter go-to products for myself and many others. They provide a richer layer of protection than our other Serums and Balms. Our Unburden also has many of those same soothing traits found in our Recovery Balm. Ingredients like Chia Seed, Rose and fresh Evening Primrose keep these products firmly in the Protectors category!

xo Laurel