Always when looking to transforming our skin, we must also strive to understand that “as above, so below”. Use the skin as your diagnostic organ, and begin to observe, touch, and feel the changes taking place.
"To lie fallow is a gift. We don't really know how to do it. Rather we are done by it or undone by it. The moments we are allowed to be in that condition are times of gratitude....It is there that God makes each of us a fertile ground, a bearing soil."~ From A Mystic Garden, by Gunilla Norris
Winter is a time of rest. The earth beneath our feet exhales the moisture in times of frost, preventing seeding and growth that will resurrect itself with the warmth of spring.
During spring the earth awakens, stirring from the encouragement of the sun rising higher on the horizon, and warmth returning. The cycles of nature contain a wisdom that echoes in our own bodies. And with the return of the sun, days lengthen, leaves unfurl and flowers bloom, spring has entered our environment.
Yet our skin never rests. It is constantly changing and adapting us to our environment. Seasonal changes bring much activity to the organ of the only the largest, but the only one we can see, allowing us to detect changes, and get a glimpse into the inner state of our health.
Anyone who has spent a winter in the polar regions, can tell you about the importance of protecting your skin. But protecting your skin in winter no matter what your latitude, is just as important as protecting it in the spring and summer months. The trick is knowing what works with the skin, and what works against it.
It’s no surprise that cold temperatures, icy wind combined with snow and low humidity can cause havoc to exposed skin. Rashes, rosacea, and broken capillaries on the face are often caused by the temperature extremes common during in winter months. The skin’s tiny capillaries are constantly expanding and contracting as the skin ‘inhales and exhales’ working to adapt us to our internal and external environment.
The skin can heal itself. It has an exceptionally simple system that maintains a bacteria inhibiting acidity (normal facial skin pH is slightly acid at 4.5-5.5), the acid mantle, that is made up of sebum and sweat and works to dampen, or lubricate the surface of the skin. In the extremes of winter, into spring, without this lubricant substance the skin loses its inherent ability to protect and defend. So, butters and nutritive oils, along with hydration are both effective and important. Since the skin is made up of oils and waters (sweat and sebum) replacing them on the skin in the form of butters such as shea, and distilled hydrosols replicate the skin’s own moisturizing activity.
Despite the winter’s freezing temperatures, and the slow building of warmth and the sun’s rays it is possible to create a skin care routine that will encourage the skin to not only survive, but to thrive throughout the winter months, and transform into Spring!
Here are a few of the most important ingredients to use that will work to not only protect the skin’s delicate surface, but to allow your skin to thrive during spring months:
1.
Cleanse. Always wash with a pH balanced cleanser and cleanse the skin with warm water. Never too hot or too cold! Temperature extremes exacerbate dry skin, rosacea and rashes.
2.
Sensitive skin? Don’t exfoliate using harsh acid peels during the winter months. Clay Masks mixed with simply spring water will work wonders, increasing oxygen and blood flow to the skin, while drawing out metabolic toxins and impurities from tiny dermal pores. Clay is exceptionally effective at smoothing and softening the skin’s surface without disturbing the acid mantel, and skin’s critical microbiome.
3.
Remove all makeup before bed. If the room is heated at night use a combination of moisturizer that contains a butter, such as shea butter, and spray with a hydrosol. Mix into the skin to replicate the skin’s own moisturizing strategy, and no. This will not clog pores of the skin. Mineral oils and petroleum products are the culprits to avoid.
4.
For deep penetrating moisture I look for products that feature organic, cold pressed oils and butters, and are sustainably grown where ever possible.
5.
Here are some of my favorite and most effective ingredients that I love and reach for during the cold months of winter:
Shea butter | Pomegranate oil | Sea buckthorn oil
Grape seed oil | Babassu butter | Moringa oil | Tamanu Oil
In addition, any Balm, Cream or Lotion made with plantain leaf, comfrey, castor oil, cold pressed carrot seed oil, prickly pear oil, baobab seed oil, all with allow the skin to not only survive winter, but to thrive during the darkest days, while preparing for the return of spring into summer days.
Celebrate the Transformation.
XO,
Evan