The changing seasons often mean that a shift in our daily skincare routines can be required.
As the nights draw in, the focus has to be on keeping our skin hydrated, protected, and nourished during the harsh, colder months. The key is to adapt your routine to address the specific challenges that winter weather brings, such as dryness, flakiness, and sensitivity.
What you should be aiming for in your daily skincare routine:
1. Start with a gentle cleanser that won't strip your skin of its natural oils. Look for oil based cleansers such as our organic oil cleanser with Camellia & Rose which you can find here
2. After cleansing, apply a rich, nourishing moisturiser to lock in hydration. Look for natural ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, wheatgerm oil, avocado oil and rosehip oil - these gifts from nature are excellent choices for maintaining moisture levels. Our daily Revive moisturiser for dry/mature skin can be found here and is a fantastically rich cream for the winter months.
3. Use an oil rich serum or night oil to nourish and feed your skin to the absolute maximum during the evening / at night. Oils and serums are a great addition to your nightly routine as blood flow to the skin increases during the night which helps to increase the absorbtion of the nutrients, antioxidants and compounds found in these products. We have two face oils available - one for mature/dryer skin types available here, and one for younger less dry skin available here
There's more on how to blend and formulate your own face oils below.
4. Don't forget to exfoliate, but be gentle. Use a mild exfoliant once a week to remove dead skin cells and allow your moisturizer to penetrate more effectively. Our natural hibiscus exfoliator is not only good at removing dead skin cells, but also amazing at nourishing the skin thanks to the whipped shea butter content. To see more of this product click here
5. It's worthwhile considering adding a humidifier in your home to increase moisture in the air, helping to keep your skin from becoming too dry when the central heating is on. Unless of course, you live in a draughty Cornish granite house like me. In which case a DEhumidifer is probably needed to get the excess moisture out of the air! ;)
6. Finally don't forget that drinking plenty of water and maintaining a balanced diet rich in vitamins and antioxidants will also support healthy, glowing skin from the inside out.
By following these winter skincare tips, you can ensure that your skin stays radiant and healthy, no matter how cold it gets outside.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN FACE OIL FOR THE WINTER MONTHS.
FOR MATURE or DRY SKIN:
the best base oils to use are:
Jojoba, Argan, Wheatgerm, Rosehip, Evening Primrose, Cold pressed organic Olive oil.. These oils, particularly Jojoba, would all be too intense if they weren't blended out with a slightly lighter oil like Sweet Almond, Macadamia, Camellia, or Cold pressed organic Sunflower oil. Olive oil is a great addition to any formulation as it contains natural Squalene - a compound that helps in the regeneration of collagen - a building block of the skin that diminishes with age.
Blend your chosen mix of base oils together in a 100ml bottle, with approx 40-50% of the blend being allocated to the 'lighter' oils mentioned above
To the 100ml bottle add the following:
5 drops Geranium
5 drops Rose
5 drops Frankincense
3 drops Neroli
2 drops Sandalwood.
FOR YOUNGER OR LESS DRY SKIN
The best base oils to use are:
Camellia, Avocado, Jojoba, Rosehip, Sweet Almond Oil, Cold pressed Organic Olive Oil, Macademia Oil.
As with the above suggestion for dry / mature skin, blend 100ml of these base oils together then add the following:
4 drops Geranium
2 drops Palmarosa
4 drops Neroli
5 drops Lavender
3 drops Patchouli
2 drops Rosemary
Once blended these oils can be kept for upto 6 months and should be used daily across the Autumn / Winter season to keep the skin supple and smooth.