Combine frigid air, high winds, and dry heat and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for dry, itchy skin. When you start itching and seeing skin flake off, you know it’s time to start using your winter skincare ritual. Don’t have one? Now’s a great time to start one!
Winter is hard on our skin, especially if we live in places with particularly harsh winters. As with any daily routine, changing up our skincare ritual to align with the seasonal needs of our body is a good idea. You can think of it like eating seasonally, except you’re taking care of your body’s largest organ with the products that will nourish when it’s under the most stress.
When buying skincare products this winter, look for the following ingredients for their beneficial anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and high-moisture properties.
Calendula
Calendula is a flower also known as pot marigold. It’s an anti-inflammatory that helps soothe and regenerate the skin, making it a perfect night-time ingredient.
Blood Orange
Known most for it’s sweet taste, blood oranges are rich in antioxidants, including Vitamin C, which helps the skin cells heal and regenerate. Plus, the harvest season is December to May, making this one of the ingredients you can enjoy seasonally in your winter skincare products as well.
Argan Oil
The Argan tree is mostly found in Morocco. There are several women’s co-ops that take the Argan fruit and create the oil we use in cosmetic products today. The fruit falls from the Argan tree in July and then the oil extraction process can begin. Argan has anti-irritating properties along with high levels of Vitamin A and E to protect and nourish the skin.
Rose Water or Rose Oil
Rose bushes can grow continuously, making it a hardy plant. Rose has been used in alternative medicine traditions for thousands of years to help soothe irritated skin and is anti-inflammatory.
Tamanu
Indigineous to Southeast Asia, and especially in Polynesian countries like Tahiti, tamanu accelerates wound healing and the growth of new, healthy skin.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate thrives September–May in the Northern hemisphere. The fruits high-antioxidant properties helps regenerate skin to heal scars and marks, slows down the aging process, improves the texture of the skin and helps skin glow.
Geranium
The geranium flower and its oil acts as an astringent to help contract pores making it harder for dirt to lodge deep in the skin and cause acne. Geranium is especially good for tightening the skin to prevent wrinkles. Also antibacterial by nature, it can also be used to help prevent infections. In alternative medicine modalities around the world, geranium is considered a mega-healer ingredient.
Goji Berry
Goji berries can be thought of as a preventative skin ingredient to help protect against skin damage from the harsh elements. It’s a perfect if you’re exposed to wind, frigid temperatures or lots of sun in the winter months.
Acai
Acai berry is an anti-inflammatory making it a great acne fighter, plus great at helping you maintain youth and radiance in your skin. It can also help treat hyperpigmentation
Other Winter Must-Haves
If you’re looking to protect your hands this winter, invest in Pangea Organic’s Brazilian Brown Sugar with Cocoa Butter Body Polish. Scrub your hands each evening after washing dishes or before going to bed and finish with the Chilean Rosehip with Tamanu & Red Clover Hand Cream for luxuriously smooth hands.
Don’t forget your lip balms! Protecting your lips can be frustrating and exhausting during winter. If you feel like you’re applying lip balm almost constantly to keep your lips moisturized, try one of Pangea’s lip balms. Choose from the following three scents:
- Egyptian Fennel & Sweet Orange to feel energized and uplifted
- Italian Red Mandarin with Rose to nourish and protect
- Pyrenees Lavender with Cardamom to soothe and feel calm
Take the time to make nourishing and wise decisions for your skin this winter. The more you take care of your skin now, the less you’ll have to do to reverse damage – think wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation, scars, acne, etc. – later.
To find out more about the Pangea Movement, click here.
Let me know in the comments below!
What’s your favorite winter skincare product?