Organic skincare tips for winter

When the weather turns colder, our skin can start to suffer. The skincare products we use during the spring and summer might not be adequate when the chill sets in.  But there’s plenty we can do to keep skin happy during the colder months of the year….read on for my skincare tips for the winter season.

How does wintry weather affect our skin?

Many of us find that our skin becomes drier during the cold weather – a combination of wind chill when we’re out in the elements, and drying central heating in our homes and workplaces. The lightweight moisturiser we use when it’s warm outside might not be enough to deal with the elements during the winter.  Skin may become dehydrated, sore and flaky. Here are some suggestions for switching up your daily and weekly skincare this season.

My tips for your skincare winter routine

• Change your cleansing routine  If you like cleansing with water, but your skin feels tight after washing, relax! You could simply try a different product which won’t dry your skin. When this happened to me a couple of years ago, I swapped the Rose Facial Wash I’d been using during the summer, and tried our Orange Flower Facial Wash instead.  It’s a foaming lotion that is formulated with dry skin in mind, and it leaves my skin feeling refreshed with no tightness whatsoever.  Gorgeously scented with mandarin and neroli essential oils, it wakes up my senses and leaves me feeling relaxed too! My current favourite cleanser is our new Frankincense Intense Cleansing Melt. It’s a triple phase cleanser that starts as a clear gel, and changes to an oil when massaged over the face, before changing to a milky texture which is easily rinsed off with water.
• Try a different moisturiser Depending on your skin type, you might also need a slightly richer moisturiser in the winter months. I use our Frankincense Intense Lift Cream most of the year, which I find rich enough for winter use too, but I also recommend the Orange Flower Daily Moisture during the colder months. My skin tends to be normal to dry year round, but if yours is more normal to oily, you might need a different combination of products.  You could start by trying the Palmarosa range, formulated for normal to oily skin types, and switch up to the Rehydrating Rose or Rejuvenating Frankincense range if your skin becomes dry during the cooler weather.  If your skin is more mature, you could try the Frankincense Intense range for the first signs of ageing, or the Frankincense Intense Lift range for the second signs of ageing.
• Try our ‘spa in a jar’  One product which is recommended for all skin types, and is an absolute godsend at any time of year, is our Wild Rose Beauty Balm. It can be used as an exfoliating cleanser with the included muslin cloth, as a face mask, as an overnight moisture and radiance boost, and even as a daytime moisturiser if you don’t mind being a bit shiny! I often use a tiny amount as a lip balm, and you can also use it to tame eyebrows or as a cheek highlighter.  If your hands and nails suffer in the winter weather, use it for those too – a tiny bit around the cuticles is absolutely brilliant!
• Exfoliate  If you generally just cleanse, tone and moisturise – or just cleanse and moisturise – then you could try adding in some exfoliation.  This doesn’t have to be done daily – perhaps just a couple of times a week.  You could use the Wild Rose Beauty Balm with the muslin cloth, as above, or you could use a facial polish or scrub.  My absolute favourite is the Rehydrating Rose Facial Polish.  It’s gentle but effective, using wild rose seed powder to effectively cleanse and remove impurities. You could also try the Palmarosa Facial Polish for oilier skin types, or the slightly ‘scrubbier’ Honey and Orange Facial Scrub which cleanses with the aid of kaolin and rice powder (no nasty microbeads in our scrubs and  polishes!)
• Add a serum or facial oil  Instead of just using a moisturiser, you could use a serum or facial oil before your moisturiser. Serums are designed to moisturise the deeper layers of the skin, and my current favourites are Wild Rose Beauty Serum for added smoothness and radiance, or Frankincense Intense Lift Serum for proven anti-ageing benefits. These may seem expensive, but you only need a tiny amount and the results are well worth it.  Alternatively, a facial oil can be an invaluable addition to a winter skincare routine.  Just a couple of drops applied under a moisturiser can help to condition the skin, or add a few extra drops for a daily facial massage.  I love them all – the Rose Facial Oil smells divine and helps to calm any redness, whilst the Frankincense Facial Oil uses frankincense essential oil to reduce signs of ageing.  If your skin is feeling dry, you could choose the Orange Flower Facial Oil, with an extra nourishing blend of oils for dry skin and the gorgeous scent of neroli essential oil.
• Add in a weekly face mask  My favourites are the Reviving White Tea Face Mask, a clay based mask suitable for all skin types, and Frankincense Firming Mask, a clear gel mask which contains ultra moisturising hyaluronic acid.

I hope that this post will give you some ideas to switch up your skincare this winter!  If you would like to learn more about our organic skincare products and learn a more mindful daily skincare routine, do check out my online facial events – you can join in from anywhere around the UK. You can also book your own mindful skincare event for yourself, your family and friends – just get in touch: