Jean's Winter Beauty Secrets: Part Two
By Pure + Simple co-founder Jean Eng
In my previous blog, I shared my first beauty secret when it comes to maintaining beautiful skin in extreme weather conditions: use a serum. But balancing our skin in this season of change, extreme weather, and unpredictable temperatures requires more than just one step. My second winter beauty secret is to add a face oil to your routine.
Beauty Secret #2: Add a Face Oil
Generally, face oils play an important part in keeping skin moist, but for Pure + simple clients it is also how we supplement our intracellular lipids to ensure that our skin stays dewy looking even in dry cold conditions.
In the winter, we are not just afflicted with dry, itchy, or dull looking skin. When left untreated, dry skin can trigger other conditions such as eczema, rosacea, and acne. For many, the fact that oil is the solution to their acne may be difficult to accept, but that is because they are only aware of the symptom of acne – the over oiliness – without understanding that sometimes the cause of their acne and over-oily skin is dry skin cells below the skin’s surface.
So what are the oils that will help keep your skin looking beautiful?
To begin, I have a preference for organic vegetable oils when possible. This is partially because organic oils make for a higher quality product, but also because vegetable oils are better for our skin and our planet’s health.
For dry skin, using a combination of high oleic oils like Avocado, Argan, Sesame and Pumpkin is extremely helpful. Not only does dry skin contribute to inflammatory skin conditions, it also increases the appearance of wrinkles due to dry skin cells occurring deeper in the skin layer. These oils help our skin stay more hydrated and plump by supplementing the fluids that cushion and encapsulate skin cells in the top layer of the epidermis.
Some of my favourite oil combinations for dry skin are the Pure + simple Nourishing Face Oil with Avocado + Baobab Oil and Holistic Vanity Damage Care’s Restorative Raw Argan Oil. Don’t forget to protect the skin further by applying a moisturizer! For those who like to skip a moisturizer with a two-in-one product, I recommend the Pure + simple Nourishing Vata Face Oil with Sesame and Vanilla Oils as well as nurturing Ghee.
For chronically red skin, it is important to understand the underlying causes before looking for a topical solution. Skin becomes inflamed and red when capillaries become dilated. This can be caused by stress, heat, and dehydration. Chronic skin inflammation appears when capillary walls lose elasticity due to dry, shrunken skin cells and exposure to harsh elements and irritating skincare products. If sensitive skin becomes chronically inflamed, it is necessary to follow an anti-inflammatory diet as well as look for cooling and calming oils such as Coconut, Camellia, Evening Primrose and Babassu Oils. I love the Minimalist Face Elixir because it has Coconut and Babassu Oils to calm sensitive skin as well as Avocado and Argan Oils to aid maturing skin. For extremely sensitive skin types, Holistic Vanity’s Comforting Camellia Oil with Turmeric is an excellent choice. Combining a face oil with a serum and moisturizer is essential for this skin type as it helps prevent dryness, which is the root cause of sensitive skin.
To balance over oily skin, an oil like sebaceous-balancing Hazelnut Oil is recommended. Excessive sebaceous production can be stimulated by dry skin cells, so the logical way to keep skin less oily is to avoid over-drying by supplementing our skin with nourishing oils. This eliminates our skin’s need to over-produce oils, effectively reducing excess oil production. Pure + simple’s Pure Skin Face Oil with Hazelnut, Orange, and Coconut Oils helps maintain oil balance in the skin as well as prevent inflammation from breakouts.
Lastly, to pacify breakout-prone skin, look for purifying yet hydrating oils such as Coconut Oil and anti-inflammatory oils like Black Cumin Oil.
[This is part 2 of a blog series. Click here to read part one.]
