Holistic Tips to Soothe Dry Winter Skin
The skin all over your face and body needs some tender loving care to survive Winter. Sensitivities, eczema, psoriasis and itchy skin are often made worse in the cold, dry weather. A holistic approach works best—that means thinking about what you put on your skin, what you put inside your body and factors in your environment.
Natural skin and mineral makeup excel because they don’t contain detergents or synthetic substances that dry and irritate skin. Plant oils closely resemble the oils in your skin and work to nourish the deep layers. Swapping from a chemical or petroleum-based skin or makeup product will make a difference and keep your natural beauty glowing.
1. Drink plenty of water: Hydrate your skin from the inside out and help carry nutrients to your skin cells. Eating lots of juicy fruit and vegetables helps too.
2. Pull on an extra jumper and turn down the heaters: A cooler environment helps reduce moisture loss from your skin. If you do put on the heater, place bowls of water around the room.
3. Keep showers short and warm: As glorious as a long hot shower can be in Winter, hot water will strip moisture from your skin. And, we all know that shorter showers save precious water.
4. Luscious lips: No-one’s lips are safe in Winter. When dry lips crack or become stressed, you increase the chance of a coldsore. Keep lips protected with a plant-oil lip balm. Petrochemical lip balms sit on the skin rather than soaking in and working to heal the skin as well.
5. Use gentle, creamy, plant cleansers: Ingredients such as sulphates, propylene glycol and alcohol can irritate and dry skin. Choose soaps hand made from 100 per cent olive oil. Shampoos that contain sulphates and chemicals can also cause itchy scalp and dry skin problems.
6. Use a natural moisturiser that nourishes your skin.
Petrochemical or mineral oil moisturisers form a layer on top of your skin rather than being absorbed in to lubricate and support the skin. Apply the moisturiser while your skin is damp to lock in extra moisture. Intensive skin boosters like rose hip, sweet almond and jojoba oils do wonders for your natural beauty.
7. Exfoliate and hydrate. Gentle exfoliation removes the dead cell layer making it easier for your skin to absorb moisturisers. Hydrating flower mists or masks help refresh dry skin.
8. Use plant oil-based makeup or mineral makeup. Synthetic-free makeup and makeup without petrochemicals is gentler and less drying for your skin. However, not all mineral makeup is pure. Some mineral makeup contains irritating and drying ingredients, so avoid those that list Bismuth Oxychloride and Talc.
Another benefit is that mineral makeup containing the minerals Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide are non-chemical sun blocks that also help to protect skin from damage in Winter.
Holistic skin tips provided by Biome Eco Stores.
Sphere: Related ContentMineral Makeup is Revolutionising the Cosmetic Market - but is it Really Natural?
It seems that every cosmetic company is leaping on the mineral makeup band wagon, but is mineral makeup really natural? The promise of being natural is what interests many users, but are we being “green-washed” into believing that just because it’s mineral it is good for us and the planet?
Biome eco store founder, Tracey Bailey said she believed that mineral makeup had fallen victim to the same trend as many successful eco friendly products. “Once the mainstream consumer product industry sees there is money to be made, the integrity of the product becomes lost for the sake of reducing manufacturing costs,” Tracey said.
“Genuine natural brands do exist, but consumers need to be aware of the ingredients because many contain un-natural or synthetic ingredients.”
The original mineral foundations were all natural with only four or five natural ingredients. This simplicity-along with beautiful results and skin health-won over users, turning mineral makeup into perhaps the biggest trend the cosmetics industry has seen.
As more cosmetic companies created their own brand of mineral foundation and fought for market share, they began substituting cheap fillers, chemicals and preservatives. Toxic ingredients like:
* Bismuth oxychloride - found in most of the mainstream mineral brands, it is by-product of lead and copper refining that rarely occurs in nature.
* Talc - a mineral, but a known carcinogen linked to uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and respiratory problems in infants.
“For a start, if the packaging does not provide a full list of the ingredients, then put it down again and choose one that allows you to make an informed choice,” Tracey said.
“The only ingredients you want to see are titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxides and zinc oxide.”
Tracey said there was a good reason to look very carefully at the labels of all skin care. “Our skin is the body’s largest organ and also the most telling when something is wrong. Skin absorbs about 60 per cent of what is put on it directly into the bloodstream,” she said.
Biome eco stores ensures all its mineral makeup, natural beauty and skin care selections list the full ingredients and are:
* made from plants, not petrochemicals
* free from all harmful toxins and preservatives
* free from palm oil, or in transition to palm-oil free
* cruelty free and most are vegan
* perfect remedies for those with dry skin and problematic skin.
Natural mineral makeup chosen by Biome eco stores
Biome chose the Australian-made Musq mineral makeup containing only 100 per cent safe natural ingredients.
Biome mineral makeup manager, Hayley Preston said “we took at long look at many ranges before we decided on Musq. Not only did it need to be safe and environmentally responsible, we had to love using it”.
Hayley said she had tried just about every natural makeup on offer and thought Musq mineral makeup was fabulous.
“The foundations are comparable, if not better than, a lot of the conventional foundations that I have used because they are sheer with great coverage,” Hayley said. “The powder foundation, which I use over the crème or by itself is small but very concentrated, so you only need the tiniest amount each time.”
Hayley says Musq mineral makeup creme is weightless on the skin, giving a quick and perfect coverage. It contains anti-oxidants and organic ingredients that nourish while providing a natural dewy finish, like vitamin E and jojoba.
A pure mineral makeup should only have four or five ingredients
* Titanium dioxide - a natural mineral with particles that are not small enough to be absorbed by the skin.
* Mica - the shimmer from mica is used in makeup as it gives a translucent glow to the skin and helps to mask imperfections.
* Iron oxides - used to produce skin tone pigment. They are considered to be non-toxic, moisture resistant and non-bleeding.
* Zinc oxide - used today as a sunscreen, zinc oxide has been used as a treatment for skin conditions dates back to the early 10th Century. With it’s soothing properties it is ideal for the most irritated, sensitive skin types or those who suffer from acne or rosacea.
Ingredients to avoid in mineral makeup
* Bismuth oxychloride - many people are sensitive to this bulking and filler ingredient that is a by-product of lead and copper refining.
* Talc - a known carcinogen, which is very drying and irritating to skin, accentuates lines.
* Parabens and Alkyl hydroxyl benzoate preservatives - true mineral makeup is inert and needs no preservatives.
* Corn starch and rice powder - cheap fillers, not minerals.
* Dyes - often coal tar derivatives.