I don't know about you, but I LOVE celebrating the holidays with family and friends! It's so nourishing to my soul to be surrounded by loved ones, to see old friends and family after a long time and to host seemingly endless dinner parties. Feeding people is my love language. I grew up in the kitchen, my grandma, aunts and mother, all cooking for hours at every family gathering. A dozen cousins running around at grandma's house was the norm and my sister and I, as the eldest in the group, were always called in to help prepare the meal.
My mother ran a small, gourmet catering and cake making business out of our home and I loved creating with her. Rich and delicious foods (I try to make them healthy!) are my go-to when I'm feeding my loved ones and my skin always shows it later- flakiness, dry spots and breakouts all at once surface after these feasts. Fortunately, I've amassed an apothecary of emergency skincare to quickly bring my skin back into balance, so I thought now would be a great time to share my favorite remedies with you.
#1 Wash your face!
First and foremost, no matter how tired (or tipsy!) you are at night, take a moment and wash your face! Winter months are dry and indulging in alcohol dehydrates our skin even more, so I reach for the Youth in Bloom Hydrating Cleanser this time of year. Now, if you're generally oily and acne-prone or just really love that "squeaky clean" feeling, I recommend using the Apple Chamomile Cleansing Gel. It's soap-free and free of essential oils, so this is a great choice if you're sensitive or have a compromised skin barrier. Whatever you use, just wash your face before bed!
#2 Calm it down.
Sad to say, eating more sugar, dairy and wheat, as well as drinking alcohol, can all bring out the dreaded rosacea, redness and eczema flareups. Mother Nature comes to the rescue with roses. The steam distillate (hydrosol) from the fresh flowers is wonderfully soothing, cooling and rich in skin-brightening vitamin C. Our Bulgarian Rose Hydrosol is the pure steam distillate and I like to mist it over my skin right after washing my face. I can see the redness go down within moments!
#3 Rebuild Your Barrier and Prevent Breakouts
If you tend towards redness, rosacea, eczema and generally have sensitive skin, the Apple Stem Cell Radiance Serum is a godsend. We created this formula specifically for compromised skin barriers. If you're more prone to pimples, blackheads, and breakouts, reach for the Willow Bark Pore Refining Serum. I rarely use this product, since my skin is chronically dry, but I keep one of the Minis on hand and apply it at night, anytime I've eaten greasy foods, or as needed when I see a pimple forming. It always clears my skin up right away!
#4 Intense Hydration and Nourishment
Even oily skin needs some deep moisture at times and I've been amazed at how well even acne-prone skin responds to the combination of nourishing and antibacterial components of raw honey. Even though our Honey Avocado Rescue Mask is greasy and heavy and contains beeswax, customers with oily skin tell us that they love using it to treat their breakouts! This is a great mask to use anytime your skin needs some real love- wear it as long as you like, around the house while doing chores, or even overnight.
Products:
YOUTH IN BLOOM HYDRATING CLEANSER
BULGARIAN ROSE HYDROSOL
HONEY AVOCADO RESCUE MASK
APPLE STEM CELL RADIANCE SERUM
WILLOW BARK PORE REFINING SERUM
