Keep Skin Healthy for Winter

Cleanser & Toner for Dry Complexion
Cleanser & Toner for Oily Complexion
Blemish Remover
Aromatic Bath Salts
Natural Sunscreen
Honey Lip Balm
Antifungal Vinegar & Powder
Nail Soak Oil


Skiing, ice skating, snowboarding or simply gazing at gently falling snow make winter the ­favorite season of many. But winter has its pitfalls, particularly for the skin. Not only does the natural climate change, but the interior environment does too. We shut windows tight and turn up the thermostat. We wrap our bodies in layers of cloth and encase our feet in wool socks and winter-hardy shoes. When it’s really cold, we dash from heated cars to heated buildings and homes, letting our faces take the brunt of momentary exposure to icy air and freezing winds.

Fret not, though, because simple herbal protections can help your skin stay the course during the winter months. Here, herbalist Kathi Keville, director of the American Herb Association, offers some advice. Feel free to share her remedies with your friends—package them in pretty bottles, add a bow and offer them as special holiday gifts.

Dry skin

If you have a dry complexion, the skin on your face probably has a fine texture with no visible pores. This type of skin tends to be thin and sensitive and may often feel tight and dry, especially after you wash it. It can eventually become sallow and develop a coarse texture. Skin constantly loses water through sweat and evaporation, but tiny glands secrete oil to coat skin and stop this loss. If your skin is dry, chances are that it’s because of underactive oil glands, which are a result of both heredity and low hormone production. Lacking oil, dry skin is particularly vulnerable to winter’s wind and chapping cold, which further suppress oil glands’ production.

Herbs can help dry skin moisturize ­itself. Cosmetics experts and aromatherapists suggest that small amounts of rosemary and peppermint increase the skin’s oil production and improve circulation, while chamomile, lavender, jasmine, elderflowers, and calendula soothe and heal the irritation that so easily develops as outer layers of dry skin flake off. If you have dry skin, use as little soap as possible because most soaps dry out the skin. Also avoid foaming cleansers, which are far too drying. When you do wash with soap, choose one designed for delicate skin. Otherwise, wash with a water-soluble cleansing cream for dry skin such as the recipe below, which is designed to maintain the skin’s natural oil. Then pat your face dry very gently.

Remove makeup with a face cream instead of soap, and always use makeup that contains moisturizers. Avoid facial toners that contain alcohol, which will dry your skin. Instead, use an herbal toner with a vinegar base—this will soften your skin, help maintain its natural acidity, and relieve the itch­iness and flakiness that often accompany dryness. Dry skin is sometimes accompanied by blemishes. Scientific studies on cham­omile, lavender, rosemary, and St.-John’s-wort show that these herbs reduce such inflammations. In the early 1990s, H. W. Kreysel, M.D., director of the Dermatologic Clinic at the University of Bonn in Germany, conducted three separate clin­ical studies on chamomile with dozens of men and women. He found that a chamomile cream restored a smooth, healthy appearance to rough and red skin faster and more thoroughly than other creams. It also improved “peak and valley” patterns, known more commonly as wrinkles.

Oily skin

People with oily complexions tend to bemoan their genetic fate, at least through their early years. Only later do they start to feel fortunate. There is a positive side to oily skin—it protects and lubricates, so you can expect fewer wrinkles as your skin matures. An oily complexion tends to be shiny and have large pores and a thick, coarse texture. In the winter, oil buildup increases when we bundle up with scarves and hats. All that excess oil attracts dirt, which can breed bacteria, cause infection, and clog pores with dead cells.

Nothing you use on your skin should completely stop your skin from producing oil, but some herbs can slow the production. Basil, eucalyptus, cedarwood, cypress, lemon, sage, lemongrass, yarrow and ylang-ylang (sold only as ­essential oil) help normalize overactive oil glands. Clean your oily face at least twice a day with a neutral-pH (7.0) soap or cleanser. Wipe away excess oil with cotton pads soaked in witch hazel or a cleanser for oily skin. Avoid scrubbing because it stimulates oil production. A slight amount of grain alcohol in toner is okay, but don’t use it often. Alcohol is drying, but if you dry out oily skin too much, it will produce even more oil to compensate.

Other Problems

Sun damage

Enjoy a day of skiing or a leisurely hike in the snow, but don’t forget that the sun can still do you harm, even in winter. The sun’s ultraviolet rays, which are present all day long, are particularly ­destructive and can cause premature aging and skin cancer. Nicknamed “aging rays,” they penetrate into the skin’s lower layers, harming collagen, elastin and DNA.