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Healthy Living
Protect Your Skin Against Winter Weather, Naturally!
By Nazanin Vassighi
Winter weather can be rough on skin. Not only does the largest organ of our body have to battle the drying effects of heaters indoors, but the cooler, temperatures of the winter months deplete any remaining moisture. To help battle the change in temperature, many turn to the use of moisturizing lotions to help soothe and heal cracked, dry skin. Selecting a natural product that gives you the benefits of healing skin without any adverse effects of chemicals can be difficult, but with these helpful guidelines choosing a lotion or cream that is right for your skin can be a snap!
- Choose products that have olive, almond, sesame, jojoba, cocoa, or coconut oil. These oils are nourishing and softening in nature and serve as a base for the formula.
- Popular herbs in formulas include calendula, goldenseal comfrey, aloe vera, chamomile, and marshmallow, which have a vulnerary and anti-inflammatory action, and are all soothing to help speed healing of the skin.
- Benzoin, lavender, tea tree, and rose essential oils are often added to preparations as natural preservatives and also serve as anti-microbial agents to protect skin and help the formula retain its healing properties.
- Effective lotions contain Vitamin E. It is one of the best vitamins to “feed” your skin. It serves as a great antioxidant and helps to restore moisture to dehydrated skin.
Can’t decide on a formula sold in stores? It’s easy to create your own hand cream following a recipe taken from Debra St. Claire’s “The Herbal Medicine Cabinet: Preparing Natural Remedies From Home.” Check out her book for other great salve, lotion, and cream recipes.
Winter Hand Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
½ cup Comfrey root tea (with distilled water)
2 tablespoons liquid lanolin
1 ounce grated or beaded beeswax
3 tablespoons liquid lecithin
10 drops rosewater
7 drops essential oil of your choice
Procedure: Make a decoction of rough-cut Comfrey root pieces with 1 tablespoon root to ½ cup distilled water. Strain and measure out 2 ounces, set aside. Heat oil, beeswax, lecithin, and lanolin in the top pot of a double boiler. Cool down to warm, then stir in the comfrey tea. Pour into the blender and whip until thick and creamy. Cool completely in the refrigerator, then blend again. Spoon into jar and refrigerate.
