Winter skin care for Eco Warriors

With fall here and the temperatures getting a little cooler every day, Recycla is gearing up to do battle with her old nemesis — Cold Dry Air.  As soon as the temperature dips into the 40s and lower, Recycla’s skin starts to dry out and even flake off.

Recycla’s dry skin issues go back 30 years to when she was in elementary school and her fingertips would crack and bleed.  Unfortunately, it was a great many years before she learned not only the importance of applying lotion proactively, but also using the right lotion for the job.  For a long time, she bought a basic body lotion from the drug store and then used it for all parts of her body.  It has only been in the past few years that she’s learned that she needs different lotions, balms, and serums for her hands, feet, body, and face.  Recycla has also learned to stash lotion and lip balm in a variety of places — her purse, her car, her kitchen, her  bathroom, etc. — so that she always has what she needs close at hand.

Recycla has made a determined effort to find products that don’t contain parabens and other yucky stuff.  Through trial and error, she has finally found lotions to suit all of her needs.

Here are all the EcoWomen’s  favorite products from head to toe:

HEAD

For the face, Avalon Organics and Alba Botanica both make really nice moisturizers.  In particular, Alba’s Jasmine and Vitamin E Cream smells divine and does an amazing job.  A little goes a long way, so Recycla only has to buy moisturizer once or twice a year.

Around the eyes, however, Recycla needs a little extra help combating dry, irritated skin, so she pulls out the big guns with Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless Intensive Repairing Serum.  One drop of this around her eyes every night has made an amazing difference.  No more red, flaky skin!  Yes, this costs a little bit more than regular lotion, but since Recycla is using only a drop at a time, a little goes a long way.

On her mouth, Recycla’s favorite lip balm is by Honeybee Gardens.  It’s not at all greasy, yet gets the job done.  As for the rest of the Eco Women, Enviro Girl is a fan of Zum products and also notes that Alba lip balm is less than $4/tube at Target.  Eco Lassie loves Aveda lip balm and says, ” A lot of lip balms make my lips peel, but this one never has.” Captain Compost is a fan of Burt’s Bees.    The Green Mommy actually makes her own, which she will tell you more about tomorrow.

HANDS

For dry hands, Recycla is a big fan of Badger Balm’s Organic Healing Balm.  This is seriously greasy stuff, but it gets the job done and Recycla’s fingers no longer crack and bleed each winter.

Eco Lassie swears by Aveda Hand Relief while Enviro Girl uses Kiss My Face hand creme (grapefruit + bergamot).  She says, “It smells like Froot Loops and a little goes a long way.  I LOVE it because it lasts and lasts and doesn’t soak in and disappear, but really seals and heals my skin.”

BODY

Recycla has tried a lot of body lotions, including some made by Burt’s Bees, Avalon Organics, and Indigo Wild.  Honestly, none has worked as well for her as Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion.   If anyone has any recommendations, she’d love to hear them.

FEET

Recycla uses two different foot products:  Badger Balm’s Organic Foot Balm and also Natralia Heel Balm.  Both work quite well.  Eco Lassie says that she’s a slave to Aveda Foot Relief.  She slathers it on, then puts on thick socks to help the lotion absorb into her skin.

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So those are just some of the Eco Women’s favorite products to combat winter’s drying effects on their skin.

There is also another possibility.  If you want to really understand what goes into your skin care products, then perhaps you might want to try making your own.  That’s not such a far-fetched idea and, as mentioned above, the Green Mommy is going to cover this very topic tomorrow.

Tell the Eco Women:  What are your favorite eco products to combat dry skin?