Like the weather, your skin changes over time. But your products don’t have to.

Here is something that most skin care companies don’t want you to know: You don’t need new products for every season (the horror! the affront to late-Capitalism!). You just need to learn how to hack the ones you already have.

With a little fine tuning and paying attention, you’ll have tweaked and tinkered your way to fresher skin care (you’ll use every drop before buying new); more cash in your pocket (for snacks); and a more tuned-into-your-skin and tuned-into-the-seasons self. This is minimalist skin care at its finest. You only need a few things that you probably already have in your bathroom cabinet.

Winter

The blade
of your hand carves a portal out of steam,
the two of us like boys behind frosted glass
who wave goodbye while a car shoves off
into winter.
—from Winter by Timothy Liu

Season is—

Cold
Dry
Characterized by temperature fluctuations ( indoor/outdoor, cold/hot)

Skin can be—

Dry
Itchy
Uncomfortable
Cracked
Red / Irritated

Tips—

• Switch to an oil-based cleanser and use it only at night. In the morning, wipe the sleep from your eyes with a warm washcloth, apply toner, oil, and sunscreen.
• Add a deep moisture balm layer over your typical facial care routine at night, such as Skin Cream or Repair Balm.
• If skin is irritated, use a face oil that contains NO essential oils, like Chamomile Yarrow Toner and Skin Cream.
• Apply body oil after a shower to seal in moisture.
• Exfoliate to keep skin receptive to moisturizing and keep skin cells turning over.
• Massage skin to increase circulation (even on the face).
• Avoid too-hot showers (I know, bummer).
• For dry hands and knuckles, use Skin Cream or Repair Balm on hands with gloves or socks over top (Tara’s grandma’s trick!).

Product Hack—

• Turn your Skin Cream into an oil-based facial cleanser: Apply all over dry skin, remove with a warm, wet washcloth.
• Boost the moisture quotient by adding a couple drops of face oil to your mask or a bit of body oil to your bath.
  
  

Spring

Spring comes little, a little. All April it rains.
The new leaves stick in their fists; new ferns still fiddleheads.
But one day the swifts are back. Face to the sun like a child
You shout, 'The swifts are back!'
—from Swifts by Anne Stevenson

Season is—

Transitional: Skin is adjusting to warmer temps and humidity
Full of pollen and allergens

Skin can be—

Heavy from too much product (the leftover winter routine)
Rough / patchy / combo-y
Broken out
Irritated from pollen / allergies (blowing a drippy nose and rubbing itchy eyes can causing skin irritation and inflammation)

Tips—

• Simplify, pare down.
• Shed the outermost layer of your skin care routine (bye bye, balm).
• Exfoliate to bring new skin to the surface.
• If skin is becoming oily / combo, use a facial soap like Tea Tree Charcoal Face Soap to cleanse (drop oil cleansers, or use an oil-based cleansing milk, like Juniper Bergamot Face Cleanser).
• Lighten moisturizing: Use only a few drops of face oil or a pinch of skin cream.

Product Hack—

• Our Matcha Lime Exfoliant Mask can be used as a facial cleanser to both hydrate and exfoliate, renewing skin and helping it turnover (make new skin): Scrub it onto damp skin and rinse without letting it dry first.
  
  

Summer

Spun silk of mercy,
long-limbed afternoon,
sun urging purple blossoms from baked stems.
What better blessing than to move without hurry
under trees?
—from Last August Hours Before the Year 2000 by Naomi Shihab Nye

Season is—

Hot
Humid

Skin can be—

Clogged
Broken out (acne)
Sunburned

Tips—

• Lean on facial bars for facial cleansing.
• Double cleanse at night, especially if wearing makeup or sunscreen: 1) Lemon Rose Cleansing Oil; 2) Juniper Bergamot Face Cleanser.
• Increase frequency of exfoliation to address clogging, but don’t overdo it (max 3 times per week).
• Bust out the Spot Serum for pimples / stress relief.

Product Hack—

• Use Geranium Palmarosa Face Toner as an on-the-go hydrator, refresher, and skin soother. Just because it’s humid, don’t stop using this pore-cleansing hydrator!
• Deodorant can be applied to the chest, neck, and feet to refresh and deodorize.
• Our Insect Repellent is a good-smelling body spray in a pinch.
• Use Lavender Lemongrass Body Oil to soothe sunburned skin.
  
  

Fall

Come—I’ll trace you one final autumn,
and you can trace your last homecoming
into the snow or the sun.
—from Final Autumn by Annie Finch

Season is—

Transitional: Skin is adjusting to cooler temps and drier air

Skin can be—

Dry
Itchy
Combo-y

Tips—

• Swap facial bars for a cream cleanser like Juniper Bergamot Face Cleanser or an oil cleanser.
• Swap Spot Serum for Repair Balm for dry spots that start coming back, including lips, and also for stress-relieving aromatherapy.
• Start your cold-weather humidifier and keep that kitten purring until winter’s end.

Product Hack—

• For skin that is adjusting from humidity to dryness, add a little extra hydration. Layer your toners! Use Geranium Palmarosa first, then follow with Chamomile Yarrow Gel Toner. Lock in all that good moisture with a face oil, like Rosehip Chia Face Oil.
• Start moisturizing your hands, elbows, and feet in preparation for the cold of winter.
• Pull back on your use of super scrubby or harsh exfoliants and retinoids.
  
  

And If this still feels too complicated, just do this:

→ In cold weather, thicken up your moisturizer
→ In hot weather, add more hydration
→ In all seasons, wear sunscreen

p.s. What’s your favorite season?

 

Written By Vera Kachouh