So, this is actually a repost of an article I wrote last year for GOOD. We’ve never done a repost before, but because several people have sent us emails about their winter skin woes I thought it could be helpful to those who had missed this one—and a reminder to the rest of us. Even to moi, the advice doller who woke up this morning with dryer-than-usual skin and serious lip crackage. Also? Awesome excuse to post a picture from Dr. Zhivago.
How do change you beauty routine, diet, and routine in the winter?
Cosmetics companies just love to sell you on the idea that each new season calls for an arsenal of new products. And why wouldn’t they? It means you’ll ditch your half-finished current bottle of snake oil in favor of one that comes with the same crap on the inside and different claims on the out. Cha-ching.
Of course, it’s true that cold weather and even clock changes can have serious side effects for skin. But if you’re the sensitive type, switching out your entire regimen—i.e. risking reactions to new products—right when the temperature is dropping, is likely to do more harm than good. In fact if your skin is at all finicky, we strongly advocate sticking to routine in this area.
So how to beat your winter skin woes? Click “Next” above to read the tips that will matter most for winter skin.
1. Moisturize. Yes, it’s the most boring advice in the world, but there’s a reason people say it so often. Moisturizing does exactly what it implies: It helps keep moisture in by replicating the skin’s natural barrier function. It’s simple science, and you don’t need to use a different one for every season. Find a good clean moisturizer that you love, or get with the oil program, and just do it consistently. If you’re out and about in the winter keep a to-go version in your bag for some extra application.
2.Wash less. We’ve covered this in the past, and the merits of this advice are doubly relevant for winter. Over-washing strips skin of its natural protective oils, robs it of healthy bacteria, increases exposure to harmful and/or irritating chemicals, and generally aggravates skin conditions like rosacea and eczema—the very same ones that are exacerbated by seasonal changes. So as the air gets cold and dry, and you’re less likely to be a sweaty mess, do yourself a favor and get with the dirty program.
3. Avoid the acids. You don’t have to agree with our no-acid rule, but even proponents of stripping and peeling should dial back over the winter. Whether you use AHAs or BHAs, go for chemical peels, get microderm abrasion, or just subscribe to a heavy scrubbing routine, we reallyreallyreally think you should slow down. While you may be less at risk to sun exposure over the winter, burning off that top layer of skin will make you all the more vulnerable to the chafing, drying and cracking effects of cold air and gusty winds. While you may think this is reducing fine lines, we think over the long haul it’s speeding up the aging process.
4. Get your fat on. Ever notice how you crave more fat in the winter? While the diet set will offer tips on how to counter that impulse, we think that the body has an innate intelligence when it comes to such things. Healthy fats, especially omegas 3s, are key to maintaining hydrated, glowy, happy skin. Winter’s a good time to up your intake on these and as an added bonus it will help satisfy that appetite for grease the healthy way. Foods like salmon, sardines, olive oil and walnuts are chock full of omegas, but we’re not opposed to taking a supplement on top of that. Just make sure it’s a good one.
5. Improve your digestion. Your tummy is talking to you, and what it’s saying can often be read on your skin. While we don’t think you need different products every season, we do think you need different food. In past posts about Ayurveda we’ve explained how important it is to eat with the season. Winter calls for warm, calming foods and the previously mentioned healthy fats. Sorry salad girls, but your skin needs something a little bit more substantial and heat-producing to face the winter months. Instead of eating your veggies raw, make a soup or stir fry with them instead.
6. Dose up on D. Vitamin D has emerged as something of a miracle worker in the last few years. While research is ongoing, there is promising evidence that it could help prevent cancer, raise immunity, and lower the risks associated with all kinds of diseases. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, and you know that that means. Because the sun is a primary source for vitamin D, and because most of us are deficient, we’re going to suggest that you look to increase your intake of this wonder vitamin during the winter. It is available in certain foods, like fish and fortified milk, but it’s hard to get enough through those sources. As with fish oil, we think it’s a good idea to take supplements too.
7. Get a humidifier. One easy way to counter dry air is—ding, ding, ding—to add moisture to it. Some advice from the experts at the Mayo Clinic:Be sure to keep your humidifier clean, because a dirty one is an amazing place for bacteria to thrive. Also, try to have your humidifier where you spend the most time, since you’d need several to change the air quality of a house or large apartment. We suggest you put it by your bed when you’re asleep: That way you’ll wake up with happy, hydrated skin.
After last week’s conversation, it’s pretty clear that everyone draws their dietary lines differently. But over the past decade we’ve noticed the rise of a certain trend that we call “vegans who eat fish.” What gives? On the one hand there are the convincing health (and environmental) benefits of a plant-based diet, extolled in The China Study and elsewhere. On the other, nutrition heros like Dr. Andrew Weil continue to make strong arguments for eating fish, particularly the kind high in omega-3s.
Instead of choosing, some (including Bill Clinton) have opted for the hybrid diet—a.k.a. vegans who eat fish, and preferably the sustainably sourced kind. Which takes me to sardines—a new obsession. As I mentioned last week, I’m going through a period right now where animal protein seems crucial to my health. Fish is a regular go-to, but like so many foods these days, it’s also a minefield. If it’s not mercury levels, it’s over-fishing. When it’s not over-fishing, it’s the carbon footprint of sushi.
But because I believe most things Dr. Weil says, after several false starts I have finally come around to sardines in a big way. Here’s why you may want to as well… Or have you already?
1. They’re low on toxins. Because they’re little and low on the food chain, sardines don’t contain all the scary environmental chemicals found in bigger fish.
2. They’re high in omega-3s. Good for your brain, great for your skin, proven to fight inflammation, omega-3s may be the closest thing we have to a silver bullet in the food-as-medicine world.
3. There are lots of them. In fact, according to Weil, we have twice as many sardines today as we did 100 years ago. Unfortunately, that’s because we’ve overfished their predators.
4. They contain vitamin D. Many people are vitamin D deficient, and it doesn’t occur naturally in most food. While doctors are still debating just how much we need, sardines are a healthy way to get this super-vitamin without sitting in the sun (which makes dermatologists cry).
5. They taste better than tuna. Everybody knows that fat makes things yummier, and those super-healthy fats in sardines give them a satisfying flavor that you only get from tuna when you drown it in olive oil and mayo.
6. And they stink less too! It’s true that we’ve called them “stinky sardines” in the past, but compared to canned tuna or salmon, sardines are actually the least offensive on the olfactory front.
Here’s how I do mine:
—I buy a skinless, boneless variety in olive oil (I like the one at Trader Joe’s)
—I drain them and then add a bit of Vegenaise (the soy-free one), a tsp of dijon, some chopped green onion, capers, pepper, salt, and a hit of Tabasco
—I mash that together and spread on toast, wrap it in cabbage, eat it with a cucumber, whatever’s handy and good
Have you made friends yet with this sustainable superfood? If so, when, and how do you do yours?
There’s lots of debate about whether or not women should be taking supplements—especially multivitamins. Prevention did an awesome story a while ago asking that very question, and they came to the conclusion that women probably do not need to take multis(!). Other recent research has called into question whether or not we should all be dosing ourselves with D and calcium, too. (Jury is still out on those ones.)
So we want to know: Do you take supplements? And if you do, what do you take it for?
We can keep the answers simple (or not—go crazy if you want). Here, I’ll go first:
Omega-3: I take this every day without fail, for skin, mood, hair, and hormone balance.
Folic acid: No, I’m not trying to get pregnant! I take it for other reasons I don’t want to talk about, and I do so religiously.
That’s it! I used to take D but stopped. I also used to take E and A, and stopped those too. Your turn. What do you take?
Hey guess what? The FDA is probably going to approve genetically engineered FISH for sale in the United States. As in, whole live salmons, made out of a “genetic cocktail of genomes taken from other fish.” They say they have been testing the salmon for ten years, and told the Washington Post that: “In characteristics, physiology, behavior, this is an Atlantic salmon. It looks like an Atlantic salmon. It tastes like an Atlantic salmon.”
The catch? The testing has been done in a particularly non-transparent way, which has environmental groups—and lots of chefs—miffed. It seems problematic to us, too, obviously—as does the fact that it’s unclear if the people making frankenfish will be required to label their food as genetically engineered. I’m also curious about the nutritional profile. Will it be loaded with the same Omega-3 goodness of, say, wild Alaskan? And what are the long-term environmental implications?
If approved, it will be the first genetically engineered animal approved for human consumption.
The company is called AquaBounty, and here’s how they describe their little lab creatures:
AquaBounty is developing advanced-hybrid salmon, trout, and tilapia designed to grow faster than traditional fish. AquAdvantage Salmon reach market size twice as fast as traditional salmon … [They are also] reproductively sterile … [and] grow faster and reach mature size earlier than standard salmon.
How much faster? Eighteen months to full size.
OK the mic is yours. Would you eat it? What do you think the larger implications are here?
Image of non-genetically engineered salmon via
And we don’t mean Cheetos, though we love them as much as the next guy. We mean like actual, beneficial (or at least slightly less sinful) snacks. If you’ve read our book, you know we have a whole chapter on nutrition, because we believe that food and lifestyle choices are as important as products in how we feel and look (big duhs). So we want to hear from you—what do you eat when you need to calm the monsters that sometimes pop out of your brain (and mouth and face) the week leading up to your period?
We’ve tried a bunch of things, from doubling our doses of evening primrose oil, B12 and omega 3s in an effort to keep our hormones in check, to going raw or vegan for the seven days before. Have you tried anything that works? And what’s your perfect PMS dinner?
Here, I’ll go first. My perfect dinner is olive oil drenched oven potatoes (basically fries, but like, not) with a greek-yogurt-sriracha mix for dipping, spinach and salmon salad loaded with veggies, a side of asparagus and then coconut sorbet if I want dessert. Asparagus is a diuretic, salmon is great for skin and hormones, veggies are just plain good and anything from the fry family is my favorite thing to eat ever. So that satisfies my very strong desire for fats (the good kind!) and salt (the good kind! just kidding) and crunchiness—without making me feel worse.
Y tu?
Street art image from (cc) Flickr user Bluejake
You asked, dear readers, and we answered! We are no strangers to panicky icky temperamental bad skin, but we’ve had some great luck with some truly natural things, and so we wrote a post about it. It just went up at GOOD in slideshow form, with art by this chick we’re certifiably obsessed with, named Brianna Harden. She’s a student (student!) in L.A., a GOOD intern, and we heart her. Check our her site, and swoon.
From the post:
If you’re no stranger to the kind of breakouts that make you want to put a paper bag over your head and cry, well, chin up—but step away from the benzoyl peroxide. Because they are formulated to penetrate deep into the skin, traditional acne products are extremely harsh and can contain some of the more unhealthy chemicals used in personal care products. BP is the most popular over-the-counter spot remedy in the United States, but that doesn’t mean we should be using it. Studies have shown it to be free-radical-generating (that’s bad—free radicals age the skin), and it has caused tumors in mice—to say nothing of its skin-peeling harshness.
But take heart. Here are 10 completely nontoxic ways to clean up your skin from the outside in, and the inside out.
Read our top 10 tricks here.
Illustration by Brianna Harden (obvs)
Omegas omegas omegas. We’ve all heard a zillion times that we should take our omegas every single day, because they’ll make us live forever without cancer and wrinkles and bad moods.
But then we’ll also see attention-grabby headline claiming it’s snake (er, fish) oil, or that it’s too often contaminated with mercury to be safe for daily use. Well, here’s our take:
High-quality omegas are just possibly the single most amazing supplement in the entire world, for a number of reasons.
Bam! They’re an anti-inflammatory superstar, and inflammation, as we explain in the book, is health and beauty enemy number one. Yes, it’s our body’s natural response to bad things—it’s how we fight off infection—but study after study has shown that often, when there’s no infection at all, inflammation is triggered and the body kind of attacks itself.
The result of that ain’t pretty. We’re talking acne and rosacea on the relatively benign end of the spectrum, and rheumatoid arthritis and worse on the other.
That’s the bad news. The good news is, there are tons of delicious ways to get your omegas through your diet—salmon, walnuts, egg yolks, etc.—and you will be rewarded with glowy hydrated skin. As for supplements, we’re partial to fish oil from Nordic Naturals, but if you’re a flax seed kind of gal, that’s cool too. Just make sure they’re freshly ground and organic (duh).
