Lizard Skin

Winters in Maine are long, cold, dark and seemingly never-ending, and with that comes, what I call “lizard skin.” There are always ads in magazines that address “winter skin,” which never really resonated with me until this winter. Having been in Maine for almost 7 years now, I have gotten used to winter, the slowness, the staying inside, the introspection, the cabin fever hitting inevitably in February where every part of your mind and body is screaming to get out and get naked, ie venture to warmer climates. But lizard winter skin is a new phenomenon that I never really been bothered by until this winter.

Having grown up in sunny San Diego, my skin was always well tanned, clear and I wore little makeup and relied very little on face care products. At the age of 10 I, was introduced to Clarins beauty products. They have always been a staple in my medicine cabinet and as a teenager in CA I relied on their toner to cleanse, a little bronzer and mascara; as I have aged and since moved to frigid, sunless climates, my Clarins medicine cabinet needs one all to itself.

Clarins is a relatively expensive, but well-worth-it all-natural beauty care line made in France (maybe this answers the proverbial question of how and why French women are so lovely). Succumbing to lizard skin this winter, I have now mastered a skin care regime that reduces the lizardness and makes winter more manageable.

Skin care starts on the inside. You are what you eat, and eating well shows in your skin. Regular juicing, lots of fresh veggies and fruits, increased Vitamin D and Omega 3s, probiotics, especially goat milk kefir (mmm), a gluten free/lactose free diet and lots of water and green teas, is really the starting point of clear skin, at least for me. The image left shows what a skin issue on areas of your face mean. If you keep breaking out in the same area, it is your body's way of telling you something is not working well inside. This is also true with sleeping patterns, if you notice that you are continually waking the same time every night, your body is telling you something, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, a Chinese “meridian clock” is used to show the times of day when each organ system is most active. All these play into your healthy skin. If your intake is clean, then you are only dealing with environmental issues like wind, cold and skin not being able to breathe because we are so bundled up in the winter.

Not sponosored, just my preference

My regime consists of weekly facials with Clarins Gentle Peeling, moisturizing with their incredible face treatment oils: Ordchidee Bleue for really dry skin and Lotus oil for spot treatment. As much as I would love to purchase Clarins daily moisturizer it is just too expensive to justify my daily use, especially because I want to slather it over my entire body. I have used Olay for years, but am actively seeking an all-natural moisturizer and have yet to find a great candidate. (Any suggestions greatly appreciated) I use Clarins One-Step Facial toner/cleanser to lessen any unnecessary water on my face. The Beauty Flash Balm helps brighten skin and acts as a primer for makeup and lastly the Vital Light Serum helps with residual dark spots and fine lines. For my body I use a natural, sugar scrub with essential oils. I warm my skin up in the shower then turn off the water and rub the sugar scrub in slow circular motions, shoulders to toes. I then turn the water on and rinse. Ideally I would bathe more than shower, but currently we don’t have a bathtub. Lastly, I barely dry off and moisturize with c. Booth Honey Almond Body Butter for really dry days and Archipelago Botanicals Oat Milk Lotion for normal days.

Having identified how to beat lizard skin in the dead of a Maine winter really makes the cabin fever less painful, or at least seemingly more manageable with clear, happy, moisturized skin.

Native snow bunnies, any tricks of the trade and experience being in the dark, cold, drying, seemingly endless winters?