Winter Skin Part 1

by Alysa Sullivan, January 15, 2007

Even though we have had unseasonably warm weather up until now, my skin has been drying out right on schedule. I brought out the heavy-duty skin creams somewhere back in October, and they won’t go back into the closet until April or May. I have bottles of hand lotion and face cream strategically placed all over my home, in my purse and in the car. In fact, my biggest complaint about my gym is that they don’t provide hand lotion in the bathrooms. Oh, how it drives me wild to have dry skin!

For 15 years I had placed the responsibility for my skin care in the hands of one very tough Romanian facialist. At our first consultation, Lena looked at my skin for a scant few seconds then laid out her prescription for healthy, youthful skin. She told me if I follow her instructions to the letter and I would see radiant, clear skin in weeks. It was implicit that I was not to question her ways nor divert from her prescribed path. I was a dutiful adherent for years, slathering on her creams and masks and going down in for bi-monthly facials, and most of all, asking no questions.

Following my skin guru, I was free from the pull of the latest and greatest in youthafying lotions and potions. I would blythly sail past the cosmetic counters, “No thank you, I’m just looking for a new eyeshadow." I don’t need your voodoo magic, I have Lena.

Then one day about a year ago, I looked at the label of one of her creams. My stomach sank, it was chock full of so many of the chemicals and ingredients that I had already cleared out of the medicine cabinet. It was time to break free. I truly was worried that my 40-something skin would begin to look it’s age and more. But, my skin and I have survived to tell the tale, and so we can share with you all a number of product lines you can buy close to home that will help keep you dewey and moist throughout the year. The following are the natural lines that I love, next week we'll talk about the equally indulgent but perhaps less pure products.

DR TOM'S TONICS ( 6384 Mill Street, Rhinebeck, NY) sells the luxurious ORGANIC PHARMACY line from England. Free of preservatives,colors, frangrants, or anything toxic to the body the line is made in small batches insuring the best quality and purity. This is a pricey line, but the purity of the ingredients seems to make up for that (Prices range from $50-$75 for the face creams).