When you feel the change of season happening outside – it’s a reminder to bring change inside of your home too. We tend to have our daily routines and our habits – but what worked for us in the Summer and Fall may not be what keeps us feeling our best in the Winter. So it’s time to think about what we need to stay well in this new season. Look through your pantry, make a grocery list and prepare your home with your own Winter Apothecary.
I’m listing out the natural elements that you’ll want to have on hand to support your body through the colder days. Use them daily in your routine – so that even under the harshest weather – you’ll stay feeling soft, dewy and bright!
Hydration: Honey
As the weather becomes colder, our showers become hotter! It feels good to take a hot steamy shower on a cold day – but for the skin, hot water is incredibly dehydrating.
To protect your skin – apply a thick coat of honey on your face before entering the shower. Leave it on as you clean your body and wash your hair – only at the end wash off the honey. Because honey is a humectant, it has the ability to drive all the moisture from the steamy air deep into your skin, keeping you dewy and hydrated.
Moisture: Avocado Oil
Before you get into your shower, massage your entire body with warm avocado oil. This self-massage practice will help to stimulate the lymphatic system and circulatory system – an also to nourish your nervous system helping you to destress. The oil soaks into skin and keeps you feeling soft and moisturized. When you step into the shower, do not wash off the oil with soap. Use a washcloth to clean your skin and remove excess oils and use soap strategically just on the areas you feel you need it most.
Protection: Shea Butter
For protection from the elements – use an occlusive over your skin – like shea butter. This will form a barrier of protection from the harsh cold weather, from the wind and from being in the drying air when we use room heaters.
I suggest that you whip the shea butter with a hand-held mixer to make it lighter, airier and creamier to apply onto your skin.
Use daily all over your body, and the areas where you tend to get drier skin. Massage shea butter on your hands to protect them, especially after you wash them. It’s appropriate to use on the face as well, but you don’t need to use a lot! Shea butter is non-clogging, and it stimulates micro-circulation which is so important in the cold weather.
Immunity: Elderberry
The most delicious way to stay healthy this season is with an Elderberry Syrup. Elderberries have antiviral and antibacterial properties that keep germs and bugs away and support a healthy immune system to keep you feeling resilient. Find my recipe for a Chocolate Vanilla Elderberry Syrup that tastes like a dessert! Drink a tablespoon daily throughout the season.
Circulation: Warming Spices
Using herbs that promote circulation will give your body warmth and circulate nourishment and energy into every cell in your body. In the winter, we can begin to feel a little sluggish, and interestingly if we look at the spices so common during the wintertime – they are all excellent at helping to warm and stimulate the body!
If you make your own infused oils – I suggest that you make a Ginger + Cardamom oil infusion. Follow this guide to dry fresh ginger from the supermarket. Use this to massage your body daily, it will make you feel warm and cozy and keep your body flowing.
Make yourself a Winter Salt Bath blend to soak in and stimulate your circulation. Add cinnamon powder, ginger powder, and vanilla extract to magnesium salt flakes. I love adding coconut milk powder to the blend as well, it makes the water feel extra silky and delicious! If you do not have a bath, make a body scrub to use in the shower for the same effect. Follow this base recipe and add in the spices.
Sunshine: Dehydrated Citrus
Simply smelling a citrus fruit brings uplifts the mood and makes you feel happy! Thinly slice and dehydrate a few lemons and then store them in an airtight container to use throughout the winter. Add dehydrated lemon to your tea blends, bath salts and infuse them into your avocado oil to rub all over your skin. You can dehydrate lemon slices in the oven, at the lowest setting or invest in a simple dehydrator. Use this guide to dehydrate your citrus. Dehydrating is such a wonderful way to preserve food so that you can enjoy it any time of the year!