'Tis the Season for Intensive Skincare

December can be the cruelest month of all for your complexion. Just when it's your time to shine at holiday parties and family gatherings, your skin turns dull and lifeless. As dry, frigid weather sets in, the superficial lines you barely noticed in the fall start to deepen. In a matter of weeks, this environmental assault on your skin can add years to your appearance. As the toll of wintertime stresses on your complexion mounts, the temptation to fight back with drastic measures can become hard to resist. But if you're on the verge of submitting to radical cosmetic procedures, I urge you to wait and consider a safer, more sustainable approach. Rather than investing in a potentially hazardous quick fix, commit your time and attention to creating the conditions for naturally beautiful skin. Beauty and Health: Make the Connection In the coming weeks, I'll introduce you to a comprehensive wintertime skincare program based on the wellness practices developed in Romania's world-renowned Black Sea spas. The centuries-old holistic philosophy behind these practices teaches that every aspect of our selves-including our outward appearance-is a reflection of our total well-being. Holistic Life Support to the Rescue The holistic skincare practices I learned from my Romanian mother and grandmother offer an intuitively wise and scientifically valid alternative to invasive anti-aging methods. Instead of attacking ailing complexions with scalpels or deep laser or chemical burns, this wellness-based skincare approach strives to nurse fragile, damaged skin back to health by restoring and sustaining its natural ability to repair and renew itself. A Top-Down Approach to Cold-Weather Complexion Care Just as we insulate our bodies from the elements by layering sweaters, shirts, and long johns under our winter coats, our skin shields the tissues and organ systems underneath it with multiple layers. From the five strata of the epidermis to the underlying dermis and subcutaneous tissues, every cell layer of this complex vital organ needs proper care, feeding, and protection to survive and flourish. But the benefits of a truly holistic skincare regime go deeper still. By providing equal support for the microcirculatory system, underlying musculature, and internal organ systems that maintain the health and youthful appearance of our skin, this multilevel skincare program safely achieves beautiful, lasting results. In my next blog, I'll start outlining the steps to keeping your skin health and beautiful all winter long--and beyond.