The Next Best Moisturizer Is Within Reach

— La'NA'

A balmy teaser afternoon draws me beyond these walls into the wondrous outdoors that help me daily remember the relation among health, harmony and beauty.

I rest in both the tranquility and energy of the four seasons.  While nature may look quiet on a brisk day of winter, the antics of a snowy wonderland remind me that life is in constant motion and forever changing.

In the disguise of being dormant, the gardens and woodlands are preparing for us the new sense of springtime.   Subtle hints of microorganisms feeding the root systems of plant life will be found in the fresh green of hyacinth popping through the ground, as well as in a profusion of new leaves on rose bushes.  From the kitchen window, the green of the Chrysanthemum x morifolium — best known in our garden as Ryan’s Pink— announces its presence through the stubble of last year’s growing season.

Like the Ryan’s Pink (a Ryan Gainey discovery for Goodness Grows Nursery) dormant appearance, all things are made new and whole.  With so much written about skin care, the newest and best wrinkle eraser, and the latest technology for making one’s appearance younger, is it not curious that since ancient time we still are looking for the next best moisturizer?

The skin is a wonder to me in how it reflects unique individuality yet is treated as usual and ordinary.  What is even more surprising is the fear of looking too closely for the new layers that want to be uncovered.  Instead, we hide behind products, like makeup, that can cause the complexion to appear aged, dull and lifeless.   Like winter may appear.

Although there is a plethora of off-the-shelf, readily available information regarding younger looking skin, there are truly two places to be looking closely:  from the inside out and the outside in.   The skin tells.   As a barometer is to weather, your skin is an indicator of the condition of your whole being.   From unhealthy food consumption to the toxins that invade our environment, the skin is forever soaking it in and changing—not necessarily the way we would like.

How, then, can we ensure that our skin mirrors good health rather than poor habits?  My advice, as always, is to follow your natural instincts and stick to naturally organic foods and products.  At the same time, incorporate the natural world in your everyday life.  Naturally healthy, quite simply, cannot be manufactured.

I write Nature’s Secrets to Every Season for you with hopes that you, too, will fall in love with caring for your skin, naturally.