The Winds of Change - Formulating For The Seasons (Autumn)

Autumn - Recover, Re-juvenate, Replenish:

Autumn is nature's way of giving us a break and slowing us down, a pause between the extreme heat of summer and the cutting winds and cold rains of winter. If we get our skin care right this can be a perfect time to nurture our skin and prime it for the coming five months so that we can be radiant and comfortable throughout winter and ready to jump into action and stand up to the searing summer heat come springtime.

So what should we be looking out for in our Autumnal skin care?

Good fats, antioxidants, richer textures and rapid results!

Skin can go into autumn slightly stressed after too much sun, late nights, partying, changes in routine with holidays and dehydration so we need to go gently, at least for the first could of weeks while our skin recalibrates.Some people will break out every season change due to the extra stress a dramatic then persistent change in weather places on the skin. If you are one of those people take extra care in selecting good fats both inside and out.

Good Fats:

Essential Fatty Acids are what we are talking about now and while these can benefit us all year around it is now, in autumn that we are most needing to stock up our stores! Essential Fatty Acids can only be provided to the body through diet and in the hierarchy of essential functions the skin barrier is often the last to get its share! As far as the your complexion is concerned these are what helps to really ensure your skin barrier is strong and functioning well so that it might protect you from dehydration, irritation and inflammation. As far as how much and how often the answer is ‘as much and as often as you can bare!'

Let you skin drink up these good oils either in a cream or an oil drench!

Baobab (Tree of Life) - Rich in Vitamin B1 and the amino acid lysine. Blackcurrant - Great for very dry skin.
Borage - (Omega 9 rich)
Evening Primrose - Highly active anti-inflammatory Triterpenoidal esters.
Flaxseed (Linseed, Omega 3)
Kiwi - Vitamins C and E, high shine making it great for hair care.
Kukui - Light and fast to absorb.
Perilla - Great for lipsticks as high shine
Rosehip - Carotinoids, nature's vitamin A!
Macadamia -(Omega 7)
Cherry Kernel -(Omega 3)

Antioxidants:

Antioxidants are the bodies little soldiers and are always welcome whatever the season but in Autumn we are especially looking to increase our dose of antioxidants to help mop up any damage from too much sun and late nights of summer while holding things together as the weather cools down!

Antioxidants act chemically to neutralize free radicals, which would otherwise settle on the skin and attack our cells causing stress, irritation and maybe even inflammation. When it comes to antioxidants there is some scientific evidence to suggest that a combination is better than opting for a single ingredient which is an excellent invitation to get creative and have fun with this element of your skin care formulating or product sourcing.

The most potent antioxidant we use regularly in skincare is Vitamin E and of all the types the mixed tocopherols is the most useful at protecting both the skin and your product from oxidation. But why stop there? Here are a few more antioxidants to consider and look out for when shopping!

Textures:

As the weather cools down and the winds pick up the skin can benefit greatly from the comfort of a richer textured moisturizer or serum. If you are formulating your own skincare this can be achieved by re-visiting your oil phase and swapping lighter oils for richer oils, butters or even a little wax.

Moisturizing creams typically contain oil phases ranging from 5% all the way up to 45%, which gives you a lot of room to experiment. Our self-emulsifying waxes, especially the Olive Derived and the Vegetable Derived are particularly flexible and can accommodate oil phases in the ranges above if formulated correctly. If you want to keep your moisturizer formula simple and stick to the same basic formula all year but are craving a bit more substance you might find the addition of a little bit of Olive Squalane or our ultra-rich capryloyl glyceryl/ sebacic acid copolymer 100% natural and derived from Castor oil. Maybe adding some of the natural wax jelly sounds appealing, especially if you are after a rich, dewy finish. Add these ingredients into your oil phase or you can even add them at the end at between 1-5% to make your creams a little richer. Another thing you can do that takes very little time and is very cost effective is to add or increase the level of cetearyl alcohol in your emulsion. Creams typically contain between 0-5% cetearyl and this gives the cream a waxy yet light texture and heaps more viscosity. Try adding just 1% more to your cream and note how that makes it feel and how it affects the speed with which it sinks in!

If you are after something a bit more adventurous or for a solution with proven efficacy you could try adding one of these specialist actives to help your skin care deliver results:

Pentavitin - Saccharide Isomerate:

In a human panel test pentavitin was found to be substantive to the hair and skin giving long-lasting barrier repair and protection. 1% was found to reduce dry skin by up to 20% after 4 weeks. Trans epidermal water loss was reduced too and levels of 3% were even found to increase skin hydration for up to 72 hours for long-lasting protection!

Snail Secretion Extract:

OK so this may not be for everyone but if you take a look at the chemistry the snail certainly knows how to protect its soft body from this harsh world and this can be put to good use in your skincare. Snail secretion is a rich source of allantoin, sugars, elastin and collagen which all help to soothe and moisturize the skin.

Beta Glucan:

This moisture boosting active can help boost collagen production, skin elasticity and smoothness - all of which are essential to healthy, beautiful skin! Bega glucan can be found in many different plants including oats and mushrooms, is heat stable and can be added at levels of between 1-5% to boost your products long-term moisturizing capacity.

Hopefully that's given you a few ideas to try out in the lab as you join me in my quest to keep Australian skin beautiful this autumn but just in case you want a bit more direction to get you started here is one of my favorite essential fatty acid rich oil blends to try - you can always just layer this under your regular moisturizer for a bit of extra protection!

Happy formulating!

Amanda Foxon-Hill

14 March 2017