Goji berries embody much more than just a tasty addition to your breakfast bowl. These nutrient-rich super-berries, also known as “wolfberries”, serve as a potent source of nutrients for your skin.

Originating from the lush landscapes of Asia, goji berries ( Lycium barbarum) have been revered in traditional medicine for centuries.

Lauded for their disease-preventing and immune-boosting properties, goji berries contain a dense concentration of antioxidants, vitamins, and phytonutrients.

Antioxidants galore 

The secret behind goji berries' efficacy in promoting skin health lies in their exceptional antioxidant capacity. These antioxidants shield the skin from oxidative stress, which is a key contributor to premature aging. 

By neutralizing free radicals—unstable molecules that can damage skin cells—goji berries help maintain the skin's collagen and elastin integrity, ensuring its texture remains firm and youthful.

The rich nutrient profile of goji berries, including carotenoids, vitamin C, oleic acid, and polysaccharides, plays a crucial role in enhancing skin color, texture, and overall resilience.

Let’s take a look at each one of these constituents in detail.

Carotenoids, nature’s answer to the sun's rays

Carotenoids, responsible for goji berries' vibrant red color, are formidable allies against environmental aggressors.

Zeaxanthin and lutein, two prominent carotenoids found in goji berries, help guard against UV-induced damage and pollution, safeguarding the skin's structural components and mitigating inflammation.

Skin vitality trio: beta carotene, vitamin C, and zinc

This powerful trio works synergistically to support skin health.

Beta carotene, a vitamin A precursor, excels in reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, helping to preserve the skin's elasticity and promoting collagen synthesis.

Vitamin C, known for its brightening effects, contributes to an even skin tone and smoother texture. Zinc enhances these benefits by supporting fibroblast function, essential for maintaining the skin's strength and resilience.

Anti-inflammatory heroes: polysaccharides and betaine

Goji berries are rich in polysaccharides, which not only hydrate and plump the skin but also soothe it, offering protection against harmful biochemical processes. 

Betaine, another key compound, combats inflammation and helps to preserve collagen and elastin from degradation, particularly from sun exposure, thereby preventing premature aging.

Moisture-locking oleic acid

Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid found in goji berries, reinforces the skin's barrier function, minimizing transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and ensuring lasting hydration.

Its anti-inflammatory properties, coupled with its antioxidant benefits, provide comprehensive protection against environmental damage and aging.

Why we use Nepalese goji berries

Nepalse goji berries are particularly beneficial for skin health.

This is because the high altitude, clean air and strong sunlight of the Himalayas contribute to a denser nutrient profile that other goji berry varieties.

The glacial deposits over centuries have enriched the Himalayan soil with minerals, ensuring that the goji berries grown here are packed with a higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants essential for skin vitality. Nepalese goji include significant levels of antioxidants such as zeaxanthin and polysaccharides.

You can find goji berry oil inclueded in our best-selling Alpine Phytonutient Serum.

Goji berries for skin health

The integration of goji berries into skincare formulations and dietary habits stands as a testament to their multifaceted benefits for skin health. By offering protection against oxidative damage, enhancing collagen production, and maintaining hydration, goji berries present a holistic approach to achieving radiant, healthy skin.

Incorporating goji berries into both your skincare routine and diet helps nurture and preserve the skin's natural vitality and beauty. 

Goji berries are a clear favorite for anyone seeking to bolster their skin health through nutrient-rich, natural ingredients.

As the golden hues of aspen leaves signal the transition from summer's warmth to cooler days ahead, our skin, too, undergoes a transformation. Exposed to environmental factors, it reacts sensitively to seasonal shifts, requiring a recalibrated approach to skin care. 

Understanding Seasonal Skin Changes

Changes in atmospheric dynamics, particularly temperature and humidity, impact our skin's health and appearance. Let’s unpack each one.

Why Fall Affects Our Skin

Ambient humidity: The air's moisture content plays a crucial role in determining our skin's hydration levels. Higher humidity levels in summer can help keep skin supple, but the drier autumn air wicks moisture from our skin leading to dehydration, and enhancing fine lines and wrinkles

Summertime aftereffects: While summer offers skin health benefits like increased circulation from outdoor activities, the negative impacts like sun damage and the residual effects of chlorine or salt from pool swims can linger into the fall.

Fluctuating fall weather: The inconsistencies in fall weather patterns, characterized by varying temperatures and increased wind, demand a dynamic response from our skin. When our skin is overly challenged by these fluctuations, it can start to feel tight, itchy or develop seasonal sensitivities.

Read on for 9 tips on how to easily adapt your skin care routine to maintain healthy glowing skin this fall…

Recalibrating Your Fall Skin Care Routine

1. Rethink Your Cleanser

If you’ve been using a clarifying cleanser all summer, now is the time to switch to gentler non-stripping or oil cleanser. The goal is a cleanser that doesn't leave your skin feeling tight post-wash. You can find a simple at-home oil cleansing recipe that is non-drying and noncomedogenic, here.

2. Update Your Toner

Transition from refreshing summer toners to ones that offer an extra hydration boost. Our Aspen Dew Illuminating Essence containsboth tonifying Aspen Bark extract that helps firm skin without drying and micro-mollecular hyaluronic acid that provides continuous hydration throught the day.  Avoid toners with alcohol, as they can further dry out skin.

3. Opt for Richer Moisturizers

Fall's cooler days require deeper hydration. Lighter moisturizers might suffice in the summer, but as fall progresses, consider using a restorative serum that offers a stronger moisture barrier, especially before bed. Our Alpine Phytonutrient Serum is a great choice for nighttime care as its nourishing whole-plant actives work to tirelessly restore skin while you sleep. 

4. Address Lips & Under Eye Areas

Carry a lipid rich lip balm in your purse and reapply often. Lips are especially sensitive to changes in temperature and can easily dry out. Try dabbing a small amount of the Purist Delicate Skin Serum to your lips just before applying lipstick for an extra boost of hydration and a little added sheen. You can also dab a little Purist under your eyes as a light eye serum to help combat fine lines caused by dehydration.

5. Regular, Gentle Exfoliation

To counteract any leftover summer sun effects, add weekly exfoliation to your beauty ritual. Our Snow Rose Recovery Mask can be used as a petal soft polish to gentlly exfoliate dead skin cells. However, avoid over-exfoliating, which can irritate skin, especially in drier climates.

6. Focus on Pores

Post-summer, pores can appear enlarged due to increased sweating during warmer months. Keep them clean and refined with a purifying clay mask. 

7. Embrace Hydrating Masks

Beyond your regular moisturizer, a hydrating mask can offer additional fortification against drier fall air. To enhance hydration, add a pump of our Purist Delicate Skin Serum or Alpine Phytonutrient Serum to your weekly Snow Rose Mask. 

8. Prioritize Hydration

Drinking water is essential, but for an external hydration boost, consider deeply nourishing serum. Serums offer additional restorative benefits and can help your skin barrier to cope with the changing seasons.

9. Add a Humidifier

Switch on your humidifier to restore moisture to the air in your home. This will help counteract the drying effects on the skin from indoor heaters and furnaces.

Tailoring Your Routine

The core tenets for fall skin care are observation and adaptation. As you recalibrate your skincare routine pay special attention to:

• Monitor your skin's response.
• Tweak your routine based on how your skin both feels and looks.
• Introduce changes gradually for optimal adaptation.

Adapting your skin care routine for fall is essential in ensuring your skin remains resilient and radiant. Not only that, your skin is the immune system’s first line of defense so keeping a healthy skin barrier is vital to your over-all wellbeing.

With attention to detail and the right products, you can confidently embrace the season's beauty while ensuring your skin stays at its best.

As we age, our skin's texture and ability to retain moisture start to change. This is because the amount of natural oils your skin produces declines dramatically after the age of 40. Some might go so far as to say that their oil glands have gone on strike!

But it’s not just that our skin produces less natural oils. The structure of our skin also changes, becoming thinner and less dense, a change that can further contribute to trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and impaired barrier function.

Both thinner and drier skin can greatly diminish optimal skin barrier function. One of the best things you can do for mature skin is to make sure your skin barrier remains intact and healthy by providing it with the vitamins, nutrients, and moisture that it needs.

Specifically, phytoceramides, precious oils and hyaluronic acid, which act synergistically toghether to mimic the composition of the skin’s natural barrier. Both our serums and our Aspen Dew Essence are designed to provide these key actives and help to promote optimal skin barrier health so you can keep your glow going.

For more on how to naturally boost your skin health and improve barrier function, check out our tips below...

How you can boost skin barrier health

Use a serum daily 

Invest in a clean, results-driven serum, like The Alpine Phytonutrient Serum or Purist Delicate Skin Serum, that fortifies and nourishes depleted skin with vitamin renewal while shielding against oxidative damage that leads to premature aging.

Use a gentle cleanser twice a day

Oil cleansers are preferred as they clean without stripping. Avoid anything that leaves your skin feeling “squeaky clean” as this is a sure sign your skin is being stripped of its natural oils and moisture.

Get your Omega 3s

Take a high-quality fish oil or flaxseed Omega 3 supplement, to improve the fatty acid composition of your skin and balance its inflammatory response. Our favorite is Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega.

Avoid hot water

Use warm (not hot!) water on your face so you are not stripping your skin of its natural oils and limit over-bathing.

Use SPF

Upgrade your sunscreen game, use a non-nano SPF sunscreen to protect against age spots and skin cancer. Makeup with SPF does not provide the same level of protection. While using SPF may feel over-stated, it remains one of the single most powerful ways to help prevent premature photo-aging. For more on this topic, check out our post on the myriad ways UV rays damage skin.

However you choose to support your skin barrier health, remember, caring for your skin is always an act of self-care. 

Have you ever hopped on a jet only to disembark at your destination and have your previously glowing complexion look dry, flaky, or just plain out of sorts?

There’s a reason this happens during travel. To understand why we must first take a look at our skin’s natural moisturizing factor, or NMF for short.

Your Skin’s Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF)

To stay hydrated, your skin produces what’s called a natural moisturizing factor (NMF). It consists of water-attracting compounds, like amino acids, urea, lactic acid, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, and other small molecules. These substances work together to bind ambient water molecules to the skin, keeping it hydrated and in a state of balance.

The fascinating thing is, your skin naturally adjusts how much NMF it produces. And it does this based on the environment you’re in.

For example, let’s say you live in a dry climate with low humidity levels like Colorado. Your skin will make more NMF than if you lived someplace with higher ambient humidity levels like Texas or Florida.

When you travel, your skin senses the change in environmental humidity, altitude, sun exposure, etc., and works overtime to bring itself back into a state of homeostasis, or balance. 

But this adjustment takes time and it’s one of the big reasons our skin can react negatively, looking dry and dull or on the opposite spectrum, breaking out within days after arriving on vacation.

To help your skin bounce back more quickly while you travel, try these tips and tricks.

Tips for Maintaining Glowing Skin While Traveling

Consider air travel

Any air travel you do will dehydrate your skin as cabin air has very little humidity. Before boarding apply a moisturizing facial serum like the Alpine Phytonutrient Serum and reapply during your flight.

Don’t worry, at one ounce each, TSA will allow you to carry on multiple full-sized TellurideGlow serums. This will help protect your skin from drying out as a result of the constant wicking effects of dry air being circulated in the cabin. Plus the soothing scent of the Alpine will add a little extra relaxation to your trip. 

You can also use a hydrating facial mist and spritz your face periodically during the flight. This will help add moisture back onto the surface of your skin, and since TSA won’t allow you to carry on a personal humidifier, it’s your next best option. 

Bring a lip ointment or dab some Purist Delicate Skin Serum onto your lips to keep them from cracking and chapping.

Pick up a water bottle so you can stay well hydrated while you fly. To that end, avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol, both are known diuretics. 

This will help your skin bounce back more quickly and reduce the effects of jetlag if you're traveling overseas. You can always have a Parisien cappuccino or an Aperol Spritz once you land.  

Moisturize

Once you arrive at your destination, restore moisture to dehydrated skin with our Aspen Dew Illuminating Essence. As a water-based formula, the Aspen Dew will deposit moisture back into your skin while the micro-molecular hyaluronic acid in it will help to continuously pull ambient moisture back into your skin. 

Follow with a skin barrier recovery serum like the Alpine to help balance skin post-travel. The phytoceramides found in both the Alpine and Purist will help protect your skin from additional moisture loss by preventing further trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL).

Cleanse gently

For cleansing while traveling, avoid harsh soaps or foaming products as these will strip your skin barrier of its natural oils. Skip potentially irritating hotel soaps and cleansers. Look for an oil-based or cream cleanser to help deposit lipids back onto your skin. 

And tempting as it might be, try not to over-cleanse while traveling. Over-cleansing can cause an inflammatory reaction in your skin, worsening dryness, hormonal breakouts, and skin conditions like eczema. 

Be mindful of chlorinated water

The water at your destination may have more chlorine, water softeners, or hard minerals than what you’re used to back home. These can worsen dry skin and aggravate reactive skin. 

This rule applies to swimming in chlorinated pools. Always rinse off after you get out to help remove any residual chlorine.

Sunscreen

You have heard it a million times but it bears repeating, always protect your skin from the sun. Especially if you’re traveling to a mountain town like Telluride where intense UV exposure and high altitudes can literally worsen every skin condition under the… ahem, sun. 

Choose a non-toxic sunscreen with a pleasing texture that you will enjoy using and apply it every few hours when out of doors.

Wishing you happy travels and glowing skin this summer!

One of the most noticeable changes in mature skin is in the way the skin feels.

A slower cell turnover and reduction in lipid production on the skin's surface means roughness and dryness are more likely. As this particular layer of the skin ages, it becomes more sensitive to UV light.

Over-cleansing, over-stripping, and over-drying your skin can compromise the moisture barrier and microbiomes (skin flora), which are really important for skin protection.

A less-is-more approach is one of the easiest ways to protect your skin from potential irritation, allergic reactions, and blemishes from congestion.

Because the skin’s lipid barrier replaces itself less frequently as we get older, it can become irritated more easily and cause increased sensitivity over time.

A less-is-more approach is one of the easiest ways to protect your skin from potential irritation, allergic reactions, and blemishes from congestion.

One way to address these issues is to streamline your skincare routine and focused on pure ingredients with no irritants.

Not only is using fewer products immensely liberating, but it’s also better for your skin health!

Read on for our streamlined skin ritual with our Vibrant Skin Duo…..

Streamline your skincare with our vibrant skin duo

Step 1: Apply Aspen Dew Illuminating Essence

The “Dew” as many fans call it, is an active product that has everything you need for healthy skin.

Moisturizing: Quad humectants for deep, progressive hydration including micro-molecular hyaluronic acid, phytocerimides, and Niacinamide (B3).

Brightening: Bearberry extract for brightening skin and the appearance of spots.

Rejuvenating: Swiss Edelweiss flowers protect from environmental stressors and helps revitalizes tired skin.

Smoothing: Aspen Bark smooths and conditions skin.

Botanical retinol alternative: Dew Bean helps reveal a fresh and radiant complexion without the associated irritation from traditional retinol.

Step 2: Apply Alpine Phytonutrient Serum

The Alpine Phytonutrient Serum delivers serious skin recovery. You get gorgeous moisture while fortifying your skin barrier, and hydrating depleted skin.

This hard-working serum absorbs instantly, leaving skin smooth, radiant, and supple. Free from harmful chemicals, preservatives, alcohol, artificial colors, or fragrances.

Defend against photo-aging: Alpine adaptogens help guard skin against the effects of premature photo-aging. 

Nourishing: High-performance alpine Sea Buckthorn Berry, arctic Cloudberry, and Rosehip provide skin-beautifying nutrients for an instantly luminous complexion. 

Plumping: Uniquely encapsulated phospholipids from Nepalese Gogi berry and acai promote hydrophilic plumping of the skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines.

Revitalizing: Superstar moringa, known as the "tree of life" instantly restores tired skin.

Calming: Arnica Montana flower targets puffiness and soothes reddened skin.

Scaling back on complicated skincare routines, and replacing them with fewer but higher quality products, is often an easy way to help resolve skin problems.

Whatever routine your choose, trust that your skin knows best!