Make this winter a beauty wonderland

With the combination of bad weather conditions, central heating and festive partying, any beauty expert will tell you that winter can spell disaster for your skin. But with a little help from health supplement Pycnogenol and just a little extra TLC from you, skin can look the best it’s ever been this winter.

Skin is the largest organ on the body making up about 16 per cent of our total weight. It is a vital protective barrier, helping to regulate the body temperature between external surroundings and internal workings. It is also a constant reflection of our state of health, vitality and beauty.

Facial ageing is often the first noticeable sign of growing older. Ageing skin begins to sag as muscle tone gradually decreases. It can appear thinner and more translucent as the outer skin layers lose fat, and wrinkles appear as it becomes drier.

Unfortunately, dry, uncomfortable and itchy skin is a common problem for many women during winter months. The International Dermal Institute reports that 59 per cent of women rank dry, dehydrated skin as their main concern during the season; this was followed by 52 percent who ranked wrinkles as their top priority.

The skin is kept nourished and oxygenised by microcirculation, which allows the important exchange of nutrients and toxins for the blood, cells and tissues, including skin. When suffering from poor microcirculation, skin cells become oxygen and nutrient deficient and an accumulation of toxic waste occurs in the body leading to aging and lack lustre skin.

The cold weather places an emphasis on the body’s microcirculation. When the surrounding temperature drops the body automatically constricts the smallest blood vessels from the skin’s surface redirecting blood to vital organs. Once in a warmer environment the small blood vessels return to the surface of the skin. When suffering with poor microcirculation it takes longer for blood to return to the skin, meaning the surface cells of the skin become deprived of nourishment and damaged.

Pycnogenol help to restore strength and maintains the integrity of small blood vessels and improves microcirculation. This makes it easier for each cell to get the nutrients needed before efficiently transporting them to and from the skin during temperature changes; preventing the skin from becoming damaged, encouraging better skin complexion and reducing wrinkle formation.

Healthspan Pycnogenol is £12.95 for 60 tablets and available from healthspan.co.uk.