When it comes to cleansing your face, are you a splash-of-water kind of person, or perhaps you prefer a cleansing product, be it a soap bar, balm, gel, foam, cream or micellar water?
If your skin is going through changes with age and you haven't yet considered the ways of a cleansing balm, allow us to let you in on our favourite way of cleansing that your skin may thank you for; the wonderfully luxurious cleansing balm.
Balm benefits
As we get older, our skin tends to become drier. This can lead to feelings of tightness, itchiness and discomfort and skin can become rough and flaky. This is because as we age, cell turnover slows down and oestrogen levels diminish, resulting in a loss of moisture. Skin’s protective barrier also weakens over time, giving less protection against external elements such as weather, which can exacerbate dryness. It can affect any skin type, so that even oily skin can become drier with age.
This is where a cleansing balm can really help: keeping skin moisturised isn’t just down to the moisturiser in your skincare routine, it can start with your cleanser. Some foaming cleansers, in their eagerness to remove dirt and oil, end up removing more of your skin's natural oils than necessary, damaging the skin’s barrier and drying out the complexion. A cleansing balm offers a gentler option as it is made with natural oils and butters, which is particularly good for more mature skins. Balms nourish and hydrate while at the same time melting away dirt and impurities, so instead of that tight, stripped feeling cleansers can sometimes leave you with, a balm leaves skin clean and comfortable.
Oily skin types also benefit from a cleansing balm, as it helps to balance the oil levels in your skin, rather than stripping away your skin's natural oil - which your skin would respond to by simply producing more.
Take the day off
Another advantage of a cleansing balm is that it cleanses the skin thoroughly so it can even be used to remove a full face of make-up, even eye make-up. Some people choose to use a make-up remover first before cleansing, but many balms, including our Willowberry Nutrient Boost Cleansing Balm, will do both. Saving money, time, bathroom space and the environment by cutting down the number of products you need.
Feed your skin with goodness
Our award-winning Willowberry Nutrient Boost Cleansing Balm is a skin-loving mix of antioxidants, vitamins and essential fatty acids. It contains chia seed oil, which is anti-inflammatory and calming, with omegas 3 and 6 to help protect skin’s barrier function. Rosehip seed oil contains vitamins A, to boost collagen production, moisture levels and elasticity, and Vitamin C to brighten. Essential fatty acids in the oil help to keep skin balanced and hydrated. The addition of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, calms, soothes and heals.
The result is a formulation that not only cleanses the skin effectively, but also nourishes it to glowing health.
Pamper time
As we get older, the demands placed on our time often increase. We can find ourselves being stretched between commitments which vie for our attention, leaving us with little time for ourselves as we slide further down the list of our own priorities. Over the past year, self-care has become an industry of its own as we’ve come to realise how important looking after ourselves is. It may have taken a pandemic to open our eyes to how burnt out and stressful our rollercoaster modern lives had become, yet it can still feel a bit indulgent to devote time to yourself.
Think of it as the equivalent of putting on your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else.
One way to do this is to turn the quotidian task of cleansing your face at the end of the day into a moment of calm, of reflection. A time to just breathe.
A balm for the soul as well as the skin.
How to use a cleansing balm
Take a small amount of balm (a fingertip-sized amount) and warm it between your fingertips. Massage the balm mindfully over a dry face (think of nothing else while you are doing it other than the movements over your skin and the features of your face beneath your fingertips). Don’t fret if your mind flutters about; with practise it gets easier to clear your thoughts. Wet your fingers then massage your face again, to lightly emulsify the balm for easy removal. Remove balm thoroughly with a wet flannel.
The Willowberry Nutrient Boost Cleansing Balm, £29.99, is available here.
Willowberry is nutritious natural skincare for grown-ups, for your best skin.
A favourite with top make-up artists, Willowberry's luxurious award-winning products protect skin’s natural barrier function, to nourish and revive grown-up skin without telling women to be 'anti-ageing'.
As seen in Vogue, Independent, The Telegraph, This Morning and more.