Pressed Serum For Dry Winter Skin

I recently moved up to Joburg and the cold dry air has been quite a shock to the system, not to mention to my skin. I now spend my office days with the heater on max and this hot air can also be drying. While before I was loving water based serums (and I still do), I’ve now found myself reaching for the trusty face oils again to banish the winter dryness.

Winter time is a different season that requires a change to your skin care routine, and it's ok to switch it up! So we’re trying a new type of facial product called a pressed serum.

What Is A Pressed Serum?

A pressed serum is a type of facial balm, containing actives, luxurious cold pressed oils, and often a butter or wax thrown in for extra nourishment. The key word is high performance, and there is real potential to fill this formula up with gorgeous plant extracts, rich butters, fabulous oils and oil-soluble extracts. For our first formula however, we’ve kept it slightly more simple, but feel free to customise it according to your preferences. What makes a pressed serum great for winter, is that being of a balm consistency and containing richer and more occlusive ingredients, it can create a protective and nourishing barrier on the skin, protecting it from the elements. It also seals in other skin products so use as the last step in your skincare routine.

Give this simple pressed serum a try:

African Pressed Serum

70%  mafura butter.  Mafura is lovely! You can actually use this directly on your skin as well, as a simple moisturiser. You could also try  mango butter, or even a blend of different butters.

29.5%%  carrier oil(s): use any oils of your choice, but I love  baobab and  prickly pear and they are local oils in keeping with our 'support local' ethos. You could also use  macerated/infused oils.

0.5%  Vitamin E

Other optional ingredients you could add: 0.5%  bisabolol; 0.5%  Vitamin A palmitate; 0.5%  essential oil(s) of choice: try helichrysum, frankincense, chamomile, geranium or other high end essential oils. Take out these amounts from the carrier oil amounts to keep the formula adding up to 100%.

Gently but thoroughly melt the mafura butter, then stir in the oils. Pour into a tin or jar and leave to set up in the fridge.

Use sparingly and melt a little in your palms then press into the skin after moisturising after a warm shower, or at night before bed. It leaves the skin silky soft and feeling nourished. Enjoy!