4 Things That Happen When You Switch Over to a Plant-Rich Skincare Regimen

It's okay if it feels daunting to transition from products that you've used routinely to something new entirely. It might mean investing time, and money, to learn about alternative ingredients and then trying out a variety of products. But dive in, and you might notice a few differences in how you approach skincare. Here’s what we mean.

Skincare is just one part of your health and wellness journey, adjacent with diet, exercise, and sleep. You might already approach each of these parts with intention, yet the skin, after all, is the body’s largest organ. Building a plant-rich skincare regimen—one that’s free from synthetic preservatives and synthetic fragrances, parabens, and phthalates—helps you start from within, working with your body for nourishment and wellbeing, rather than against it.

Taking care of your skin with gentle products that use flowers, fruits, root extracts, minerals, and essential oils can be a deeper, holistic experience that involves your senses, too. If that feels like a new self-care ritual, go with it.

Weleda, one of the most beloved and time-tested brands in the beauty space (the company’s been around since the 1920s and has gained an extremely loyal following with its plant-rich formulas), just introduced its Skin Food Light Nourishing Cream as part of its highly anticipated all-new Skin Food collection, covering all the bases of plant-rich body care. Skin Food Light is made with the same nourishing ingredients as Weleda’s best-selling Skin Food Original Ultra Rich Cream to moisturize dry skin—calendula, chamomile, sunflower seed oil, and sweet almond oil, plus nourishing beeswax and shea butter—but its lightness and quick absorbency makes perfect for everyday use as a facial moisturizer. With its gently invigorating scent from rosemary and essential oils, you might find yourself craving it each day. Another ritual-worthy addition to the Skin Food family is the lightly whipped Skin Food Body Butter, which also hydrates skin head to toe with sunflower seed oil and shea butter—perfect for smooth, just-out-of-the-bath skin at the end of the day.

Whether wellness for you means making meals with real, whole foods, carving out time for some sort of physical movement like spin or yoga, or checking in with yourself through daily meditation or journal writing, it all comes back to nourishing your body and soul. When it comes to skincare, don’t be surprised if a kinder regimen (think less harsh or stripping) allows you to take on a sense of gratitude as you go through it. Few things are more uplifting than those moments when feelings of comparison, frustration or dissatisfaction, or of not feeling enough fall away—and instead, you find yourself thanking your skin for always being so forgiving.

It’s not just about the skincare benefits. Earth-first brands that are kinder to our planet remind us of our responsibility for environmental stewardship in our daily routines. While our global situation can seem really overwhelming, one of simplest ways to minimize our impact is by making small choices every day that together make a big difference—one of those choices, of course, are the companies we support. Seeking out beauty brands that foster sustainable practices and ethical sourcing—Weleda recently received the first-ever Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) Certification for upholding respect for its farmers and partners at each step of the supply chain—that’s an amazing choice to make, and one we want to continue making again and again.