Episode 203: Seasonal Skincare and the Amazing Red Mandarin

doTERRA: Your skin is your body's largest organ, and it deserves a little bit of attention every day. Today we're going to share with you some of our favorite ways to give your skin special attention.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field.

Today’s episode is brought to you by the On Guard protective blend. A powerful blend of essential oils, On Guard provides a natural and effective alternative for immune support when used internally.

Your body does a lot for you, so why not get your guard up? Right now, as a podcast exclusive if you buy a bottle of On Guard and enter the promo code PODCAST at checkout, we’ll send you an exclusive audiobook, 100 Uses for Essential Oils.

Check out the link in our episode description or visit doterra.com/podcastoffer to learn more. Open to US orders only.

Today we're excited to talk to Samantha Lewis, a member of the doTERRA product marketing team, about caring for your skin. Plus, we'll take a look at the incredible history of Red Mandarin.

Samantha, thank you so much for joining us today.

Samantha Lewis: Thanks so much for having me.

doTERRA: This is a topic that I am so excited to talk about, so we're just going to dive right in and start with the fact that we're kind of headed into the Fall. It's going to start getting colder here soon, which can have a lot of changes to your skin, a big effect on your skin. So, what are some of the things that we need to remember as the weather changes and starts getting cooler?

Samantha Lewis: I'm with you there. I love talking about skin care. It's something that I know, especially the last few years with everything going on, a lot of us have really created a passion around it and I feel like there's still so much to learn.

So, I love being able to talk about this and with seasons changing, that's a, it's a big place that we need to start adapting our skin care routine. So, we probably all experience the weather and its effects on our skin. Like, as you mentioned, as the weather gets colder, the air tends to dry out a bit depending on where you live, which can result in more dry skin conditions.

Hydration is very important during this time. I'm a firm believer in a solid base skin care routine, so you have a few key products and then adjusting it throughout the year with one or two new products, along with some specific essential oils each season that support your skin needs during that time.

I love our anti-aging moisturizer as a boost of hydration for on top of my base routine to kind of add some more hydration, some more moisture to my skin as the weather starts drying out in the fall.

Essential Oils for Your Skincare Routine

doTERRA: Absolutely. And now you mentioned adding essential oils to your skincare routine because doTERRA has a ton of amazing skin care products, but if people are looking to boost it or add a little something extra in with essential oils, what are some that you recommend?

Samantha Lewis: Yeah, I feel like one of the most studied benefits of essential oils, just maybe I'm biased, has been skincare. So, for the fall months I really try to incorporate a new moisturizing ingredient to my nighttime routine specifically.

A few of my go to oils for this are Helichrysum, Myrrh, and Jasmine with a carrier oil. I'm also a diehard for Yarrow|Pom, I'll never stop talking about it, but I found these all help in their own way to promote a glowing complexion and really boost my Fall skin care routine.

Plus, I love to incorporate my nighttime skincare routine to help me wind down. So not only are you getting some great skin benefits, but aromatically too. Each of these products also has a touch version which is super convenient, and that's the essential oil, or absolute, in a base of coconut oil.

So, Fractionated Coconut Oil actually has some great moisturizing benefits. So if you're in need of a boost that the essential oils don't offer, try using the touch versions of Helichrysum, Myrrh, or Jasmine.

doTERRA: I love that. And like you said, sometimes the skin on our face in particular can be a little bit more sensitive than others can on our body. So, those touches are just so convenient. And I love the added benefits of that aroma because it's so close to your nose. You can have it with you all night. It's incredible.

Samantha Lewis: Yeah, I feel like it's kind of a no brainer. So, adding essential oils into your skincare routine, whether that's during the day to kind of help boost and wake you up, or at night, which I don't know, I personally feel like that's when I just want to kick on the moisturizer, give me all the moisture. Having that aroma experience is really unique before you wind down for bed.

Sun Care in the Fall and Winter

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, my last question for you, Samantha, is why is it that sun care is so important to remember even when it's not the middle of summer? We're not spending a ton of time outdoors. And what does doTERRA have to help us with our sun care?

Samantha Lewis: Yeah. So, sun care, like you said, is so important year round, because even though during the summer, we more often intentionally expose ourselves to UV rays, if you drive a car or walk outside or sit near a window, you're still exposing your skin to harmful sunrays during the fall and winter.

As a redhead and self-proclaimed sunburn experts, I regularly apply an SPF to my hands and face each and every morning and try to refresh throughout the day when I remember. The new Sun Care Line has honestly made this so easy, truly effortless.

I use the Sunscreen Lotion as part of my base morning skincare routine on top of my daily moisturizer and admittedly use the Sun Care Stick to add a little bit of glow on my cheekbones, plus some added sun protection. And then, of course, you know, rubbing in that Sunscreen Lotion to my hands.

As important as sunscreen is, it's also unrealistic to expect you use it every day. So, products are great things to include in your skincare routine to help improve skin tone and aid in reducing visible signs of aging which can speed up excessive UV exposure.

So, keep an eye out for essential oils in skincare products that help boost the look of your overall complexion after you've been exposed to sun.

doTERRA: Absolutely. I love all of that advice. Samantha, it is always great to talk to you and learn a little bit more and thank you for teaching us a little bit more about how to take care of our skin.

Samantha Lewis: Of course, I love coming on and talking, you guys, and like I said, skin care is a huge passion of mine. I just really hope that we can all find that solid base routine, no matter our age, no matter what season. And then, like I said, I kind of add things on as you go through different, different seasons of life, even just not only just the year, but seasons of life to.

doTERRA: Bright, sweet and fun. The orange is one of the world's most popular and diverse fruits. At last count, there were over 600 distinct varieties, and one of those varieties is the Red Mandarin.

The Long History of Red Mandarin

Red Mandarins are also known as the tangor and a Temple orange. First discovered in Jamaica in the late 1800s. The Red Mandarin ultimately found its way into many countries.

Mandarin is a group name for a class of oranges with thin loose peels, which are also sometimes known as kid glove oranges because they are so easy to peel.

They're native to China and northeastern India and at the time they were introduced into Europe--around the turn of the 19th century--"Mandarin" was a common English term for a Chinese bureaucrat (who were known for wearing orange-colored robes) and so the association stuck, and the fruit became known as a mandarin.

Mandarins were then brought from Italy to the United States in the 1840s by the Italian consul in New Orleans.

Oranges have been cultivated since antiquity in China and mandarin oranges were a highly valued fruit presented as a tribute by visitors to the Imperial Court. The Han dynasty, which was around 200 B.C., even employed a salaried official--a minister of oranges--to present oranges to the Royal Court.

They continue to be held in high esteem, with associations of regal-ness, joy, and wealth. Mandarin oranges in particular have prominent oil glands that give their thin skin a glossy layer that makes them appear especially glamorous and gold-like

The red mandarin comes from the mature mandarin fruit, unlike the green mandarin, which is the unripe mandarin fruit, and its deep rich color gives it a truly beautiful appearance.

The Temple Orange

The Red Mandarin got its nickname, the Temple orange, from William Chase Temple, the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and first president of the Florida Citrus Exchange. They became widely successful in Florida for their balanced, juicy flavor.

And even though the Sunshine State sends over 95 percent of its oranges to the processing plants to be juiced, temple oranges have always been grown as eating oranges.

When the Temple orange was introduced, it was marketed as the "Ten Dollar a Box" orange, competing with the more costly oranges at the time. Florida also held the record in the 1920s for the world's largest Temple orange grove, spanning over 5000 acres.

Symbolism of the Red Mandarin

Often given during Chinese New Year, mandarin oranges have always been considered as a traditional symbol of good fortune. This is mainly because the word orange when spoken in Mandarin sounds similar to the word wealth.

Mandarins have also been prized throughout history for their many benefits. In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried peel of the mandarin fruit is used in regulation of ch'i and in the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda mandarin oil is combined with orange essential oil to use in many instances.

This fun, sunny oil is a beautiful way to bring another amazing citrus into your collection, and we know you'll love it.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.

And remember today’s episode was brought to you by the On Guard protective blend. A powerful blend of essential oils, On Guard provides a natural and effective alternative for immune support when used internally. Your body does a lot for you, so why not get your guard up?

Right now, as a podcast exclusive if you buy a bottle of On Guard and enter the promo code PODCAST at checkout, we’ll send you an exclusive audiobook, 100 Uses for Essential Oils. Check out the link in our episode description or visit doterra.com/podcastoffer to learn more. Open to US orders only.