Fall Skincare Guide: Caring for your skin in the Metal Element Season
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water— help us understand the natural rhythms that connect our bodies, minds, and the world around us. Each element corresponds to a season, an emotion, and a pattern of energy that shapes how we live, age, and care for ourselves.
In holistic skincare, this wisdom helps us align our routines with seasonal shifts, giving our skin exactly what it needs at the right time. Think of your skin like a garden: it flourishes when tended in harmony with nature’s cycles.
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We are now officially in Autumn, aka Fall, which is season of The Metal Element
• Season: Autumn
• Energy: Letting go, refinement.
• Emotion: Grief, sadness, loneliness
• Virtue: Courage, integrity, gratitude
• Facial zones: Hollowing in the cheeks, redness in the cheeks, deepened or colored smile lines (nasolabial folds)
Autumn is the season of release. Just as trees shed their leaves and animals prepare for hibernation, our skin also benefits from shedding the old to make space for a season of deep rest. This is the perfect time to exfoliate, replenish, and fortify the skin in preparation for winter.
[Editor’s note: All of the products recommended below are available to purchase at Gretchen’s spa in Port Moody, where she can create a personalized skin care plan specific to your needs.]
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Fall Skincare Guide
Exfoliate with intention
After the heat and sun exposure of summer, skin often feels dry, tired, or congested in the fall. Autumn is the time to gently resurface and reveal a brighter, smoother, skin and prepare it for hydration. Choose exfoliants that respect the skin barrier, such as:
• Biologique Recherche P50T – A daily blend of AHA, BHA, and PHA smooths wrinkles and helps prevent or lighten sun spots while respecting the skin’s integrity.
• Osmosis Beauty Polish Enzyme – A weekly use cranberry enzyme treatment mask that dissolves dead skin cells, leaving skin soft, luminous, radiant and ready for hydration.
2. Replenish deeply with antioxidants
Once the skin is freshly exfoliated, it’s primed to absorb nourishment. This is the season to layer in antioxidant-rich serums that protect, hydrate, and fortify the skin:
• Osmosis Beauty Replenish – Packed with 17 antioxidants, this serum acts like a multivitamin for the skin, hydrating, repairing, and building resilience.
• Biologique Recherche Serum Biosensible – Formulated with 11 active ingredients to calm skin. This serum is great for soothing skin and reduces redness of skin affected by external environment or internal stress/irritation.
3. Fortify and Nourish the skin barrier for the season ahead
Just as squirrels gather food to sustain them through the winter, we too must give our skin what it needs for the months ahead. Focus on moisturizers that nourish and fortify the skin barrier, preparing it for colder, harsher weather ahead.
• Biologique Recherche Emulsion Originelle Régénérante – Made with macadamia oil and plant-derived squalane, this face cream regenerates the skin’s lipidic barrier to bring strength and softness to skin.
• Osmosis Beauty Hydrate – Rich in hyaluronic acid this moisturizer plumps, protects and hydrates leaving the skin all season long
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The Invitation the Metal Season
Beyond skincare, this season’s Metal element invites us to reflect:
What is ready to be released in your life right now? Maybe old habits, limiting beliefs, or outdated patterns that no longer serve you? The Metal Element is the season to let go of the past to bring clarity and inspiration for the future.
How can you create a little more space for stillness, peace, and gratitude as winter approaches? In skincare and in spirit, Fall is about shedding what no longer serves, nourishing the silence that remains, and stepping into winter with courage and integrity.
Go Deeper with Gretchen: Gretchen Oppenheim is a Holistic Skincare Therapist and Intuitive Practitioner. After working for years in luxury spas, she witnessed first hand how the beauty industry is often more disempowering than it is empowering. Today, she offers a unique blend of Qi Gong + Energetic Chinese Medicine with skincare therapy, to support radiance on all levels. Gretchen offers holistic facials at Wildflower Beauty Bar, all of which include a personalized skincare plan and intuitive facial reading. Learn more or book an Intuitive Facial.
