I Have the World’s Most Temperamental Skin—This Antioxidant-Packed Body Shop Serum Is My Savior

I’ve never had what you would call easy skin. Through the years, and with the help of dermatologists, I’ve been fortunate enough to figure out what products and routines work best, but to be quite frank, my skin remains temperamental at best. A new skincare ingredient, a little change in the weather, or even a food can send me into a rosacea-ridden, periorificial-plagued state. Over the years, I’ve become an ingredient encyclopedia, capable of scanning INCI lists for anything and everything that will stress my skin out. I pride myself on knowing my triggers (think: fragrance, sodium lauryl sulfate, rose extract, or even vitamin C) and my soothers (think: ceramides, centella asiatica, aloe vera), but occasionally a new ingredient challenges my status quo. 

Most recently, said ingredient was something called Edelweiss, which I was introduced to via The Body Shop’s Edelweiss Line, an upgraded edition of the brand’s Drops of Youth Line. Edelweiss is a flower (the same one that rolls over the fields in The Sounds of Music) that’s able to survive the extreme conditions of the Swiss Alps, which can change from extreme wind and snow to sunshine in a matter of minutes.

“When we decided to do some testing on skin, we discovered Edelweiss is a very strong antioxidant and that it’s able to reinforce the skin barrier, which can be compromised and sensitized by pollution, chemicals, or even stress,” explains Francois Paul, an Edelweiss expert in the Swiss Alps. In the same way that the flower is able to insulate itself with snow and sustain crazy winds at high altitudes, it’s able to protect the skin from environmental aggressors. “Knowing how Edelweiss manages to not only survive, but thrive, in all these trials and tribulations, makes it an obvious ingredient choice,” adds Laura Keane, Global Director of Brand Development at The Body Shop. 

While I nod my head in agreement with the logic laid out, I’m well aware my skin has a mind of its own. But, don’t knock it till you try it, right? With that ~optimism~ in mind, I decided to try the Daily Serum Concentrate and Daily Smoothing Moisturizer on my face during a moment of peak irritation. To my genuine surprise, my face didn’t start tingling, burning, or stinging. It didn’t get redder and redder by the second. Instead, I felt—dare I say—Soothed? Calmed? Refreshed? All of the above? 

Alas, I have higher standards for a product line than for it to simply not cause irritation. I need it to actually do something. Fast forward through multiple, skin-dehydrating flights, changes in temperatures,  and a submergence into New York City pollution over the next few weeks, and I found my skin reaction-free. My normal triggers weren’t sending my skin into a spiral; I was more balanced. 

That, my friends, is wildly difficult to achieve. It's a non-irritating antioxidant that actually keeps my temperamental skin in a stable state. That in mind, I've become a loud and proud Edelweiss fan. Shop my favorite Edelweiss products, along with the rest of the line, ahead.