Photography courtesy of XO FACEcare

Heal Thyself With Skincare Line XO FACEcare, Formulated For Fluctuating Canadian Temperatures

"You can't get there overnight. My approach to skin care is to be gentle, focused and consistent."

The brief respite from snow and sleet that is Canadian spring and summer may be here, as evidence by tulips blooming and birds chirping. But we all know that the deep freeze won’t be gone for long, and one Calgary-based facialist’s M.O. since 2014 has been helping her clients deal with the city’s harsh climate. “Conditions change quickly, temperatures rise and fall, and we regularly find ourselves exposed to environmental stressors like wind and cold one day, hot and full sun the next,” says Annie Graham. “My clients came to me explaining that they can’t find products that truly soothe and heal their skin, so I created my own.” When formulating her line, XO FACEcare, which she sells online and out of her spa, XO Treatment Room, Graham put her biology background to work, drawing on science-backed ingredients to address the problems her clients brought to her.

The targeted eight-product line was designed to address the dryness and inflammation that often comes with the territory of living in a harsh climate, and while each product serves a different purpose, they’re all designed to boost hydration and soothe the angry redness that comes along with below zero temperatures. Her overnight mask, Lunar Veil, uses sea kelp extract, calendula and chamomile to create an anti-irritation powerhouse, while her signature moisturizer, Moisture Mass, delivers a high dose of Vitamin E via sunflower seed oil, protecting the skin from trans epidermal water loss. Graham stresses the importance of a good routine, with consistency being the ultimate key. “You can’t get there overnight and my approach to skin care is to be gentle, focused and consistent,” she explains. “This is the way to achieve noticeably cared for skin.”

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