Keeping Your Skin Happy Year-Long Means Adjusting Your Routine For Each Season: Top 5 Tips.
1. Stay Hydrated
Our bodies require a lot of water on daily basis, but it may need extra hydration to help keep skin moist and protected as cooler weather rolls around and the heater kicks on. With tasty holiday cocktails in season, it’s easy to forget to drink enough water. Well, when it starts to get dry, drinking enough water isn’t always enough to save your skin. You need something to protect all your skin’s layers.
Adding a
serum to your routine helps by working into the deepest layers of your skin and repairing them. Think of it like a building block or a foundation for your
moisturizer, which focuses on the top layers of your skin.
This will restore moisture and protect the skin on every level, so you can expect a clear, comfortable complexion. Another must-have that we like to keep handy is a bottle of
toner that you can use as a pick-me-up when you need it.
2. Wash Your Makeup Off
Parties and celebrations tempt you to stay out late, but this may leave you too tired to properly remove your makeup before going to bed. Our advice? Don’t let a fun night out keep you from following through. Nothing clogs pores and dulls your skin faster than old cosmetic ingredients. Do your skin a favor and put down that makeup wipe. Instead,
cleanse, tone, and moisturize.
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This is especially important when Halloween rolls around. Heavy costume makeup doesn’t allow your skin to breathe, more so than other makeup products, as it’s loaded with synthetic colors, scents, waxes and dyes. Using a gentle makeup remover and cleanser will help alleviate your skin from the damage synthetics cause. Your skin (and pillowcase) will thank you.
3. Destress
The holiday season is supposed to be joyous, but at times, it is often the opposite. The problem is that stress wreaks havoc on your skin. When you feel stress, cortisol and adrenaline get released in the body, which results in increased oil production. More oil production leads to, you probably guessed, breakouts. Try to focus on deep breathing during the day, especially at work when things can get tense. Introducing exercise, perhaps walking or yoga, can counteract the effects of stress.
At night, treat yourself to a spa-like experience. Take an extra 15 minutes and apply a mask. While you may be busy with the hustle and bustle of the season, try to maintain enough sleep. You’ll see the difference right away, as blemishes subside, skin texture smooths out, and your complexion appears brighter.
4. Mind Your Heater
While you may be tempted to make yourself feel like a chestnut roasting on an open fire once the cold hits, we advise layering up instead. Artificial heat in your house, office, or car dries out the air around you, leaving your skin parched (not to mention the leftover debris caked onto your air vents that make their way into your skin as soon as you flip that switch on).
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The air outside doesn't contain much moisture in the colder months, so this leaves you with little humidity to keep your skin moisturized. What’s the fix? Pre-cleanse with an oil-based cleanser to absorb the dirt settled deep into your pores and in the morning, follow that up with a cream cleanser to remove anything sitting on top of your skin.
After cleansing, be sure to tone in order to restore balance and lock in those benefits with the deep hydration your skin needs to protect against the elements. Without care and attention, skin can develop micro-cracks on the surface, which can cause an uncomfortable, inflammatory response. These micro-cracks make your skin more susceptible to flare-ups of psoriasis and even eczema.
A note to those with facial hair: facial follicles can also be susceptible to drying out. Using a nourishing beard oil twice daily will help keep your facial hair soft and comfortable.
5. Don’t Forget Sunscreen
This is perhaps the most underrated and most overlooked tip. When we don't feel the heat, we don’t think about sunscreen. The fact is, wearing sunscreen should be a year-long part of your daily routine.
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While it is certainly cloudier in the wintertime, you're not protected enough to forego SPF. In fact, up to 80% of the sun’s UV rays can still penetrate even the thickest of cloud formations. No matter the weather outside, UVA and UVB rays are present. Furthermore, as skin becomes drier with the weather change, your protective barrier becomes affected. This leaves you more vulnerable to UV absorption. An
oil-based
sunscreen will keep your face safe and soothe your skin simultaneously.
There you have it—our best advice for keeping your skin aglow when the skies turn grey. Happy fall, friends!
