Yes it's time of year again. The leaves are changing the weather is cooling. Time to test out the old furnace make sure its blowing that dry heat through the vents to keep the family warm. But it is also that time of year where the humidity levels are lower and the air is getting dryer and so is our skin. For many of us, myself included, dry skin can make you have a love hate relationship with your skin during fall and winter months.
I am here to tell you all is not lost, below are some tips that can help keep you loving your skin and your skin loving you back.
Tip #1 - A gentle cleanser gives you a head start
Once you know your skin type if you don't know it already get a cleansing agent that is gentle for the skin (both body and face) if you don't use one already. Your gentle cleanser should never strip your skin of all its natural oils and never agitate nor irritate after you wash. They should not have sulfates, petroleum oils or parabans. Look for ingredients that include low or no comedogenic ratings in the butters and oils in them like mango, kokum butter, castor, sunflower, and olive oils.
Tip #2 - Gentle Exfoliate
Exfoliating is definitely something that should not be exclusive to spring and summer when you are going to be showing more skin. Doing it year round will keep your skin fresh, keep acne down and slough off dead skin to reveal youthful glowing skin while circulating blood flow throughout the body. Regular exfoliation with a mild abrasive additive, sugar, salts, fruit fibers, even seeds are great to use to help remove dead skin cells. Exfoliating is key to
keeping your skin and complexion clear throughout the fall and winter seasons. Exfoliation should be done about twice a week in order to help prevent breakouts and to keep the skin clean and fresh. But find what exfoliate works for you. Some exfoliates like bamboo powder or jojoba beads offer a more gentle approach to sensitive and transitioning (pregnant or post pregnant) skin types than sugar or salt scrubs.
Tip #3 - Thicker Moisturizer
I am sure there are some folks out there who believe a lighter skin complexion means you must not have dry skin. It is furthest from the truth. Just because you cannot see your name written on your skin does not mean you don't need daily moisture and thicker cream like. a body butter is a must. The other myth, all body butters are too thick and greasy. There are brands, like After Affects Skin Care, that offer butters that are creamy, rich, moisturizing but they also melt into the skin on contact and don't leave greasy residue. The key is you need that thicker moisturizer to protect from the dry air both outside and inside.
Sensitive skin is very important to continue to coat your skin with a good moisturizer, because your skin is so delicate and prone so many types of irritants and adding dry heat to the mix can exacerbate issues you can most assuredly try to avoid.
Now if you have oily skin, you may be able to keep up with your lotions you used for the summer months, but pick a facial cream according to your skin type to keep skin from developing dry patches.
Tip #4 - Continue to Protect with Antioxidants and SPF
Don't be fooled, just because you may be experiencing more cloudy days doesn't mean the sun has gone away. Your skin is still susceptible to UVA and UVB rays. Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, M.D., board-certified NYC dermatologist, clinical instructor at NYU Langone and.Mount Sinai states, “Free radicals are molecules that can cause damage to different components in cells, such as the DNA, proteins, outer barrier, and the matrix. Antioxidants are basically free radical fighters." When our cells are exposed to these free radicals, they can do everything from speed up the aging process, hyperpigmentation, acne, to even cause skin cancer. So using products that have SPF and antioxidants it an armor for the skin.
Tip #5 - Don't forget the humidifier
If you don't have one get one or two or one for every room in your home. A humidifier is a necessity no self respecting skin lover should be without. Keeping up with these 5 tips should help make your skincare regimen transition a little less traumatic for you and your skin. Always remember, first know your skin type then; 1 gentle cleanser, 2 thicker moisturizer, 3 a protector against free radicals.
Transition is the key
Fall and winter months don't have to be your skin's enemy, with the right tools you can have skin that will continue to thrive even in the driest of situations. Tell us what you thought of this post, did it help you and what skin care regimen do you do to transition to fall and winter months? Also, don't forget if you haven't, sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on new posts, exclusive deals and offers to try products before they go up on the site.
As always: "Be Good To Your Skin It will Be Good To You"
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