Holistic skin care takes into account the needs of the season. Your skin behaves in pretty predictable ways in each season.
Without proper care, skin doesn’t function as well, and the effects can pile up causing bigger problems with skin that appears older, is more sensitive or breaks out in certain patterns.
In the Fall, your skin may feel flaky, dry, or have an uneven color from fading tans and sun spots that appeared after sunburns. Here’s how to care for skin in the Fall.
Change how you exfoliate
Exfoliation removes dead skin, brightens your complexion, lightens dark spots, unclogs pores and helps balance hydration. If you already exfoliate, you may notice that your current regimen isn't helping.
This may indicate you need a professional level exfoliation, such as microdermabrasion or a chemical peel. It could also mean you need a different type of exfoliation, such as an enzyme mask or home peel. Or it may require you exfoliate more times per week until your skin settles into a better pattern.
Exfoliating more often, however, can cause redness, sensitivity, more dark spots, thinning, more acne, etc. if your skin's barrier isn't strong enough to withstand.
Consult with your esthetician during your regular facial this fall about how often to exfoliate and what type of product to use.
Treat for specific conditions
Whether its acne, uneven tone, sun damage or dehydration, you can add simple treatment products to your regimen that address your specific concern. A popular way to treat skin concerns is with a mask. This is best used after exfoliation. Some masks are designed to work while you sleep; others are kept on for several minutes then either massaged in or washed off.
Another method of treating skin concerns is with a serum. Serums are used generally twice per day, after cleansing and before moisturizing. Serums are lightweight and absorb quickly into your skin.
Add moisture
During summer you may have used a lighter weight moisturizer, a serum or, oh-no, nothing at all (I'll save the lecture til next summer). But now the air is getting drier and pulling moisture out of your skin.
Its time to move to a somewhat richer moisturizer. If you still have summer moisturizer left, you can layer a serum underneath or use a drop of oil to create more protection temporarily.
Make sure to apply moisturizer over freshly cleansed, still moist skin. Think of it as sealing in the moisture with your moisturizer. After a few minutes, check the texture. If everything has absorbed, you'll either need another layer of moisturizer, a serum underneath, or a richer moisturizer.
Moisture needs to be added internally as well, so be sure to drink adequate water. This is a great season for using all those harvest vegetables to make soup, which when eaten will boost your moisture level.
Your Esthetician, an ally for beautiful skin
As you see, when the seasons change, your skin care needs change as well. For those of you who aren't having monthly facials, consider a start of the season facial. This is when your esthetician will help you address damage from summer and prepare your skin for the new season with both a customized facial, series of treatments, and/or product recommendations for the needs of the season.
joanna tringali
calm beauty brooklyn
917.596.9535