Ah, fall. Pumpkin spice, apple picking, and cozy campfires. Finally, it’s time to pull out your favorite sweaters and transition your wardrobe for the colder months. But as the air turns colder and drier, your wardrobe isn’t the only thing that needs some swapping out — your skincare lineup does, too.
Here’s everything you need to know about updating your skincare routine as the seasons change.
What Happens to Your Skin When the Seasons Change?
After months of humid weather during summer, crisp air may feel like a welcome change. However, your skin still craves that moisture and warmth!
Skin’s Moisture Levels
Your skin’s hydration comes from the natural sebum - or oil - it produces and the products you use to keep it hydrated. In summer, the heavy humidity in the air makes it virtually impossible for your skin to lose moisture.
With dry weather, the skin becomes naturally drier. Even though you apply moisturizer in the morning, you may notice that your skin feels incredibly dry by lunchtime. In addition, being exposed to heaters also leeches moisture from your skin. Forced hot air, portable heaters, or heat in the car can all dry out skin incredibly quickly, leaving it dry and aggravated.
All skin types are affected by changing weather. While those with dry change may notice more flaking or dehydrated skin during the winter months, dry air can also wreak havoc on oily skin types. This lack of moisture in the skin and overactive oil glands may make oily skin more prone to breakouts.
Lips and Eyes
The skin on your lips and around your eyes is incredibly delicate because it has fewer sebaceous glands and lipids to keep it hydrated. In cooler months, these areas become drier faster than others on your face - making them feel tight, dry, and chapped.
This is why you probably reach for lip balm and eye cream more frequently during the fall and winter months.
UV Rays
Although sunlight feels less intense during fall, the sun’s UV rays are still powerful, and you’ll need sunscreen daily to protect your skin every day of the year. Even though you aren’t spending hours on the beach or at the pool, you are still exposed to harmful UV rays at the pumpkin patch or apple picking - or even during your commute to the office!
To protect skin from sun damage in the fall months, use SPF daily on the face and neck and anywhere exposed to sunlight.
4 Changes To Update Your Skincare for Fall
It is a good idea essential to update your skincare routine for each season to accommodate changes in temperature and moisture. Fall skincare focuses on moisture - as the air outside is colder and drier. Here are a few essential alterations to consider working into your fall skincare routine to keep skin soft and supple all season long.
1. Layer on Hydrating Ingredients
During the summer, you can use a light gel or serum formula moisturizer or streamline your routine using a 2-in-1 SPF and moisturizer. However, in the fall months, you’ll need to add heavier layers to your skin just like you do with your clothing!
Lower moisture levels in the air - and your skin - require more moisturizing elements. Consider adding a hydrating serum or mist, like Supercharged IonPlex Mist, to deeply hydrate the skin before layering on moisturizer. Look for key ingredients like hyaluronic acid, which holds up to 1000x its weight in water to lock in moisture and provide a comforting layer of hydration, or ceramides, which help rebuild the skin barrier for greater moisture retention.
Once you’ve applied a thin layer of hydrating mist or serum to quench skin’s thirst, seal in moisture with a moisturizer. Cold fall months call for a slightly thicker moisturizer than summer months - so you may want to swap from a gel formula to a serum-cream hybrid formula. Experts love this skin-nourishing formula packed with glacial water, hyaluronic, and 8-phyto active ingredients to soothe and keep your skin hydrated hydrate and soothe skin for up to 48 hours.
2. Exfoliate Lightly
Exfoliating your skin in the fall is crucial for maintaining a healthy complexion. As the seasons change and the weather becomes cooler, our skin becomes more dry and prone to flakiness and dullness. Exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells on the skin’s surface to reveal the fresh skin underneath. This gives your skin a radiant glow and allows moisturizers and other skincare products to penetrate more effectively, keeping your skin hydrated and protected during the harsher autumn months.
Additionally, exfoliation can aid in reducing the appearance of sun damage or uneven skin tone caused by summer sun exposure. So, as you transition into fall, incorporating regular exfoliation into your skincare routine is an essential step for a healthy and radiant complexion.
If you’re looking for a super gentle, easy way to exfoliate, try NuFACE Prep-N-Glow® Exfoliating & Hydrating Facial Wipes. These individually wrapped wipes have one side that quickly removes dirt, oil, and makeup and one that gently exfoliates and polishes the skin for a fresh, radiant glow!
3. Swap Your Activator Gel
If you use microcurrent therapy to lift, tone, and contour the face and neck, you should use an FDA-Cleared microcurrent activator for best results. Consider switching to a more nourishing, hydrating formula like NuFACE Silk Crème Activator during the cooler months.
Serum-cream hybrid contains a blend of natural plant botanicals that are time-released into the skin to keep it hydrated all day. It also contains hyaluronic acid and IonPlex®, a proprietary blend of ionized minerals and glacial water, to ensure your microcurrent treatments are incredibly effective while keeping skin hydrated for up to 48 hours.
4. Hydrate On-The-Go
Those times when your skin feels dry by midday can be frustrating. If your thirsty skin is craving an extra burst of moisture, try NuFACE Supercharged IonPlex® Facial Mist. This ultra-refreshing mist is formulated with IonPlex, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides to help keep your skin hydrated and give it an added boost of hydration whenever you need it. Just shake and spritz - even over makeup - to soothe and moisturize parched skin.
Fall in Love With Skincare
While picking out your pumpkins, sipping apple cider, and embracing all things flannel, don’t forget your skin needs a little TLC. You can help keep your skin protected from drier air by making minor changes to your skincare routine to help your skin maintain moisture levels.
Keeping your skin hydrated and healthy is one step towards reclaiming radiant, youthful skin.
Sources:
8 Tips for Preventing Dry Skin in the Winter | Houston Methodist.org
Don’t Fall for It: You Still Need Sun Protection | The Skin Cancer Foundation
