23 Apr 2018 Spring clean your skin routine
With spring’s arrival, many of you will emerge from your indoor caves to spend more time preparing for the outdoors. As you bid farewell to the cold weather, a change of season typically means a change in the way the skin behaves, so our skincare routine has to change along with it. You don’t need to overhaul your skincare routine entirely, but you do need to make some minor tweaks to your regime to ensure that your skin stays healthy during the season.
One way of maximizing the benefits of transitioning your winter skin to a spring skincare regime is scheduling a seasonal skincare consultation and treatment plan. This is the perfect one-on-one time to update, educate and plan for the season ahead to revive and renew you both personally and esthetically.
Product themes for spring may include shifting from creams to lotions and complexes to serums, with ceramides and products with hyaluronic acids, which deliver effective water binders to the skin, particularly for combination/oily types. These types can seem to blossom suddenly with warmer weather and increased humidity.
Another suggestion is to increase antioxidants and anti-inflammatory formulas for more time spent outdoors in the spring.
Cloudy or sunny, hot or cold, wearing SPF should be part of your daily routine, especially during spring and summer, just as it is all year round. You can either use a daily moisturizer with sunscreen in it, or you could layer a sunscreen on top of your regular moisturizer if you know you are going to be outside for a long period of time. Also, many makeup foundations contain sunscreen protectors.
Remember, anytime you add a product or change your routine, your skin will need time to adapt. Use your new routine for at least a couple of weeks before determining that it’s not working. Give it the time it needs to level out before you make your next change.
Spring is a time to remove dead cells so you can have rejuvenated skin at the surface. For deeper renewal of the skin, see a dermatologist or skincare specialist for a seasonal chemical peel. In this treatment, a chemical solution is applied to the skin, ultimately causing the outer layer to peel off. The new layer of skin underneath is typically smoother and less wrinkled. Chemical peels can also combine different brightening agents that lighten brown spots and age spots. If you are using any products that contain retinols and prescription retinoid, you might want to put them on the back shelf until fall if you plan to participate in activities requiring long sun exposure. Some ingredients that are recommended for this season — such as kojic or alpha hydroxy acids — are also effective for brightening weathered skin. Along with a series of treatments, you can also plan any injectable services or device treatments.
Dry, windy weather is also dehydrating to your skin. Water is part of creating a balance in how our skin performs, and, on occasion, we need a little extra topical hydration to fight that external battle.
Finally, the “spring cleaning” theme should include tossing out cosmetics, products and sunscreens that have been around a little too long. The FDA does not regulate expiration dates for skincare products, but it is important to be observant about swapping out products regularly because they do have a shelf life.
Susan Isom
Susan is well known for her personal attention to each and every client and for developing a treatment program or skin care regime just right for that individual. Since beginning her career in 1990, Susan Isom has received ongoing education and training in the latest developments for skin care products and treatments. She has received advanced training as a cosmetic injector with certifications from Allergan, the creators of Botox and Juvederm injectable gel fillers. Susan has received numerous awards and special recognition during her career.
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