Take Your Skin From Winter To Spring: How To Adapt To Seasonal Skin Changes!
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| image courtesy of www.drnewtons.com Next week the spring equinox will officially be upon us but in many parts of the country the weather has already started to change to spring weather patterns. This can only mean one thing for your body: it has already started to change too. Throughout the seasons our body adapts to the various seasons, as it has always done. One thing that particularly adapts is our skin. The skin adapts to the weather. In fall sebum production starts to decrease somewhat as it gets colder out and the humidity drops in the air. This mean that our skin does not have the natural lipids to help protect the skin from the colder weather and lack of humidity in the air. Skin becomes drier, it leads to skin becoming chapped or chafed, eczema or atopic dermatitis tends to flare up and the natural moisture barrier becomes disturbed. So we adjust our skincare for this by adding more moisture and hydration to our skincare routines. But at the end of winter though, the weather starts to change again. It is getting warmer out and as the temperature starts to climb there is more humidity in the air. This means that sebum production will start to climb again in those with normal, combination, oily and acneic skin types. But dry skin types still might have to adjust their skincare routine as the increase in temperature and humidity calls for an increase in sebum production maybe only in the T-Zone, changing dry skin to more normal skin during spring and summer months. So, how is your skincare regimen adjusted for all of this? It seems like a daunting task. But it all depends on your skin type. Here I will discuss it by skin type and tell you the various types of products you should use. I will also give some product recommendations, based on my experience with products and knowledge.  First thing, no matter what your skin type, you need to assess your cleanser situation. With the change of the weather and the seasons, skin will naturally be more oily and will therefore need a different type of cleanser to rid the skin of the extraneous sebum while still preserving the natural moisture barrier. That essentially means it doesn't strip the skin. If you double cleanse, first that means removing makeup and then cleansing. Make sure to use a cleansing oil or cleansing balm first for makeup removal. So dry skin might need something hydrating but foaming in nature and that can also the same for normal skin. CeraVe has a wonderful Hydrating Facial Cleanser that is very good. Combination skin will likely ramp up sebum production and get more oily with the appearance of blackheads in the T-Zone. So someone with combination skin will need an exfoliating cleanser or one with a little bit of salicylic acid. Oily skin, which may have become somewhat less oily during the winter, will start to produce more sebum again and therefore needs a cleanser specifically made for oily skin. One that helps rid the skin of sebum but doesn't strip it of moisture and if that oily skin gets blackheads I would suggest make sure it has salicylic acid (1%) in it so that the blackheads don't form. And acneic skin, needs a cleanser with either a low level benzoyl peroxide (2.5%) or one with salicylic acid (2%). Depending on how bad the acne is. Neutrogena, Biore and Clean & Clear make some great cleansers for oily and acneic skin. Oil-Free Acne Wash is a mainstay of the Neutrogena line. Exfoliant. This is something everyone needs in their life. It doesn't matter what kind of skin you have. Your exfoliant shouldn't be too harsh for your skin type. I prefer chemical exfoliants and physical exfoliants that aren't harsh scrubs (sugar crystals scrubs make nice ones). I like the dermalogica daily microfoliant a lot. It works for just about any skin type and for a physical/chemical exfoliant, is gentle enough to be used daily. For acneic skin which active lesions, I recommend chemical peels rather than anything physical. Again, Neutrogena, Biore and Clean & Clear make nice scrubs for blackheads. Neutrogena has its Blackhead Eliminating Scrub that works wonders. Biore also makes those T-Zone pore strips that literally are like glue traps for blackheads. I have never had to use one but I know that they do work. The point is to avoid them in the first place. If your use the right cleanser and exfoliants your skin and sebum won't clog pores and cause large blackheads. Using The Ordinary 30% AHA + 2% BHA Peeling once a week is a great way to rid the skin of extraneous skin cells and unclog the pores. But once a week only and only for 10 minutes tops. I see people using it too much and compromising their natural moisture barrier. Toner is something you can use but it is not mandatory. If you are cleansing your skin well then you can skip to what is the better step and that is an Essence. I would rather someone use an Essence on their skin than a Toner. For dry skin I recommend, Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence. For normal skin I recommend Neogen Real Ferment Micro Essence or FENTY Beauty Fat Water Pore Refining Toner Serum. If you do have combination skin the FENTY Beauty Fat Water is good too. However if you have oily skin then dermalogica micro-pore mist is an excellent one. It helps to reduce sebum and post-breakout marks with the addition of niacinamide. Acneic skins can use something like Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Toner. Next are your serums. Serums are light enough that they shouldn't change too much with the seasons. You might have to not use so many during the spring though. I tend to use less Hyaluronic Acid as there is more humidity in the air. Humectants are not needed as much if there is more water in air in general. But I have also switched to glycerin and polyglutamic acid serums over hyaluronic acid only for my dry skin. Your Vitamin C should be worn during the day and retinol at night. During the day you should be wearing a SPF30/SPF40 and it does not matter what kind of skin type you have. No matter what time of year it is too, rain or shine, indoors or outside. Ones I usually recommend are from Supergoop. The entire range is dedicated to suncare and are good for any skin tone. I particularly like Unseen SPF40. It is like a clear primer for the face and it great for any skin type really. It is a chemical sunscreen though. Neutrogena makes a mineral one called Sheer Zinc Face Shield Dry Touch Face SPF50. That one is also good for most skin types and is a mineral sunscreen. Aveeno and Banana Boat make great sunscreens too. If you want your sunscreen with a serum and a moisturizer in it at the same time, I would recommend the new ones from the Garnier Green Labs.  At night you need to adjust your night cream and this would be the biggest adjustment of all. Hydration comes in the form of a serum usually but moisturization is from the night cream and is definitely needed for most skin types. Although lately most night creams do a little of both hydrating and moisturizing. The difference between the two is hydrating your skin means to add water to it and moisturizing it means to seal the hydration in. If you have dry skin, may I suggest Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream? It has a lot of glycerin in it but is light enough not to feel greasy on the skin. For normal skin I would suggest Farmacy's Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer. As for most other skin types, I love Farmacy's Daily Greens Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer. It is lightweight but really hydrates and moisturizes the skin. Facial Oils are good on top of moisturizers or instead of moisturizers all together at night time. A good facial oil is a great way to help treat and seal in moisture for any skin type. Remember that these usually go on last and are by skin type. If you have dry skin you will use a facial oil that is for dry skin, like meadowfoam seed oil, rosehip seed oil, jojoba oil, argan oil or even rose oil. Normal skin types can generally use these too. Oily skins can use apricot seed oil, safflower seed oil, jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil and argan oil. Never use essential oils directly on the skin. Tea tree oil is great for acneic and oily skin but it needs to be diluted with a carrier oil. Notice I didn't mention sensitive skin here. That is because sensitive skin is usually on its own schedule. Not only does it change with the seasons, it changes day by day. It is not reasonable to suggest a regimen for someone with sensitive skin. Those with that skin type each have their own specialized regimen for their own skin concerns. That is a whole different topic all together. If you have any questions or concerns about your skin's changes during the change from winter to spring, some product questions that you would like answered, contact me. You can fill out the contact me widget on the left side of the page. Or Tweet me @iammakeupjunkie. Until Next Time! Marie Papachatzis |
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