The holidays are here – as is Old Man Winter. The good news is that soon we’ll all be walking in a winter wonderland. The bad news is that winter can be h*** on your skin. And the holidays don’t help. Parties and get-togethers and activities abound – but they also knock us off our schedule and our diet. Your skincare routine is about to come into sharp focus!
It’s easy to lose track of routines during the holidays, particularly skincare ones. Combine that with the winter weather, and you have a potential skincare disaster on your hands (and face and arms and legs).
What Causes Unhealthy Skin?
- Stress
- Abnormal schedules that interrupt healthy routines and sleep patterns
- Poor nutrition
- Consuming alcohol
- Wearing a lot of makeup
- Environmental conditions
- dehydration
It’s obvious straight away that the holiday season involves a lot of those factors!
Why a Skincare Routine is Important
Why do you need a consistent skincare routine? Easy answer – it protects and nourishes your skin. Did you know that your skin is your body’s largest organ? If that’s the case, why aren’t you treating it like it’s a precious object?
Remember that skin you had when you were a baby – so soft and smooth and supple? We don’t, either! That’s because the skin you were born with is immediately exposed to environmental toxins and UV rays.
It’s also affected by the natural course of aging, which causes elastin and collagen production to decrease and wrinkles, spots, dry skin, and folds to increase.
This all adds up to the importance of a skin care at home and a good skincare routine – especially in winter.
The Benefits of a Good Winter Skincare Routine
The winter weather can be brutal on your skin. Sure, winters here in Colorado totally rock because we can hit the slopes, enjoy reading in front of the fire, or participate in other fantastic activities. But the cold weather and wind can take their toll on the skin, drying it out to near corn husk proportions.
Not to mention that every time you walk in and out of a heated building, your skin has to adjust to an extreme change in temperature and humidity.
So, a good skincare routine helps your skin stay in great condition. Even during the other months of the year, your skin needs your support. It sheds itself daily, so if you aren’t taking care of it properly, it can become dull with lots of imperfections.
So, the benefits of good skincare routine are that it can:
- Slow down the signs of aging
- Boost confidence
- Keep your skin healthy
- Save you money down the road
- Encourage you to adopt other healthy routines
- Prevent problems before they start
What Makes For a Good Skincare Routine?
Setting up a skincare routine at home is simple. If nothing else, you need to cleanse and moisturize. But if you want to put together a fantastic winter skincare routine, we recommend a 5-step daily routine.
Step 1: Use a gentle cleanser in the morning and before bed. Cleansers remove dead skin, pollutants, oil, dirt, and bacteria.
Step 2: Tone your skin with a toner. This will remove any leftover debris and close your pores.
Step 3: Apply a serum that’s appropriate for your skin type to give your skin the added nutrients it needs.
Step 4: Apply moisturizer in the morning and evening. This will hydrate your skin. Oil-free moisturizers are great for oily, acne-prone skin.
Step 5: In the morning, apply sunscreen SPF 30+ to protect your skin from cancer-causing UV rays. Do this whether you plan to be out in the sun or not, and make sure to reapply throughout the day.
Additions to your skincare routine
Depending on your skin type, you may also benefit from using an exfoliator once or twice a week to remove dead skin cells. Masks are also great for clearing pores, clearing dead skin cells, or hydrating your skin.
How Do You Know When You Need a New Skincare Routine?
Even if you’ve had a regular skincare routine in place for years, you may need to revamp it. Skin and environmental factors change over time. Your skincare routine should change with them.
- Are you breaking out?
- Does your skin have an uneven texture?
- Are you using the same products during every season?
- Have you recently had a birthday?!
- Is your skin resisting makeup?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, it’s time to take a look at your current skincare routine and decide if you need to make changes.
Need some recommendations for your skincare routine?
Have you found yourself staring at a shelf of skincare products, wondering, “What skincare products do I need?” And feeling overwhelmed? With the number of products on the market, it can be difficult to know what’s the best option for your skin.
Whether you’re starting your first ever skincare routine or looking to revitalize your current one, we’ve got solutions!
Your Face Deserves the Best!
In our opinion, Obagi Medical Skincare is the best on the market.
Obagi is great for patients looking to address and minimize the appearance of premature skin aging. It even helps with hyperpigmentation, acne, sun damage, and more.
We also love SkinBetter Science.
SkinBetter Science is an advanced skincare system that pampers your skin. Each bottle delivers radiant, youthful skin and even helps postpone signs of aging!
But did you start your skin routine a little too late?
Not a problem. You can erase signs of aging, acne, and imperfections with SkinPen.
SkinPen the safest, most effective vertical micro-needling device on the market. SkinPen stimulates the production of new collagen and elastin to give you radiant skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, acne, scars, and stretch marks.
Let’s do it!
Do you have questions about your skincare routine or do you need help starting one? We’re here to help! Contact us for a consultation with one of our skincare experts today!
PS: If you need to boost up your holiday lash factor, we’ve got your back! Latisse is the first FDA- approved treatment for inadequate eyelashes. If you’re ready to grow longer, fuller, and darker lashes, schedule a Latisse appointment with us today! Don’t wait too long though. It takes a few weeks for them to start filling in!