After a relentlessly hot and muggy summer, who isn’t welcoming these cooler days of autumn with open arms? But with cozy evenings, sweaters, foliage, and pumpkins, fall can also bring a host of potential skin problems. The combination of chillier weather and central heating can make your skin dry, tight, and sensitive. The lotions and potions you’ve relied on during the summer for dewy skin may start to fail soon, especially if your current products boost ingredients like retinol and exfoliating acids, which tend to exacerbate dry skin. Here’s a rundown of some autumn skin care tips and tweaks to ensure your skin is taken care of this season.
First, wash your face with something creamy. During the summer, you may have been a fan of foaming cleansers to combat oil and sweat. However, foamy products can end up removing some of the natural oils on your skin. If you’re all stocked up on foam cleansers and don’t want them to go to waste, then you can mix in a bit of moisturizer, the plainer, the better, to help alleviate any stripped or tight feeling. If you’re ready for a new facewash this fall, check out Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser or CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid. Both are nourishing and gentle but can thoroughly remove makeup and any daily grind.
Of course, when to wash your face is almost as important as what type of face wash you use. So often, I find myself only washing my face at night, mostly because I’m lazy, and with hectic weekdays too often, I overlook morning face washing. But it is a crucial step in morning skincare, as cleansing at the start of your day will remove all of the sweat, dirt, grime, and any stuff from your pillowcase that you pick up overnight. Plus, this preps your skin, providing a blank clean canvas for primer, serums, moisturizers, and makeup.
Speaking of moisturizer etc., as your skin barrier changes with the weather, one should switch up skincare routines throughout the year. You don’t need a massive overhaul of all your products for fall. In order to combat dry skin, consider applying a thicker vitamin C moisturizer in the morning. Vitamin C will shield your skin against dulling factors, like wind, pollution, and cold air. Follow up with sunscreen (yes, even in fall) to further protect your skin. Check out Bliss’s Bright Idea Vitamin C + Tri-Peptide Moisturizer or Olay’s Regenerist Vitamin C + Peptide 24 Face Hydrating Moisturizer. It’s also not a bad idea to ingest some Vitamin C in addition to rubbing vitamin C products on your face. Snack on an orange or red bell pepper, roast up some cauliflower, and help build up your immune system as we head into flu and cold season.
Besides vitamin C, other antioxidants to look for in a solid, cold-weather moisturizer are vitamin E, ferulic acid, and leontopodic acid. Antioxidants fight away the things that your skin is exposed to outside while hydrating whether or not you wear daily makeup. Estee Lauder’s DayWear Moisturize Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant 24H Moisture Crème is a product that is not fooling around when it comes to protecting the skin barrier. I mean, the product name says it all! A budget-friendlier option is Paula’s Choice C5 Super Boost Moisturizer, which also boasts anti-aging benefits.
If your daily moisturizer does not include an SPF element, then carry over the summer practice of wearing sunscreen. Climate change is causing more sun damage. As members of my own family can attest, skin cancer is no joke! Even during the colder months, sunscreen should be applied daily. Unless you’re only going out at night and spend your days in a windowless room, then you need to wear SPF no matter your skin color or type. CeraVe’s AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30 gives you a two-for-one. Or follow up your antioxidant-ladened moisturizer with Cetaphil’s Sheer Mineral SPF 50.
During the fall and winter, I find myself exfoliating less often in order to combat dryness and irritation. However, to promote dewiness and a bright complexion, I use Lancome’s Exfoliating Rose Sugar Scrub in an evening shower, then unwind with a sheet mask like Neutrogena’s Hydro Boost Hydrogel Mask before bed. This shucks away dead skin, then they hydrogel seals in a moisture-infused formula to keep my skin from drying out.
Nighttime is an ideal time for skincare. All the work happens as you sleep. Hopefully, your evenings are a little less chaotic than mornings, and you can find the time to apply an overnight treatment before hitting the hay. Clinique’s Moisture Surge Overnight Mask purports to have you waking up with dewy, hydrated, soft skin. While Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial hydrates while reducing the appearance of fine lines. And as you utilize these overnight products, be mindful of your linens. To keep your skin barrier fresh and clean, be sure to change out your pillowcase every 3-4 days and your washcloth. You don’t want all of this wonderful skincare to go to waste because of less-than-fresh sheets and towels.
