What Are The Best Ways To Revitalize Your Skin In The Cooler Seasons?
Our skin becomes thinner over time—even plump and youthful skin—because it produces less collagen as we age. One way of replenishing this lost collagen is with treatments like microneedling. The Boston area’s Dr. Holly Happe explains that replenishing collagen can be an especially helpful rejuvenation strategy, because intrinsic aging is not alone in causing damage. In addition to normal aging, environmental factors like sun exposure, air pollution, and even weather changes can have a harmful effect on the skin’s health and appearance.
In particular, the cool and crisp air, strong winds, and lack of humidity of fall can certainly mess with your skin during the changeover from summer to autumn. Since days are shorter, cooler, and drier, you may be experiencing symptoms of “Autumn Skin,” such as dryness, a dull or sallow tone, a tight feeling in the skin, sunspots, flaking, irritation, and flare-ups of chronic skin conditions.
Your skin may be more sensitive and there may also be more redness or blotchiness. This is because our skin prefers consistent, mild weather, so when rapid fluctuations happen, it can be challenging for it to adjust to the new environment. Fortunately, it’s possible to minimize the effects of the weather on the skin. While there is nothing that can be done to avoid the seasonal changes (aside from perhaps moving to another country with a different climate?), there are steps you can take to prevent your skin from having adverse reactions to brisk weather.
If you’re frustrated about constantly waking up with dull or lackluster skin, cosmetic techniques like microneedling are an ideal way of restoring a more balanced, healthy look. There are also things you can do at home to help:
1. Be Gentle with Your Skin
Fall is the time to avoid harsh scrubs, drying soaps, and anything that can irritate the skin. You still need to cleanse your skin to remove dirt, makeup, pollution particles, and other impurities that can cause blockages in the pores, but do so without stripping or damaging the skin’s outer layer.
2. Manage Stress Levels
Another cause of dull skin is being under a high level of stress. When we’re stressed for whatever reason, the body produces more of a hormone called cortisol that adversely affects blood circulation to the skin and can make it more difficult for the skin to repair itself. Spend a few minutes each day de-stressing with meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, getting some exercise, or other stress management techniques.
3. Exfoliate Regularly
Even if you wash your face every day, skipping exfoliation will take a toll on your skin. Exfoliation will give you the bright, radiant complexion you want. The reason why your skin gets a dull, flaky appearance is because dead skin cells build up on the surface and can block the pores. Regular exfoliation prevents the accumulation of this dead skin. Additionally, exfoliation smooths and polishes the skin so that fine lines and other blemishes appear less pronounced while light is also reflected better. In the long-term, exfoliation will help to boost skin cell turnover and promote collagen production. Exfoliation also enables topical products like moisturizers to penetrate the skin and work more effectively.
4. Moisturize
Moisturizing should be something you do all year round—each morning and night—but it’s more important than ever when the temperature and humidity levels drop during the colder months. We have to work much harder to maintain hydration. The weather conditions can cause cracks to form in the outer layer of skin and inflammation in addition to the loss of hydration. Our skin is very dry, sensitive, and more likely to become irritated at this time when the skin barrier becomes disrupted. Switch to a thicker, richer moisturizer than the type you would have used during the hotter months.
The Boston area’s Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics team can explain what to expect from this treatment. Call (617) 597-2600 or fill out a contact form to request a consultation if you want to learn about in office cosmetic treatments that revitalize your skin.