Spring Refresh: Find a New Skincare Routine for the Changing Season

With spring just around the corner, many of us are ready to shake off our winter slumber, clean out our closets, and get ready for the warmer days ahead. Spring is also a great time to shake up your skincare regimen. Your skin’s needs change depending on the temperature and humidity, making it necessary to prepare skincare routines for different seasons.

Fall and winter are tough on skin, and the cold weather has most of us hiding our faces away under scarves or slathering our skin with thick layers of moisturizing cream to fight the dry indoor heat. When spring comes, it can be challenging to handle seasonal skin changes. Here are some seasonal skincare tips on how to ditch the winter skin and get ready for spring.

Exfoliation

At the end of winter, our skin can feel rough and just plain tired. You may have a season’s worth of dead skin cells building up, or even other skincare products that leave behind a residue as well as environmental toxins. To help your skin achieve a beautiful spring glow, start with exfoliation.

Exfoliation gently cleanses your skins and removes dead skin cells and helps to open up your pores, giving you a fresh, clean face. Exfoliation also helps your other skincare products work better by clearing away old skin cells so they can penetrate deeper into your skin.

It is also important to keep up with an exfoliator at least once a week during the summer months. You don’t want to damage your skin, so a gentle exfoliator is best; it will also help clear away dirt, oil, and sweat in the hot days of summer, which can make your skin more acne-prone.

Avoid exfoliators with rough ingredients like shells, nuts, or microbeads since these could damage your skin and are bad for oceans. Exfoliators that use sugar, salt, or enzymatic scrubs with fruit acids, such as papaya, pumpkin, and pineapple, are more gentle.

Moisturizer

During the winter, many of us have dry, flaky skin that reacts to the dry indoor air and harsh weather conditions. To fight this dryness, we often use heavier moisturizers and creams in winter months, to help soothe and protect winter weather skin. In summer, our skin is better at holding onto moisture, so we can switch to lighter, but not too greasy, creams that keep skin hydrated.

Thick creams and lotions can clog pores and lead to acne. It can be helpful to switch to a lighter moisturizer. Although your skin may need some time to adjust to the new moisture in the air and still feel dry, try a serum that gives your skin the moisture it needs without the heavy creams or chemicals often found in many moisturizers.

Also, look for moisturizers that contain vitamin E, or enzymes such as hyaluronic acid to keep your skin feeling fresh, smooth, and plump.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a vital skincare step that you should never miss. Most dermatologists recommend patients wear sunscreen every day. With warmer weather and more hours of sunlight with more intense UV exposure, it is even more important to wear sunscreen in the spring and summer.

Most people are also more likely to spend more time out in the sunshine in spring and summer, and it doesn’t take a lot of UV exposure to do some damage to your skin. UV damage builds up over time, and these rays can lead to age spots, wrinkles, fine lines and over time, they can cause significant damage that could increase your chances of non-melanoma skin cancer.

Pro Tip: Switch your winter toque for a broad-brimmed hat that will protect your face, scalp, neck, and ears from harmful UV rays while you get outside and enjoy the warm sunny spring weather.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants help skin recover from damage due to UV rays or other environmental factors. They reverse the damage by protecting your skin from free radicals, which are highly destructive molecules that can break down collagen and elastin in your skin. Applying an antioxidant every day underneath your sunscreen can help protect your skin from this damage.

Cleansers

With the arrival of spring, it helps to lighten up the skincare products we use on our face, and makeup removers and cleansers are no exception. Your skin cleanser also needs to remove sweat and oil in warmer months should leave you feeling refreshed.

Eye Cream

The skin under your eyes is much more delicate and thinner than on other areas of your face. Often this is the first area to show signs of fine lines, tiredness and discolouration. Give your eyes a boost this spring with an eye cream that will give your under eyes some much-needed hydration and attention.

Lighten Up on Your Makeup

Cut back on heavy concealers and foundation in Spring and Summer. Too much product can clog pores and make your skin more likely to break out in acne, especially as the weather gets warmer and sweat becomes an issue. Mineral powder can help control oil.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

Use this time of renewal as an excellent excuse to sort through your makeup bag and get rid of any old or expired products. Many people keep their makeup long and skincare products well past the recommended expiry dates. These expired products can lead to clogged pores and even skin and eye infections. The rule is that anything that you apply to your lips or eyes should be thrown away after a year.

Use Retinol With Caution

Many people are fans of products with retinol because of its promises to fight fine lines, even out skin tone and heal skin damage by increasing the production of new skin cells. There is one thing to be aware of: retinol makes your skin more sensitive to the sun. This sensitivity occurs because retinol removes old skin cells and replaces them with new skin cells that are more sensitive to the sun.

Most dermatologists say that retinol is safe to use year-round, but if you find that your skin is getting irritated after being in the sun, try applying retinol at night instead of in the morning. You can also reduce the amount of retinol you use and the number of times you use it per week. Also, be sure always to wear sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat to help with sun sensitivity.

Go for a Peel

If you feel like your skin is really in need of a springtime boost, why not treat yourself to a professional treatment like a chemical peel? Chemical peels remove dead skin cells to make your skin look fresh and appear younger. They also contain ingredients that help even out your skin tone and lighten age spots. Talk to your dermatologist for their recommendations for your skin.

If you have questions about how your skincare needs change in the Springtime, or want to refresh your skincare routine, contact Em Clinic Esthetic Medicine. We would be happy to help you find skincare that works for all seasons to moisturize, protect, and rejuvenate your skin. Call us today at (519) 668-7449 for a free springtime consultation.