Skin Care Tips for Autumn & Winter
Lets talk skin care tips for Autumn and Winter. The cooler months can really play havoc with your skin, so it’s important to make some simple changes, to ensure your skin is glowing and healthy. Hopefully we will all get to spend Christmas with our loved ones this year, so having gorgeous, glowing skin to show off is a real treat!
Read on to discover my top skin care tips, to help you achieve the best possible skin in the coming months.
Autumn and winter are also the perfect time to start courses of treatment such as IPL Photofacials (like an airbrush treatment for your skin!), and fractional laser facials (sounds scary, but think of it as the ULTIMATE exfoliator, revealing beautifully, fresh skin underneath). More on treatment later though….
Skin Care Tips for Autumn & Winter
- Switch to a richer moisturiser. Your skin can really take a battering going between central heating and the cold chill of the wind. A richer moisturiser will help soothe and nourish your skin.
- Keep up with your sunscreen! You are still exposed to UV rays all year round, so keep the SPF 30 on, rain or shine. As UV rays are responsible for around 90% of premature aging - I'd say this is one of the best skin care tips I can give you!
- Go easy on the exfoliating during these months. 1-2 times a week is ideal, and avoid harsh and abrasive products. Skin is sensitive during the cooler months, over exfoliating can break down the skins natural barrier function and make your skin super sensitive.
- Wear lip balm, ideally with an SPF in. Your lips can often get chapped and sore during these months, so help them by keeping them nourished and protected.
- And the same goes for those hands! Get that hand cream on, and again - ideally one with an SPF (there's a theme here, I know!).
- An oldie, but a goodie - stay hydrated. Make sure you're drinking lots of water, to help your skin stay supple from the inside.
- Eat the rainbow. What I mean by this is, make sure you're eating varied diet that's full of antioxidants. Consume plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - think squashes, berries, peppers, greens - literally, eat the rainbow!
- Check your sleep and stress patterns. Both of these ply havoc with your skin, as your skin needs sleep and relaxation to repair and regenerate. These two are the cause of many of my clients skin concerns.
Skin care tips - inside out
You’ll never hear me giving skin care tips that don’t include the ‘inside out’ too. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and entirely unique to you (incredible, I know). So ensuring that you nourish your skin from within, is so important. Quite often, when I work with clients to manage conditions such as acne or rosacea, we find the biggest improvements come from tweaking their diets. It’s powerful stuff, so absolutely deserves a huge shout out for my top skin care tips!
WATER: I know you’ve heard it before, but that’s because it’s super important. Your body is almost 70% water and every single process in your body needs it. Aim for 2-3 litres per day, more if you’re exercising.
LEAFY GREENS: Increase your intake of green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale broccoli and cabbage. These are super cleansing and nutritious.
BERRY GOODNESS: Increase your intake of low sugar fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Full of antioxidants and help to balance those blood sugar levels.
PROTEIN: Make sure you’re eating good sources of protein at every meal. Protein is important for the health of your skin and collagen production. If you’re struggling to find protein sources, then there are some great protein powders available.
VITAMIN C: Eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C, such as berries, oranges, sweet potato, papaya, and pumpkins/squashes. Essential to produce healthy collagen, and it’s a powerful antioxidant.
VITAMIN E: This is essential to healthy skin growth and protects your skin. Avocado, pine nuts and hazelnuts are great sources.
SELENIUM: Great for your immune system and skin health. Find it in eggs, tomatoes, wheatgerm, shellfish, broccoli, and brazil nuts
ZINC: Helps your skin to repair and keeps it supple. Find it in lean meat, poultry, whole grains, fish, shellfish, nuts & seeds.
SPICES: Turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory. Cinnamon is great for balancing blood sugar levels. Ginger is amazing for its ability to flush out toxins and aid blood circulation – it’s also said to increase collagen production and reduce inflammation. Add these little powerhouses to your cooking or soups!
I don’t think I REALLY need to say this, but cut back on processed foods, starchy carbohydrates, and alcohol. I’m not going to teach you to ‘suck eggs’ – you know the drill! When you’re thinking about how to detox your skin, it’s really important to look at the inside out, as well as the outside in. Your skin responds to everything you put into it, it’s the largest organ in your body – so if your body is stressed internally, it’s going to show up on your skin.
Skin Care Tips - Advanced Treatments for Winter
Autumn and Winter are the perfect time have treatments for the following skin concerns:
- Sun damage, including freckles, sun spots and pigmentation.
- Vascular lesions, such as thread veins and port wine birth marks.
- Active Acne.
- Rosacea.
The reason that these skin concerns are a challenge to treat in the summer months, is due to exposure to the sun. The best treatment for these conditions is IPL light treatment and fractional laser. Both of these treatments require your skin to be free from a sun tan. So Autumn and the Winter are the perfect time to address these concerns, strengthen your skin and have a good skincare practice in place, ready for the summer months again. Not only can you treat this skin concerns, but also reduce the risk of them reoccurring.
I’d recommend booking a consultation to discuss your skin concerns. Both of these treatment require a patch test.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed my blog on skin care tips for Autumn and Winter. If you’d like to discuss your skin concerns, or discover how I can help you look and feel fabulous in your own skin, then please get in touch.
I offer a complimentary Zoom consultation, which you can book via the link below.
I look forward to welcoming you to my boutique clinic in Alton, Hampshire – which is at the heart of Jane Austen country. If you are planning a visit then let me know, and I’ll happily recommend some fabulous tea rooms near Jane Austen’s house, only 2 miles away – well worth a visit!