Falling for Autumn Skincare Tips
After a hot, sunny summer, autumn is finally here! We’re ready for brilliantly coloured leaves, cosy knitwear, and warming soups. Truly a season of change, and our skin is far from exempt from that change.
As the temperature drops, your skin’s needs will change dramatically. Dry skin, redness, and seasonal breakouts can all ruin a perfect autumn, so it’s important to know how to prevent these from occurring.
Luckily, we’ve got several top tips for transitioning your skincare routine into the cooler months, leaving your skin feeling healthy and happy all through autumn.
Exfoliation
After summer’s demands, your skin may benefit from a good exfoliation to remove build-ups of sebum, grime, and dead skin. Additionally, scrubbing off this layer will also help your skin to more effectively absorb moisturisers and improve circulation.
We recommend using a gentle scrub with natural exfoliants such as coconut, clay, or bamboo.
For day-to-day treatment, exfoliate in the evening, and choose products with chemical exfoliants like alpha-hydroxy acids. These include glycolic acid and lactic acid; they break down the bonds between dead skin cells, meaning they easily lift away. Lactic acid is ideal because it hydrates while exfoliating.
By avoiding abrasive scrubs, you’ll reduce further inflammation and flaking. Abrasives can even lead to micro tears in the skin, causing the inflammation as well as reducing the efficacy of the skin barrier.
Make it part of a holistic spa treatment with one of our many pamper boxes!
Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise
A lot of things all come together as the days get shorter to dry out our skin. Summer’s sun, chlorine, and salt can dehydrate skin, as can the colder, drier air that saps moisture away from our skin. So it’s more important than ever to make sure all your products are geared towards moisturising your skin and locking it in.
Start with swapping out your light summer cleanser for something more hydrating. Then apply a luxurious, creamy body butter with cold weather essential ingredients like shea and cocoa oils right after cleansing.
Avoid cosmetics that contain drying alcohols. These synthetic ingredients tend to strip skin of its natural oils and moisture, leading to dry, itchy skin.
You can also try round the clock skincare with a pampering overnight treatment. A thick night cream can help strengthen the skin barrier and keep you moisturised while you sleep.
We’ve got some wonderful options for moisturising skin, as well as a bedtime box!
Love your lips
An often overlooked area of skincare is our lips. They’re often first to feel the chilly weather, becoming chapped and flaky. Nip this in the bud with a rich moisturising lip balm. You can also buff away dead skin with a face cloth before moisturising.
While it may seem like a reliable standby, avoid using petroleum jelly to protect your lips. It creates a waterproof barrier, yes, but also prevents the skin from breathing, which can actually exacerbate cold weather issues.
Try choosing a lip balm with natural waxes and oils to protect and pamper your lips.
Helping your hands
Your hands are some of your hardest working body parts, and they often spend autumn and winter dry, cracked, and sore. Despite the fact that they’re often working exposed to the elements, they can get left behind in the quest for nourishing skincare.
In addition, our hands don’t produce as much natural oil as other areas of the body, meaning that particularly as temperatures fall, they are far more prone to dry out. Selecting a good, moisturising hand cream can make all the difference this autumn, so don’t skimp!
Try a total package like our Face, Feet, Hair, & Hands pamper box to treat your hands (and feet!) like royalty. They deserve it (and a round of applause)!
Red leaves, not red skin
Rosy cheeks might seem part and parcel of colder months, but redness can be a sign of inflammation. This is often a serious issue for those with sensitive skin. To help alleviate redness, opt for very gentle skin care products, particularly those with anti-inflammatory ingredients such as cica, mushroom, and colloidal oatmeal. These calm skin and soothe irritation, which reduces redness.
More than just products
There’s far more you can do to help your skin thrive in autumn than just choosing the right skincare products. For example, a major contributing factor to dry skin is not drinking enough water.
In general, most people should aim for two litres of water a day, or roughly eight glasses. This can help prevent your skin from becoming flaky and dull.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even though the summer heat is gone, the sun can still be damaging to your skin. It might be tempting to eschew caution in regards to UV rays, but many of the same summer tips to stay safe from sunburn still apply in autumn.
Follow these amazing autumn skincare tips and we just know you’ll have skin that glows all the way through winter! You can find plenty of products to help you prepare for the coming cold across our many luxurious pamper boxes. Browse our selection for your next spa day, or build your own bespoke box for a truly unique pamper experience!
