Knowing how to care for your skin during a seasonal change, for example, in autumn is important to allow your skin to recover after summer and regenerate in preparation of winter.
Are you more in the mood for a milkshake in August and fried chicken in December than the other way around?
For your skin it's the same thing, its needs change with the seasons and with the very delicate transition periods when the seasons change.
Different seasons impact our skin in different ways. Autumn is a difficult season for our skin as it needs to recover from summer and get ready for winter. Autumn skincare tips include staying active, moisturizing your skin with a nutrition cream, adopting the right skincare products and routines, and adapting your diet.
Read on to learn about the effect of summer and winter on our skin, why autumn is the ideal time for skin care, and for 5 tips to take care of your skin after summer.
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How to care for your skin during a seasonal change: Autumn is a delicate time for the skin
The sun is playing hide and seek, you get up again before daylight and the thermometer goes down.
While the end of summer may be getting you down, this is also one of the most difficult annual transitions for your skin.
Summer with its heat and UV rays versus winter when it's cold and dark. These extremes put our skin to the test. But between these two seasons, autumn is difficult to manage for our skin.
We must realize that our skin is genuinely overwhelmed at the end of the summer. And without proper care, we may pay the price all year long.
Skin needs to be repaired and purified after the summer
You never love your skin more than after a summer vacation: tanned, radiant, luminous. Don't be fooled, underneath its temporary tan and thickness lies a weakened epidermis.
Sun, heat, chlorine or salt, air conditioning, etc. have really made your skin suffer. Your skin usually ends the summer parched or even damaged if it is mature or dry.
With the heat, you may have opted for lighter, less nourishing skincare products, which ends up being felt. Finally, even if you protect yourself to the maximum, UV rays have inevitably done some damage.
Have you noticed that your skin is more oily during vacations? Quite normal, too. As the sun, heat and swimming dry it out, your skin defends itself by overactivating its sebaceous glands.
The disaster under the tanned skin
It takes a little time to adjust to the new situation, during which time the skin continues to peel. Dead skin cells accumulate on your thickened skin and mix with excess sebum.
The result is that your complexion looks dull at best, at worst you experience a huge rebound effect. All your imperfections will reappear more clearly, pimples multiply, and your wrinkles are more pronounced.
Your tan is fading, leaving particularly dry, rough areas and spots. This is not an ideal way to start the winter and cold season.
Especially since these seemingly temporary inconveniences can herald lasting damage, premature aging or acne that sets in. So it is absolutely necessary to react and care for your sensitive skin in the autumn.
Arm your skin for winter and the cold season
Take action as soon as possible because temperatures will drop, heaters will come back on and clothes will prevent your skin from breathing properly or even irritate it.
Without wishing to dampen your spirits, it is now that you must anticipate winter. Therefore, it is imperative that your skin quickly digests its summer to prepare for winter.
Dry, oily or normal skin all have the same need at the end of the summer: to be listened to, pampered, cared for and moisturized.
Moisturize your skin after summer: Tips
It's possible that during the vacations you'll really let yourself go and forget about everything, including your skin care. But for the skin, this can lead to months of hardship.
It's time to remedy the little sloppiness of summer. The objective should be to restore a radiant epidermis and a truly protective barrier.
In short, if you have to remember only one piece of advice, it is that you must moisturize your skin. But not just in any way...
Keep your summer activities going in the fall
Maintain your summer activities despite the coolness and fatigue of returning to school or work. You'll have plenty of time to curl up in the comforter in the coming months!
Continue to get as much air as possible, take advantage of every ray of sunshine to boost your vitamin D, opt for outdoor sports to boost collagen and circulation, go for a walk in the forest and contemplate the colors: autumn is also a season to be lived outdoors.
Don't neglect sleep since that's when you regenerate at night, but so does your skin. So give yourself a break from the hustle and bustle.
Yes, you may have just had a vacation, but there's nothing wrong with that. You are preparing for a long-distance race, not a sprint. Massage, meditation, cocooning, yoga, walking... Let go and make yourself feel good.
Moisturize your entire skin (including eyes, lips and body)
Moisturizing your skin is crucial for a healthy glow, which is particularly affected by the changing seasons.
Related post: How to get healthy, glowing skin: 5 Tips dermatologists swear by
Incorporate a detoxifying, anti-wrinkle and antioxidant eye care into your routine before it gets too tight.
Don't forget your lips. Without sweat glands, they suffer particularly in summer.
Did you use to moisturize your legs, arms and back to enhance and prolong your tan? Sure, they'll be hidden soon, but don't skip it. Even consider a richer body care product to avoid post-summer crocodile skin.
This will give you the option of a winter without scratching or dry patches.
Adopt the right skincare routines
To regenerate and tone the skin, use small circular upward massages to stimulate collagen production and microcirculation.
Related post: How to promote natural collagen production to make cellulite less visible
Use your moisturizer as a mask until you feel comfortable again.
Before bedtime, a thick layer will prevent nightly dehydration and help your skin in its intense detox and renewal activity.
Be impeccable on the cleansing because evacuating toxins, dead cells and excess sebum is essential to moisturize your skin. Does your skin pull? Try cleansing milk.
Is your sebum overproduction difficult to balance? A spritz of soothing and purifying hydrolats will ideally complete the process in both cases.
Careful if you were thinking of having a good scrub as there is a great risk of stripping the hydrolipidic film.
However, by limiting yourself to a gentle scrub, ideally homemade, you can help your skin cleanse and renew itself without going too hard. Be careful not to do it too often though!
A plate for a serene approach to autumn
Barbecue, rosé wine, cocktails, ice cream, etc. We love it, but it's time to replace it all with the back-to-school or back-to-work cocktail of fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants.
In fact, put the same fabulous active plant ingredients on your plate as you put in your cosmetics.
Opt for care products rich in good plant fatty acids, natural antioxidants, and, playing on synergies, cover your skin's needs in vitamins and minerals.
On the plate, benefit from all the fruits and vegetables that make their return to the shop shelves to reinforce the defenses, help the emunctory organs (organ that carries off body waste such as kidneys), boost collagen and regulate sebum.
They are more energetic, rich in nutrients, and especially purifying:
- Mushrooms, a valuable source of vitamin B and selenium
- Broccoli as antioxidant
- Oleaginous fruits rich in fatty acids
- Figs rich in fiber
- Black radishes for the liver
- Root vegetables (beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, etc.)
- Grapes as diuretic rich in antioxidants.
Make your tan last with vitamin C and carotene.
Quince, persimmon, sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot are at the top of the list to unify and illuminate the complexion and repair free radical damage. And also to boost your immune system before winter.
Adapting your skincare products to moisturize your skin effectively
Your skin will find its true nature by getting rid of its tan. Regardless of its nature, your skin condition will depend on your activities and destinations, the weather, the care you take, etc.
Before returning to your usual routine, listen to your skin's story about its vacation...
Is it a bit of a stretch? Or even a lot? Lack of tone or radiance, redness, excess sebum, imperfections?
It's time to make a diagnosis to moisturize your skin according to its real needs.
You must act before your usual worries reappear, by adapting to the day-to-day needs of your skin.
Your normal to combination skin may temporarily need a dry skincare level. Or maybe your dry skin is crying out for the balm you reserve for winter.
Our suggestion for adapting your routine to the temporary needs of your skin is to keep your usual moisturizer but add a few drops of a synergy of plant oils.
This is an economical and effective strategy and a good habit to keep, so that you always have a response adapted to the condition of your skin.
Thus, you will always be able to recover radiance, nourish and soothe, regulate and purify, illuminate and energize, tone, etc.
For its more intense needs, consider skin boosting serums that are balancing and anti-imperfection to prevent the return of pimples, anti-spot and antioxidant to fight against aging accelerated by UV.
How to care for your skin during a seasonal change: Conclusion
As both summer and winter are hard on our skin, autumn is the ideal time for skin care to recover from the summer heat and prepare for the winter cold.
The five simple autumn skincare tips we've shared will go a long way to revitalize and arm your skin once again with fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins.