Do you need a holiday skincare routine?
If you’re feeling stressed out this time of year—like so many people are—you probably do.
That’s because stress can show up on your skin. You may notice more dryness, dullness, acne breakouts, inflammation, and irritation.
On top of that, you may not have the time you need to tend to your skin, since you’re running around preparing for the holidays.
What to do?
We have some seasonal skincare tips for you.
Holiday Skincare Routine: 5 Things NOT to Do
Let’s start with what you can do to avoid making your skin worse.
The holiday season can easily create a perfect storm of problems for your skin. Harsh winter weather, holiday travel, irregular schedules, and more can combine to wreak havoc on your health and the condition of your skin.
You can help prevent extra breakouts and other problems by avoiding these common holiday traps:
1. Neglecting Your Sleep
You have so much to do. You’re running from morning to night. When you finally get a chance to relax a little, you don’t want to go to bed, so you spend an hour on the computer instead.
It can be harder to stick to your regular bedtime routine during the holidays, but it can do wonders for your physical and mental health—and your skin. That’s because a lack of sleep shows up on your skin. Even just one night of fewer than 7 hours of sleep makes you look older!
2. Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Alcohol is popular over the holidays, but be careful. If you indulge too much, it could mess with your sleep, causing you to look older. Alcohol is also drying. It saps water from your body, parching your skin, and it can increase inflammation.
Stick to only one drink (or less) per day to help your skin manage all those holiday events without freaking out.
3. Eating Too Much Sugar
Fudge. Cookies. Cakes. Pies. All those yummy treats!
They make the holidays extra special, but they can also accelerate skin aging. Too much sugar can damage collagen and elastin in the skin, contributing to sagging, bagging, and wrinkles.
Don’t deny yourself entirely, but do try to control your portions, and now and then choose some healthy fruit instead of candy.
4. Forgetting to Cleanse Your Face
After a day of shopping, attending parties, and getting your home ready for visitors, you may want nothing more than to fall into bed at night. But don’t forget to cleanse your skin first! If you go to bed with your makeup on, it will settle into your pores overnight, increasing your risk for clogging and breakouts.
It also prevents your skin from repairing and healing itself as it normally would during your sleeping hours. If you’re too dead on your feet to wash your face, at least wipe it clean with a makeup remover wipe.
5. Failing to Manage Your Stress
For most people, the holiday season brings extra stress. If this is true for you, it helps to be prepared. Schedule some extra time for exercise, or to meet up with friends that help you relax. Do some journaling at night before bed, or pause midday to simply sit with a candle and meditate.
Allowing stress to build up without release is the perfect way to end up with skin problems—as well as other health problems. So keep “stress relief” prominent in your mind as you go.
Holiday Skincare Routine: 5 Recommendations for You
Now that you know what not to do, let’s talk about the steps you can take to keep your skin looking its best this holiday season.
1. Cleanse Your Skin!
Many of us take cleansing for granted, but it is the cornerstone of a good skincare routine. Make it part of your stress-relieving routine by granting yourself just 2-3 minutes to thoroughly clean your skin. Use a soft brush if you like to get all the oil and debris out of your pores. And use a gentle, creamy cleanser that will not leave your skin feeling dry and tight.
2. Hydrate When You Tone
The colder weather robs your skin of moisture all day and all night long. That means you’ll likely need more moisture than usual, particularly if you’re 35 or older.
We suggest toning with our hydrating Rescue + Relief Spray. Named the “Best Skin Soother” by Healing Lifestyles and Spas, it helps relieve itching, burning, and irritated skin while providing deep, hydrating moisture.
3. Moisturize!
Moisture is always important, but it becomes critical during the cold winter months when your skin is dealing with extra stress. Dryness is the first symptom of a damaged skin barrier that demands your attention.
We recommend our Calming Moisture and Body Repair Lotion. They both contain powerful antioxidants to protect your skin from the elements, as well as repairing ingredients that will keep your skin at its best.
For those areas of your skin that are suffering, try our Restorative Skin Balm. It’s perfect for extra dry areas like those around your cuticles and on your lips.
4. Use More Face Masks
Face masks can do double duty when it comes to the holiday season, so feel free to use them more often. First, they give you an easy way to relax and de-stress. Second, they help your skin cope with all the challenges it’s facing.
Use the mask that your face needs. If you’re noticing more breakouts, choose a clay mask that will absorb oil. If your face is dry and tight, choose a moisturizing mask that will help infuse moisture into the cells and plump your skin.
5. Use a Vitamin C Eye Gel
The eyes struggle over the holidays. But they’re also the key to your facial expressions. Don’t let them get saggy and old-looking over the holiday season. Take some time to address under-eye puffiness and dark circles by applying a vitamin C eye gel before you leave the house. It can help brighten the eye area while protecting it from environmental assaults throughout the day.
6. Exfoliate Weekly
You may need to exfoliate more often during the winter months when that dry, dead skin builds up on the surface. Listen to your skin to see how it’s doing. If your exfoliation leads to irritation, back off.
Exfoliation can help you shed the stress from your skin, allowing fresh, youthful skin cells to come to the fore. Choose those exfoliating solutions that are gentle and won’t cause microtears in your skin.
How do you create a holiday skincare routine?
Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels.
