BEACH BLISS: Hydration is key to protecting skin as weather gets colder

By FIONA BRAMZELL

Summer to Fall Skincare Guide

Summer is always a fun season but sooner or later a chill creeps into the air and you know it’s time to pack away the t-shirts and shorts for another year. While your memories of all the good times you enjoyed linger into the fall and beyond, so can the damaging effects the sun, salt water and sand has had on your skin. Here are a few easy ways to get that sun-soaked skin prepped for the long, cold months ahead.

Damage Control

However diligent you are about protecting your skin from the sun, at the end of the summer you’re almost guaranteed to find some signs of overexposure.

Photoaging – the term used for the damage caused by UV rays – accelerates the appearance of lines, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation in the skin so you need to start using a product to reverse this damage ASAP. A facial skin product containing Vitamin C and potent antioxidants such as lycopene, grape seed and resveratrol will help restore the skin structure, stimulate collagen production, fight free radical damage and lighten areas of hyperpigmentation AKA age spots!

Deep Conditioning

It’s easy to forget to give your skin those extra treatments during the summer when all you want to do is get outside and catch some rays. As summer turns to fall, reintroduce a deep conditioning treatment into your routine once or twice a month to give your skin much-needed moisture and replace some of those fluids lost in the hot weather.

A deep conditioning mask is a great way to nourish the skin cells – look for one that contains a blend of peptides, skin-nourishing vitamins like A and E, and rich emollients such as shea and cocoa butter.

Smooth it Out

All that squinting in the sunshine may have left the skin around your eyes looking less than lush! The skin in this area is thin and tends to be drier and much more delicate than on other parts of our body, making it susceptible to forming lines and wrinkles.

The fall is a perfect time to add a product to your routine that is specially formulated to treat this type of skin. Find a good quality cream that has multiple benefits for the eyes, providing intense moisture for the delicate skin but also addressing the dark circles and bags which may have accumulated after all those night-long parties at the beach and cottage!

Bring in the Heavies

Needless to say, as the air gets colder your skin will need more protection, so now is the time to switch from your light summer face lotion to something with a little more substance. A product that has a hydrating and moisturizing action ensures that you’ll treat the water loss resulting from the long hot months and restore any loss of collagen and elastin in the skin. Specially formulated night creams are ideal as they repair skin while you sleep, boosting the structural network and making it more resilient as you head in to the cold, winter weather.

Put up a Barrier

One of the best ways to keep your skin healthy as fall progresses into winter is to use a barrier cream. Not only does this lock in moisture and prevent skin from drying out due to over-heated rooms, but it will also protect the skin from the harsher outdoor elements.

While barrier creams used to use environmentally-unfriendly chemicals, there are many on the market now that contain natural ingredients that work just as well such as calendula, aloe vera and organic beeswax. Products containing hyaluronic acid are also ideal as they attract water molecules from the atmosphere, holding them in the skin for ongoing hydration indoors and out.

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