Very much like your closet, your make-up and skincare products need to be rotated as the seasons change. Many changes in skin occur in the fall, including a need for renewal and repair from sun and other summer weather damage, an increased need for moisturizing and repair from weather changes and being indoors more often, an adjustment for hormonal changes from the stress of a change in schedule and routine, and reactions from a change in diet from lighter summer fare to heavier meals that are associated with a seasonal fall diet. In addition, you can make some easy changes in your make-up routine to brighten up your appearance and look your best and brightest as you move into fall and the upcoming holiday season. The following updates to your skincare and make-up routine will help to ease you in to pumpkin latte season looking your best and brightest:
- Do a fall clean-up of your skincare products and make-up According to Dr. Zain Husain, a board-certified dermatologist with Forefront Dermatology, in Tysons Corner, VA, “Old skin care products and make-up not only work less efficiently, they can also do damage to your skin. There are a few different reasons for this. First, the active ingredients become ineffective over time. For example, after a foundation with SPF has expired, the sun protection may not be as strong as it was when the product was first purchased. Second, the efficiency of active ingredients also becomes compromised over time. Finally, your expired makeup can start to grow bacteria. When you apply these products to your skin, this can cause irritation and bumps that look like acne. And when it comes to your eyes, this bacteria buildup can actually cause infections and pink eye.” Look through your make-up and other skincare products, such as moisturizers and cleansers, and replace products that are more than 12 months old or lipsticks that are more than eighteen months old.
- Continue to Use Sunscreen As the weather is starting to cool down, it is still very important to protect your skin from the sun, especially during the peak daylight hours of 10 AM and 4 PM. Although sun radiation is less intense, you should continue protecting your skin against damaging UV rays. Use daily a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and remember to re-apply it every two hours.
- Moisturize To repair your damaged summer skin and prepare it for fall, select a creamier cleanser to provide additional moisture to your face and use a richer, creamier face lotion that will keep the skin hydrated. Use mildly hydrating toners to finalize the cleansing process, balance your skin’s tone, and lock in moisture. This will provide a great base for your make-up to ensure that your products go on smoothly and offer essential coverage of fine lines, dark spots and other summer sun damage.
- Select a foundation with more coverage and repair for uneven skin tone The sun, wind, sand, heat and other elements of summer have most likely taken a toll on your skin this past summer. Look for a foundation that provides ample coverage for uneven skin tone, dark spots, and fine lines that is at least one or two shades lighter than your current skin tone. It should also offer repair elements such as evening and brightening skin tone and minimizing and treating the appearance of fine lines to gradually repair the impact of sun damage while providing a base for your fall make-up to make you look radiant.
- Embrace earth tones and ditch pastels The last time you shopped for make-up was most likely when the weather was warming up and you were thinking of spring and summer. Swap out your bright colors and pastels you purchased then and trade them in for earth tones and berry shades for fall. Darker peach shadow and black eyeliner are just a couple of the eye trends being seen on runways for fall. Don’t forget about your lips and nails. For lips, select dark berry shades and other earth tones to change your look for fall. Select moisturizing, non-petroleum based, protective lipstick or balm with an SPF of 30 or higher and reapply it throughout the day if to keep lips moist and combat the dryer climate. Select a dark nail polish to finish off your look. Dark grey shades and deep burgundies will help polish off your look!
Your Local Skincare Experts at Forefront Dermatology Can Help If your skin is feeling especially dull or damaged after summer, your local skin experts at Forefront Dermatology can help! Whatever your current skin-care needs, your local board-certified dermatologists at Forefront Dermatology have an effective treatment option for you. Find the Forefront physician nearest you or learn more about our available skin care treatments.
