Ah, fall: The leaves change colors, the weather gets cooler, and my skin goes haywire.
Every time the seasons change, my skin has a mini-freakout. The transition from summer to fall/winter is always the worst for me, since I have combination skin and it gets much drier during those seasons. Right now I'm suffering from some lovely seasonal breakouts, so I thought I'd write up this post about how I treat my acne-prone sensitive skin as the seasons change.
Tip #1: Face Masks Are Your Friends
I tend to lay off the face masks in the summer and bring them out in full force in the fall and winter. I use a few different types of masks: A clay mask for detoxifying and purifying, an AHA mask for exfoliating, and a hydrating mask for bringing some life back to my dehydrated skin. My favorites at the moment are:
- Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask (Amazon) - check out my review
- Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask with Rose Clay (Sephora)
- Fresh Rose Face Mask (Sephora)
- Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask (Sephora) - check out my review
- Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask* (Sephora)
*currently testing
You can also check out my post on my favorite face masks!
Tip #2: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
It's much easier to stay hydrated during the summer when the hot weather basically requires you to chug ice-cold water all day long. But when the weather cools down, it's easy to slip out of that habit and replace your water with hot cocoa and tea. While those beverages are wonderful and I will be drinking plenty of them, I work extra-hard during the fall and winter to be vigilant about drinking tons of water. Having a super cute water bottle makes it easier for me to drink more water - mine is from Swell, which has the added benefit of keeping your water cold all day long.
Tip #3: Switch to a Heavier Moisturizer
Or a facial oil! I'm a big fan of using rosehip seed oil at night, and a regular moisturizer during the day. Virgin marula oil is also a great option - I have a sample size of the Drunk Elephant one (Sephora), but The Ordinary has a similar and much cheaper version (The Ordinary).
I tried to switch from my beloved REN ClearCalm Gel Cream (Dermstore) to the more moisturizing Herbivore Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme (Sephora) a few weeks ago, but unfortunately that product broke me out. So for now I'm continuing to use my tried-and-true gel cream while I research a new, heavier cream to try. If you have any recommendations that work well for acne-prone sensitive skin, leave them in the comments.
Tip #4: Don't Forget Sunscreen
Just because you're not hitting the beach anymore doesn't mean you should put your SPF into storage. Harmful UVB rays are still present even when the sun isn't shining, and can even come through the windows. So make sure that you're still protecting your skin from damage and preventing premature aging by wearing SPF every day. I get my daily SPF from my Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer (Sephora) and Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation (Sephora), but if I'm going to be outside for an extended period of time I'll also put on some sunscreen.
Tip #5: Show Your Lips and Hands Some Love
Without fail, every fall my poor hands and lips start drying out, and by December they're cracked, raw, and bleeding. Not a pretty sight. To treat extreme dryness, I swear by Aquaphor. I use it on both my hands and lips, as well as anywhere else I'm feeling particularly dry. Recently for my lips, I've been using the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask day and night (Sephora). I actually prefer it to Aquaphor because it tastes like bubblegum.
Those are my top five tips on how to protect and treat your skin when the seasons change! If you have any tips of your own, please leave them in the comments or reach out to me via email.
Now I'm off to enjoy the glorious fall weather with apple-picking, pumpkin carving, and ingesting everything pumpkin spice within reach.
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