How do you get your shine back after the holidays?
For many of us, the holidays are stressful, and you may notice the effects of that stress on your skin.
More fine lines and wrinkles are visible, or perhaps your skin looks dry. If you have rosacea or eczema, you may have had more flare-ups than normal.
When the skin is under stress, it often reacts with inflammation, which can lead to acne, eczema, skin thinning, texture changes, slower healing, and overall dry, dull, and aged-looking skin.
Now that you have New Year celebrations ahead of you, don’t say anything about the New Year itself. You don’t want to look less than radiant, do you?
We have some ideas to get your skin glowing healthy again.
How to get your shine back: 6 helpful tips
1. Wash your face with a soft cleansing brush.
During the holidays, it becomes easy to get lazy about washing your face. By the time you go to bed, you may be too tired to do any thorough work. If you’re using too many makeup wipes as a substitute for actual cleansing, that could be why your skin is looking a little dull right now.
Makeup wipes can remove some makeup from the surface, but they often leave behind not only dirt, but also alcohol, fragrance chemicals, and other ingredients in the wipe itself that are not good for your skin, especially sensitive, fragile skin.
Instead, choose a soft cleansing brush or loofah and a gentle cleansing cream and scrub your face well. If you do this for several days in a row, your skin will probably look a lot better.
2. Use a gentle exfoliating product.
Typically, after a holiday vacation, your skin can look dull due to a buildup of dead skin cells. Especially if you have trouble keeping up with your regular skin care routine, you may notice a lack of shine and an overall older appearance.
Exfoliating can help remove dead cells from the skin’s surface, revealing fresh, glowing skin underneath. Avoid harsh exfoliating products that contain grains, nuts and crystals as these can cause micro-cracks in the skin that cause inflammation and breakouts. Choose a product with gentle acids (lactic acid, malic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid) and use it once or twice a week.
Don’t forget your lips! If they are cracked and dry, they also need to be exfoliated. Choose a gentle sugar scrub and use it twice a week, followed by our Restorative Skin Balm for soft, smooth lips.
3. Follow the cleaning with a quality toner.
Have you been skipping toner lately? You might want to reconsider that. A high-quality toner will help balance your skin’s pH level and prepare it to absorb your moisturizer. Without it, your skin can look dehydrated and dry.
Our Rescue + Relief Spray has several benefits. With a moisturizing and healing effect that helps skin recover from stress and breakouts, it provides powerful anti-inflammatories that can help tame redness and irritation. Spray a little on your face and pat in, followed by moisturizer to achieve a bright, lit-from-within look.
4. Hydrate well.
Lifestyle stressors such as lack of sleep, poor nutrition, travel stress and winter weather can all contribute to visible signs of aging. Your skin needs some extra care to bounce back.
Any moisturizer is not suitable at this time. Your skin needs help! If you choose a department store brand that consists of Vaseline products, alcohols, and fragrances, you aren’t doing much to help your skin. If you have compromised or sensitive skin, it’s even more important that you look for a high-quality moisturizer.
Try our award-winning Calming Moisture. It’s packed with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and healing ingredients like aloe vera, beta-glucan (which helps promote collagen production), oat extract to reduce irritation and itching, natural oils for hydration, and shea butter for deep hydration. Apply morning and evening after cleansing and toning to replenish and rebuild your skin barrier.
5. Enjoy some me-time with a mask.
If your skin is very dry and stressed and needs extra care, masking can help the skin recover.
Look at your skin. If it is dull and dry, exfoliate first and then use a moisturizing mask. Our Restorative Skin Balm works wonders as a mask. It helps heal damaged, stressed skin, provides moisture for severely dry skin and protects the skin barrier, providing protection against harsh weather conditions and other harmful influences.
6. Take care of yourself from the inside out.
After a period of indulgence, it’s important to return to smart self-care. That means drinking more water (and fewer or no sugary drinks), eating healthy, exercising daily, and getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
It is also important to choose a daily activity that can help you relieve stress. Good options include exercise (walking is great), meditation, yoga or tai chi, journaling, and deep breathing. Stress takes a toll on your skin, so the better you can manage that stress, the better your skin will look and feel.
Here’s to happy, healthy, radiant and youthful-looking skin!
How do you get your glow back after the holidays?
Featured image courtesy of Kevin Malid via Pexels.
