We all make skin care mistakes during the holidays.
The season is full of excitement, family gatherings and delicious food, but it is also a stressful time of year.
With shopping, parties, travel, and late nights, it’s easy to let our skincare routines slip, leading to breakouts, dullness, and other skin problems.
With a few simple adjustments, you can ensure your skin looks flawless this year!
10 common holiday skin care mistakes – and how to avoid them
Below are 10 of the most common holiday skincare mistakes, and what you can do instead to keep your glow alive.
1. Skip your skincare routine before bed
With late night parties and family dinners, it’s tempting to fall into bed without following your usual skincare routine. But leaving makeup, dirt, and oil on your skin overnight can clog pores and lead to breakouts. The skin can also dry out, leading to dullness and a matte appearance.
What you can do instead:
Even if you’re tired, don’t neglect cleansing and moisturizing your skin before going to bed. As a last resort, keep makeup remover wipes next to your bed. Keep a travel-sized tube of Calming Moisture next to your bed for a quick shot of moisture. Not only will it enhance radiance, but it will also help keep the skin balanced and free of eczema, rosacea or acne.
2. Overindulging in sweet treats
Christmas cookies and treats come once a year, but too much sugar increases inflammation in the body, which in turn causes inflammation in your skin. Inflammation leads to breakouts, redness, puffiness and dehydration. High sugar diets can also break down collagen, causing premature aging.
What you can do instead:
Enjoy treats in moderation and try to balance them with foods rich in antioxidants, such as berries, nuts and leafy greens. These foods help fight inflammation and support skin health. Use our antioxidant-rich Calming Moisture to reduce any inflammation or redness of the skin.
3. Not getting enough sleep
This one is spicy during the holidays! We often miss the sleep we need. But the lack of sleep shows up on the skin, and quickly. Just one night of not enough rest makes our fine lines, wrinkles and sagging become more noticeable, while also leading to dark circles, puffy eyes and a dull complexion.
What you can do instead:
Aim for a good night’s sleep whenever possible. Keep your bed and wake times consistent. If you are late at night, try taking a 20-minute nap the next day to help rejuvenate your skin. A silk pillowcase can also help prevent sleep wrinkles, keeping your skin smooth.
4. Forgetting to moisturize
With the busy holiday crowds, it’s easy to forget to drink enough water. Additionally, the cold weather and heated indoor spaces can dry out your skin, making it look tired and flaky.
What you can do instead:
Cold weather makes us less thirsty, so you cannot always rely on your thirst impulses. Keep a bottle of water without you all day. Set reminders to drink a glass of water when necessary. Herbal teas are also great for hydrating and warming you up. Keep a hydrating mist like our Rescue + Relief Spray in your bag to quickly refresh your skin on the go. Repairing Skin Balm is also great as a quick fix for dry, flaky patches anywhere.
5. Skip sunscreen
Winter sun is just as harmful as summer sun, but many people skip their SPF during the colder months. This can lead to UV damage, which accelerates aging and causes hyperpigmentation.
What you can do instead:
Apply sunscreen as part of your daily routine, regardless of the season. Choose one with an SPF of 30 or higher that contains safe ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
6. The use of aggressive, scented products
Gift sets containing skin care products are popular during the holidays, but many contain highly perfumed and harsh chemical ingredients that are not good for the skin, especially sensitive skin. They can strip your skin’s natural oils, causing irritation and leading to redness, rashes and inflammation in sensitive individuals.
What you can do instead:
Stick to your tried-and-true skincare products, like our CV Skinlabs products, which are perfect for sensitive skin. We have several gift packages to choose from, perfect gifts around the holidays!
7. Not relieving stress
The holiday rush and family dynamics can be stressful, triggering cortisol production. High cortisol levels can increase oil production, leading to breakouts, while also increasing inflammation, which accelerates aging.
What you can do instead:
Do something every day to reduce stress. Try meditation, deep breathing, naps, short walks, exercise routines, art therapy, spending time with loved ones, crafts, or whatever helps you feel more relaxed and centered.
8. Use hot water for washing
Hot water feels so good when it’s cold outside, but it’s not good for your skin. It strips it of its natural oils, making it dry and more prone to irritation.
What you can do instead:
Wash with lukewarm water most of the time and avoid long, hot showers and baths. Your skin retains more moisture and is more resistant to harmful elements.
9. Not moisturizing enough
During the holidays, the skin often needs more moisture than normal. It is cold outside in most places and cold air draws moisture from the skin. Using hot water on your skin also dries it out. Stress increases dryness, as does a diet high in sugar. If you indulge in alcoholic drinks, they also dry out the skin. All these drying factors can make your skin drier than ever, worsening fine lines, wrinkles, redness, irritation and breakouts.
What you can do instead:
Use a deeply hydrating moisturizer such as our Calming Moisture and Body Repair Lotion. Both penetrate deep into the skin and deliver moisturizing ingredients like aloe vera, natural oils, ceramides, plant extracts, glycerin and more to keep skin hydrated all day long. Use whenever your skin feels tight and always apply immediately after a shower or bath to benefit from moist, moisture-clinging skin. You can also add a humidifier to your bedroom to keep the air and your skin hydrated at night.
10. Neglecting lip care
The cold weather and indoor heating make your lips prone to dryness and cracking. The skin on the lips is thinner than the rest of our skin, which means it dries out more quickly. We often forget to give our lips extra attention until they start to crack and flake.
What you can do instead:
Gently exfoliate your lips once or twice a week with a sugar lip scrub or damp washcloth. Follow with our Restorative Skin Balm for deep, nourishing moisture and healing. Use it on your lips or anywhere you have dry, cracked, flaky skin. It’s a little miracle worker.
Holiday Skin Care Mistakes: You Can Make Your Skin Look Great!
The holidays can be busy and stressful, but you don’t have to let your skin suffer. With a few thoughtful adjustments, you can avoid these common skincare mistakes and keep your skin looking fresh and vibrant. A little self-care can go a long way toward maintaining your natural glow during all the holiday fun.
Have you made some of these holiday skincare mistakes?
Featured image by Julia Larson via Pexels.
