Throughout summer we always emphasise the importance of wearing sun protection to help prevent skin cancer and delay the skin ageing process, however post-summer skin care is also vitally important as your skin steps into repair mode.
You may have diligently applied sun protection all summer and taken every precaution to look after your skin. Despite this your skin was exposed to damaging UV rays and you may be seeing the tell-tale signs; skin dullness, dehydration, dark pigment patches and breakouts to name a few.
Here are some tips to take you into autumn with a healthier skin:
Exfoliate
Warm weather causes the oils in our skin to emulsify and travel more easily to the top of our skin. That’s why your skin often feels oilier in summer. The oil acts like a glue to our skin cells, binding them together tightly and preventing them from naturally shedding from our skin to make way for new fresher skin cells. The build-up of dead skin cells leads to other problems: it blocks the pores which can lead to breakouts, it creates a formidable barrier to moisture penetration and it makes the skin look dull and lackluster. We need to exfoliate from head to toe!
Face
It’s important to be gentle with post-summer skin as it tends to be more reactive. We recommend an enzyme exfoliant. Packed with enzymes such as pineapple and papaya, this gently digests dead skin cells to reveal a fresher, more vibrant complexion. Simply apply exfoliant to clean skin, work it with warm wet fingertips to release the encapsulated enzymes, allow it to sit and do its magic then rinse away after 5 minutes. It smells divine and leaves your skin with a lovely, luminous glow!
Body
Simply wet your skin in the shower, lather your body scrub into your hands with water until you achieve an unctuous, rich foam then exfoliate until the grains begin to break down. Then simply rinse away.
Drench your skin
Now that we’ve removed that stubborn skin barrier it’s time to drench your skin with moisture. You may need to step up to a richer moisturiser formulations for autumn and incorporate a repairing Serum in the morning and evening. If you work in air-conditioning, a spritz every couple of hours with a moisture binding skin spray, it will help to replenish lost moisture.
Fade it
If you have managed to get too much sun this summer you may have some deeper sun damage that reveals itself in dark, unsightly patches. This is a build-up of the skin pigment melanin and the good news is that it is treatable. We recommend you book in for a full skin assessment. Photorejuvenation is one of the best treatments for sun damage and pigmentation. Don’t forget to keep up with your sun protection though! Even autumn sunshine can cause damage to your skin.
