How to Transition Your Skincare from Summer to Fall
The change in seasons is the perfect time to reassess your skincare routine and make necessary changes. With fall comes cooler weather, less humidity, and indoor heat, which is a recipe for dry, irritated, and dehydrated skin.
Today’s article will dive into your fall skincare routine and what products to use to keep your hydrated summer skin glowing into the fall. We’ll cover:
- Cleansing
- Gentle exfoliation
- Hydrating serums
- Eyes and lips
- Moisturizers
- And SPF
Let’s dive into fall skincare now!
Choose a Gentle Cleanser
In the summer, your skin may be exposed to more sweat, dirt, pollution, and impurities from spending extra time outdoors and in the heat. You may need more cleansing power. But, gentle cleansers will do the trick in the fall and help prevent dry skin and irritation.
Remove Dirt without Stripping Skin
Choose a gentle, moisturizing cleanser to remove dirt without stripping the skin of its natural oils.
NassifMD® Pure Hydration Facial Cleanser hydrates, moisturizes, and cleanses the pores gently and effectively. It contains vitamin C and matcha tea for antioxidants to help reduce puffiness and protect the skin. Squalene prevents inflammation and moisture loss. It’s an excellent moisturizer for fall and works with all skin types. (link to skin type article)
Exfoliate Less Frequently
In the fall, you’ll likely need to exfoliate less frequently than the summer. You may tolerate exfoliation better in warmer, humid weather than colder, dryer weather.
Too much exfoliation can harm the skin barrier, leading to skin irritation and making it harder to maintain skin hydration.
Use Gentler Exfoliants
In addition to exfoliating less frequently, choose gentle exfoliation over harsh ingredients.
AHAs/BHAs
Alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids (AHA and BHA) are naturally occurring molecules in fruit and other foods. These hydroxy acids are used in cosmetic and dermatologic formulas to remove dead skin cells and unclog pores. They tend to be well-tolerated with minimal risk.
Glycolic Acid
Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid used in gentle at-home exfoliation products aimed at all skin types. Glycolic acid is an antioxidant and helps improve skin luminosity. You’ll find glycolic acid and other mild hydroxy acids in these NassifMD® products.
Read How to Find the Perfect Exfoliator for Your Skin Type to learn more.
Don’t Forget the Eyes and Lips
You may notice dry, chapped lips or dry skin under the eyes when dry weather hits. Both are signs of skin dehydration. The good news is you can target hydration in these areas.
Protect Delicate Undereye Skin
Choose an eye cream to hydrate the delicate skin under the eyes. Topical eye creams are one of the most common options to address puffiness and dark circles under the eyes.
Read more about How to Get Rid of Bags and Dark Circles Under Eyes here and NassifMD® eye cream options here.
Prevent Dry, Chapped Lips
A lip moisturizer prevents and treats dry, chapped, or cracked lips. You’ll likely need to increase your lip balm in the fall and winter months. In addition, make sure you are hydrating well internally by drinking enough water.
Check out the NassifMD® lip collection here.
Add Serums to Your Routine
In the fall, you may need to wear more clothing layers to keep your body warm. Your skin may need more layers, too!
Serums are an excellent way to promote hydration and target active ingredients to the skin’s layers. Add at least one hydrating serum to your fall skincare routine. Note that you can layer serums one on top of another to get the benefits of each one.
Read What are Face Serums and Do You Need to Add Them to Your Skincare Routine for all the details about serums.
Lock in Moisture & Protect Skin with Hydrating Serums
Serums are an effective way to hydrate skin and improve skin health in the cooler fall months. Hydrating serums may include topical retinoids, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and other active ingredients.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid serum is a natural molecule found throughout the body in connective tissue and skin. It is a water-binding molecule that draws moisture into the skin and helps to keep it there. It helps to diminish fine lines and reduce other signs of aging.
Vitamin C
Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant and skin hydrator. It works to boost collagen production, which provides skin structure and helps hold on to moisture.
One of our favorite hydrating skin products for fall is NassifMD® Night Therapy Serum which hydrates, restores, and protects the skin overnight. With multiple active ingredients, including hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, retinol, and plant extracts, this serum takes the place of layering serums overnight.
Use Thicker Moisturizers
You may have transitioned to a lighter moisturizer for the warm summer months. As the days start getting crisp, it’s time to switch back to your thick moisturizer. Moisturizing your skin more intensely helps prevent dryness, sensitivity, inflammation, and irritation.
Support Skin Barrier Function
Your skin moisture barrier keeps hydration and nutrients inside the skin and toxins and impurities out. When the skin becomes dehydrated, skin barrier function declines, leading to dryness, redness, sensitivity, and other skin issues.
Emollient Ingredients Keep Skin Hydrated
Oil-based emollients in moisturizers help protect the skin barrier and lock hydration in. Examples include shea butter, sunflower seed oil, and jojoba oil.
Shea Butter
Shea butter is an emollient with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. It helps maintain the skin barrier, locking in hydration, especially after using a hydrating serum.
Sunflower Seed Oil
Sunflower seed oil supports skin barrier repair and has anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. It hydrates and nourishes and is a rich source of vitamin E.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil supports skin barrier repair and wound healing. In addition, it’s anti-inflammatory and anti-aging. It helps the skin to feel soft and supple and is a good choice for sensitive skin.
NassifMD® Skin Barrier Balm calms, hydrates, and protects the skin. This balm was initially developed for Dr. Nassif’s patients to use after skin rejuvenating treatments because of how quickly it hydrates and nourishes the skin. It’s the perfect addition to your fall skincare routine. Use it as night for skin slugging, the last step in your skincare routine to lock in serums and eye creams.
Keep Using Your Daily SPF
As one final tip, continue using daily SPF to protect your skin from UV exposure and free radical damage. Even if you spend more time indoors than in the summer, you still need sunscreen to prevent sun damage and skin aging.
The days of using the same skincare products year-round are over. It’s time to embrace seasonal skincare for well-nourished skin. Don’t forget your fall skincare essentials, including NassifMD® Pure Hydration Facial Cleanser, NassifMD® Night Therapy Serum, and NassifMD® Skin Barrier Balm. These three products transform your healthy summer skin into radiant, glowing fall skin.
References
- Tang, S. C., & Yang, J. H. (2018). Dual Effects of Alpha-Hydroxy Acids on the Skin.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23(4), 863.
- Houshmand E. B. (2021). Effect of glycolic acid, phytic acid, soothing complex containing Emulsion on Hyperpigmentation and skin luminosity: A clinical evaluation.Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 20(3), 776–780.
- Juncan, A. M., Moisă, D. G., Santini, A., Morgovan, C., Rus, L. L., Vonica-Țincu, A. L., & Loghin, F. (2021). Advantages of Hyaluronic Acid and Its Combination with Other Bioactive Ingredients in Cosmeceuticals.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(15), 4429.
- Lin, T. K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. L. (2017). Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils.International journal of molecular sciences, 19(1), 70.
