Over the weekend, most of us turned our clocks back one hour before bed on Saturday night to wake up to an extra leisurely Sunday morning feeling like we’d stolen a single, luxurious hour from the universe that allowed us to either lounge in bed to catch up on sleep or (in the case of you overachievers out there) hop out of bed early to get a jumpstart on the day in temporarily brighter early morning light.
It’s the beginning of a bittersweet time of year in that we get to enjoy preparation for the holidays and an often welcome change of seasonal weather with vibrant colors in the trees and cold breezes hinting at what’s to come. Yet we also see shorter days and cooler temperatures that can leave us feeling as though we’ve got less time in each day and spend more of it indoors.
On top of the holiday anticipation, there is another wonderful upside to these months of darker days, beauties! This is an ideal time of year to give your skin a break and make potentially greater headway in repairing signs of premature aging and damage that we’ve accumulated throughout the year. Here’s why...
Less Sunshine
Shorter days mean fewer hours of sun exposure with no extra effort on your part. The bright side to those evening commutes in lower light is that you’re clocking that many fewer minutes sitting in the sun hoping your sunscreen is holding up its end of the bargain. This is the time of year when that constant battle to prevent sun damage and work on hyperpigmentation feels like less of a challenge. So rejoice in this respite from extra hours of UV exposure even if it means bidding farewell for a while to those patio dinners under an 8pm sun!
Your skin will likely begin to bounce back a bit on its own as you enjoy less intense daylight hours. But we’re going to tell you how to kick that repair into high gear in just a moment. Before we leave the topic of sun exposure, we want to make sure you get the most out of the advice below with two important fall skin essential tips:
- Although the days become shorter and the sun is less intense, it’s imperative that you continue to protect your skin from the sun with your favorite sunscreen and any other holistic protection like hats and clothing that you feel the need for. Sun protection is still a year round commitment for your healthiest complexion and optimal effects from your anti-aging products.
- You may also want to monitor your body’s level of the ‘’sunshine vitamin’’- Vitamin D. Deficiency is not uncommon seasonally and due to sun avoidance, sunscreen use, and lack of quality dietary fats that improve the body’s use of fat-soluble vitamins including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Ask your doctor or naturopath about your vitamin D level so that he/she can recommend supplementation for the season if needed. Besides promoting strong bones, vitamin D is gaining recognition for its correlation with wrinkle resistance and may provide its own version of UV protection akin to the way antioxidants work in the skin.
Treatments, Treatments, Treatments...
During the warmer months, it can be a challenge to use more than the bare minimum (which is often just a sunscreen during the day) because layering skincare can be uncomfortable or even congesting for many people in hot, humid weather. But you may feel that start to change as we see more of these cooler and drier fall days. You might find that it now feels comfortable to layer a serum or two underneath a moisturizer if you’re not already doing so and this boost in the amount of active ingredients being delivered to your skin can add up to noticeably brighter, smoother skin throughout the season. This is a perfect time to make your regimen as dynamic as possible to prevent and correct the skin concerns that you want to address.
For example, you may be able to layer our DMAE Serum with the Vitamin C Daytime Repair Serum or the Collagen Booster Intense Repair Serum under your morning moisturizer to achieve enhanced firming and toning benefits. Everyone’s skin and preferences are a bit different when it comes to layering. You might prefer a two-step regimen while a friend insists on as many steps as she can pack into a morning and night routine. So choose what feels best to you knowing that your skin may be most tolerant of layering skincare products over the next few months.
Winter months are a great time for resurfacing treatments like a peel (glycolic peels are a personal favorite). Chemical peels are truly a fresh start for your skin, removing dull, damaged surface cells. New skin is even more susceptible to damage from the environment, especially UV exposure, making winter with shorter daylight hours, the optimal time to add these (but don't neglect your SPF step during the day). You'll also need a quality moisturizer to provide hydration and protection from the dry winter air.
There’s No Better Time For Retinol
There’s one ingredient that deserves special attention because of its time-tested ability to deliver dramatic results in improving the gamut of signs of aging and damage: the ubiquitous and beloved retinol. Whether you’re working on acne and scarring, pigmentation, or deep lines and loss of elasticity, retinol can make incredible improvements to your skin’s toughest trouble spots. Since it’s most effective at night, longer evenings in fall and winter give you an opportunity to take full advantage of one of the most powerful anti-aging ingredients on the market.
Retinol is a form of vitamin A that improves cell turnover with regular use revealing healthier, more radiant skin. It also protects and stimulates collagen synthesis in your skin so you can expect a firmer, more luminous, and even-toned complexion with diminished lines over the course of weeks and months of consistent use.
If you want a powerful retinol product that is formulated with other anti-aging heavyweights like hyaluronic acid and ferulic acid, check out the Retinol Evening Renewal Serum.
Deeper Beauty Sleep
These days, most of us can use any help we can get with improving the quality of our sleep. They call it beauty sleep for a reason. Good quality sleep each night is a must for repair and restorative benefits to our overall health, mood, and our skin! You’ve probably noticed that your skin looks its best after a good night’s sleep whereas missed sleep can leave your complexion dull and drawn-looking with dark circles and even lines and wrinkles can look more pronounced.
Your best sleep will usually be achieved in cool rooms, total dark, and complete quiet. As you might have guessed, this time of year gives you a leg up on some of these as the temperature drops and we have more dark hours each night. Many people find it easier to get to bed earlier and sleep more soundly in the fall and winter months. So indulge, if you can, in this chance to optimize your sleep while the conditions are in your favor. If you have certain challenging sleep conditions that you can’t avoid, (maybe you’re traveling, have a dear, snoring spouse at home, live on a busy street, etc) or you’re having trouble getting used to the darker evenings after the time change, consider helpful tools like an eye mask, earplugs, or white noise to simulate ideal conditions. It may also be helpful to begin your nightly skincare ritual early to help you unwind more easily during this transition.
Holiday hustle and bustle aside, fall is a time to begin slowing down a bit and taking some extra care for yourself. Less intense sun, more opportunity for adding serums and treatments like retinol, and perhaps getting better sleep can all play a role in nurturing your skin and helping you achieve your best complexion. We hope you are able to give yourself that much-deserved TLC as often as possible this season. Tell us in the comments section below, what skin concerns are you hoping to target this season?
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