Fix Your Skin
With autumn just around the corner and summer fast becoming a distant memory…how do we repair the damage caused by sun exposure? If your skin is looking and feeling weathered from the summer season there are a few essential steps you can take to repairing the skin and getting back on the right track. Antonia Mariconda, The Cosmedic Coach, helps us discover how…
If your skin is suffering from summer dehydration you may notice some or all of the following symptoms:
- The skin feels and looks dry.
- New or first fine lines appear and become considerably visible.
- The skin tone looks dull and sallow.
- Sun and age spots appear.
- The skin is flaking and is irritated.
- The skin is sagging.
- Some broken capillaries become visible.
- These are signs of sun damaged skin and photo aging.
Autumn time is a good time to restore your skin’s moisture balance and treat the sun-damage.
Step 1:
Exfoliation.
Exfoliation or peeling will help your skin to get rid of the dead damaged cells and prepare it to take in moisture and nutrition easier. Exfoliation of the skin’s top layer has also shown in many studies to stimulate production of new collagen in the deeper dermis layers thus helping to improve the signs of photo aging.
Professional Peeling: Some cosmetic doctors or aesthetic practitioners recommend waiting until October to take a series of professional peeling procedures. In October the sun becomes mild enough not to cause any damage to the freshly revealed skin layer. If you have sensitive or problem skin, or skin prone to acne, go with a chemical or enzyme peel. If your skin is dry or normal, you can choose dermabrasion, a chemical peeling or a combination of both, results can be highly effective.
Step 2:
Regular Daily Moisturizing
During the hot, sunny summer months your skin loses a lot of moisture. Dehydration is one of the reasons why skin can look so dull and it is also at this point when you might see new lines appearing. Give your skin the necessary moisture it needs. Moisturize twice daily and apply a moisturizing mask once or twice a week. For normal, combination and oily skin use a light oil free moisturizer marked “non-comedogenic” in the form of fluid or gel. For the dry type of skin choose a thicker moisturizer. Look for a cream marked “for dry skin”, that can be either oil-based or water-based.
Step 3:
Daily Concentrated Treatment: Treat Photo aging
Cosmetologists recommend, starting from your late 20s-early 30s, to include into your daily routine an intensive skin treatment once or twice a year for 1-3 months. The length and intervals between the treatments depend on your age and skin condition. Intensive skin treatments come in the form of serums or concentrated emulsions. Use Serums Containing Topical Vitamins and Antioxidant.
Step 4:
At-Home Intensive Beauty Treatments: Masks
For a couple autumn months give yourself regular at-home beauty treatments. 2-3 times a week apply a mask for example, once or twice– moisturizing and once – antioxidant, anti-aging or energizing. Before applying a mask cleanse your face or use an exfoliator (Note: do not exfoliate more than 2 times a week) to prepare your skin for the treatment.
To increase the potency of the mask you can add one more step to your at-home facial and treat your face to a steam bath. Put some hot water in a bowl, cleanse your face and sit over the bowl. Cover yourself with a towel to keep the steam in. You can also add a green tea bag for additional antioxidant effect or a chamomile tea bag for soothing effect into the hot water. A steam bath will open up the pores and help to cleanse them of the accumulated sebum and dirt. It will also moisturize, soften the skin and stimulate blood circulation (that is why if you are prone to broken vessels in the face you should avoid it). Follow all the other steps of the facial: exfoliate and apply a mask.
Step 5:
Treat sun spots
If you notice age spots appearing after summer, use exfoliating treatments and whitening products to solve this problem. Ingredients used in products targeting age spots include Kojic Acid and Hydroquinone.
Topical Vitamin C has also shown results in lightening dark spots.
To slow down brown melanin formation chooses a moisturizer with glucosamine. Recent studies have shown that topical application of glucosamine inhibits melanin overproduction in UV damaged skin cells and can help improve skin tone, barrier function and hyper pigmentation. You can also take a series of laser treatments to lighten up the spots.
Step 6:
Improve your Diet
Beautiful skin comes not only from the bottoms of cream jars and tubes but also from a healthy diet rich in vitamins. In fact, whatever sophisticated topical treatments you apply, you won’t get high quality results without providing your skin with the vitamins and minerals vital for its function and youth from within. Your diet should include fruits, vegetables and “good” fats like fish, olive oils, flaxseed oil. Except from filling your diet with necessary vitamins it is highly recommended to take a quality vitamin and mineral supplement.
