Looking After Your Skin
Happy New Year to you! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas full of all the people and things you love.
As we enter 2024 let’s not over commit ourselves with unattainable new year’s resolutions.
Instead focus on small changes that you can make last over the long term.
One such focus could be paying a little more attention to your skin. Keeping it simple and focusing on TREAT and PROTECT is the best starting point for new skincare routines.
At this time of year many of us will experience drier, more sensitive skin largely due to the cold snap, harsh winds and increased temperatures in our homes.
Subjecting our skins to these conditions can’t be avoided but we can help TREAT and PROTECT them from it.
Hydration is going to be key during these colder times. We need to think about hydrating the surface of our skin with a good moisturiser. It may be that you find you need something a bit thicker than you would use at other times of the year so don’t be frightened to switch to something different to your usual day cream.
However, surface hydration will not be enough for most of us and therefore we should look to incorporate a serum to treat the deeper layers of our skin. The molecules in serums are much smaller than in moisturisers and this allows them to penetrate deeper. Serums that contain Hyaluronic Acid will help hydrate as this ingredient can bind up to 1000 x its own weight in water. Due to this ability, the skin will look plumper which has the added benefit of making the skin look more youthful.
Other ingredients that we love are Vitamin C to brighten the skin and protect against environmental aggressors and pollutions, and retinol. Retinol is a fantastic ingredient that has so many benefits for our skin. It can help to treat pigmentation, improve skin texture and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. However, we recommend introducing it sparingly at this time of year as the cold weather and central heating can make our skin more sensitive and retinol can irritate skin initially. As an alternative to retinol, you could opt to use bakuchiol which is an anti-ageing ingredient suitable for sensitive skins as it is more calming.
Finally, it is essential to protect our skin, not only at this time of year but every single day. We recommend using an SPF daily to protect the skin from sun damage. Whilst it might seem like sunshine is few and far between in January, UV rays are still present. When our skin is unprotected, these UV rays can damage our skin cells and collagen. This will result in pigmentation, discolouration, uneven skin tone and ageing skin. By simply creating a daily habit of applying SPF you are preventing premature ageing and damage meaning you’ll look more youthful and radiant for longer.
