Changing a skincare routine according to seasons is important to keep up with skin health throughout the year. Each season presents different weather conditions, for instance, in most cases, winter has cold and dry air, while in summer there’s high humidity and UV rays, and all these can affect the skin differently. To help understand how to prepare for these seasonal changes and even improve one’s beauty regimen over time, we spoke to one dermatology specialist who gave helpful tips on how to look after the skin all year round. Moreover, as she states, using natural products such as essential oils from HBNO.com would greatly improve the effectiveness of the seasonal routine.
Q1: Why is it important to change your skincare routine with the seasons?
Dermatologist: The constants of the environment change and therefore the needs of the skin change as the year goes on. So, for instance, one of the problems that arise due to the winter atmosphere is dry and cold air that are usually present which often drops the moisture content in the skin and therefore makes it an irritation to dryness. Each summer season on the other hand has extreme and higher temperatures with increased humidity, hence increasing the oil production levels which places one at a risk for increased sun damage.
If adjusting your skincare to fit the seasons, be assured that your skin is in for the right treatment. This entails replacing particular products for some time, incorporating some elements, and varying your schedule in order to maintain a balance of hydration and protection to your skin throughout the year.
Q2: What are the main skincare adjustments to make during the winter months?
Dermatologist: In cold months, more emphasis should be placed on moisturizing the skin and protecting the skin barrier. Since the heating system surrounds us indoors, cold dry air can easily evaporate any moisture that is in the skin hence the need to change to thicker and more moisturizing products. Here’s what I recommend:
- Use a heavier moisturizer: Thou shall encourage cream occupants with ceramides, shea butter, and glycerin. These ingredients are used to grab excess moisture and prevent transepidermal water loss.
- Limit exfoliation: Especially with the cold approaching, over-exfoliating in winter will damage your skin barrier, so be less aggressive with exfoliants and use soothing milks and lotions instead.
- Consider essential oils: Essential oils are advisable in winter seasons, for instance, HBNO.com sells jojoba oils full of fatty acids and vitamins that are great for parched skin during this period. Particularly during the winter months, rosehip oil is very helpful as it repairs the skin and enhances moisture levels.
Q3: What do you feel are the most important skin treatment practices during the warm season?
Dermatologist: Summer brings a unique set of challenges with it, the greatest being sun exposure, temperature, humidity, and oil production. In summer, the objective is to prevent your skin from the UV attack while maintaining the balance. This is how to do that:
- Go for a primary moisturizer that is light in weight: In summer, the primary lighter blocker can be heated over the hybrid or gel-based moisturizer to avoid pore clogging. Products containing hyaluronic acid should be procured to have a mist effect without the greasiness.
- Sunscreen is an absolute necessity: Sunscreen is indeed essential throughout the year, but it is even more so in the summer. When it comes to the sunscreens you apply every day, opt for at least broad-spectrum 30 SPF. The key ingredients in most physical sunscreens that I find most effective are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide because they are much gentler on the skin.
- Add in antioxidants: For example, vitamin C will help defend one’s skin from damage from solar radiation, which causes free radicals. This vitamin C serum is beneficial for most in the summer, hence great for the summer sex.
- Essential oils for sun damage: To calm dry and sunburnt skin, HBNO’s lavender oil is an easy recommendation. Since it is thick, you can mix it with a carrier oil such as Jojoba oil and apply it on the sunburned areas. Lavender oil decreases the intensity of the redness and helps expedite the recovery process.
Q4: How should skincare routines be adjusted in the spring?
Dermatologist: The attention in Spring is more about how to step up your skincare regimen and combat any remaining dry patches from winter while getting ready for the heat. Here are a few simple tips regarding seasonal changes:
- Exfoliate to refresh your skin: During the warmer months, it is recommended to bring back exfoliation because the skin has already been inactive for sometime with the dead skin piling up due to winter. However, those who get bored of their dull skin during winter and cannot wait any longer to have a glowing face look for gentle exfoliation using mild exfoliants such as lactic acid enzymes.
- Lighten up your products: It is also high time you begin the process of switching over to lighter moisturizers, serums and lotions. As spring creeps in, it is best to go for gel-based products or lightweight lotions for people with combination or oily skin types.
- Add Antioxidants: Moving into spring is a good period to include in your skincare ingredients that are able to combat skin aggressors such as environmental pollution and allergens like green tea extract or vitamin E.
- Essential oils for seasonal allergies: HBNO’s Chamomile oil, is recommended for patients who experience skin allergy due to seasons change. Chamomile produces soothing effects and can relieve allergy-triggered skin sensitizers when mixed with soothing oil.
Q5: Fall is the season where the focus can shift to spells that are often neglected, what aspects of home skincare should be prioritized during this period?
Dermatologist: Fall is a change of seasons and for that emphasis should be placed on recovering the effects of sun damage in summer and getting the skin ready for the cold seasons. Since the temperature starts getting cooler, retention of moisture in the skin should commence as well as preventive measures for the skin barrier from any external assaults.
- Switch to cream-more emollient cleansers: Since the weather is getting colder, consider the use of cream or oil cleansers to inhibit the last traces of water on the face from drying out. Stay away from cleansing foams as these are known to remove all oils that defend the skin.
- Introduce rich moisturizers: Proceed to apply thicker Emollients with squalane, niacinamide, and ceramides kick to gradually heal the skin barrier.
- Add in a retinoid: For those who are not using retinoids at the moment, fall would be ideal for starting the use of one. Retinoids are valuable at the end of summer and proceed through to fall, whereby excess heat and sunlight exposure treatment cleanses the skin of residual summer exposure and accelerates regeneration – something very needed before the colder seasons kick in.
Q6: What are the most common mistakes people usually make when there is a change of season?
Dermatologist: One common mistake is not determining when to alter their regimen for each season. A lot of people will still use the same products throughout the whole year but what is good in winter may be too rich during summer and the other way around, summer formulas may not be rich enough for winter time. Another common error is scrubbing too much, especially when moving from one season to another. One’s skin is also more prone to irritation at certain periods, thus the importance of being careful.
Moreover, certain individuals remove the use of sunscreen in colder situations, however, UV rays come out throughout the year barring cloudy days. Sunblock must continue to be used regardless of season.
Conclusion
It is crucial to change repetitive skincare to the seasonal skincare regimen for healthy and glowing skin all year round. Even the worst climate and weather conditions do not threaten general skin balance and protection if ordinary activities are complemented with even easier changes in skin care adjustments and usage of necessary products and ingredients. By using the essential oils available from HBNO.com, you can elevate your season’s skincare routine to profound levels whereby your skin does not suffer the adverse effects of all the seasons.