Oh the weather outside is frightful… and now your skin is too!
This time of year can bring about many changes, especially for your skin, with both the climate and holiday parties to blame. Between the two, the potential for your skin to have the life sucked out of it is quite high. Do not despair, we won’t let dehydration get the best of your skin. There are options. However, you must make the choice to go into battle.
Fighting (Guarding against) dehydration doesn’t have to be difficult, but it is essential. When our skin becomes dehydrated externally, it suffers internally as well. Hydration of the skin plays a key role in keeping our body protected from the outside world. It allows for our protective barrier to remain intact. On the contrary, compromised skin allows for environmental factors to enter into and damage our bodies, causing water loss and a cyclical pattern of more damage due to further dehydration. Well-hydrated skin is more plump and resilient. When there is adequate water from the inside out, our skin looks and feels better, revealing a more vibrant and healthier look, with fine lines less visible.
Some things to remember:
- Drinking water is our #1! At least 6-8 glasses of water a day is adequate, but depending on your lifestyle and activity level, you may need more or less. Also, keep in mind that coffee and sodas contain caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic and diuretics draw water out of both your system and skin.
- Home-care is a non-negotiable. Is your moisturizer helping your skin or doing nothing at all? I recommend our Epionce Renewal Facial Lotion. This moisturizer not only hydrates, improving your protective barrier, it also helps to reverse the signs of aging by improving firmness, elasticity, and texture. It is perfect for this time of year, when the weather is crisp.
- For those who have very dry skin and stay active with skiing, snow boarding, snow shoeing or other outdoor activities, prevent wind-burned, parched skin, by using a regimen that includes Medical Barrier Cream or TNS Ceramide Treatment Cream. These products contain high concentration of barrier repair technologies to effectively hydrate and help restore skin’s moisture balance.
- In-office treatments are a must. Hydrating facials that include using ingredients that calm inflammation caused by cold, dry conditions and restore a healthy skin barrier, are ideal treatments for most skin types throughout the winter. While what you do at home is incredibly important, your monthly facial treatments will help boost your results and fine tune resistant skin concerns. When you treat your skin to a professional treatment, you give your skin the love and care it needs and deserves for optimal results. Your Medical Aesthetician will customize your treatments to exactly what your skin needs.
- Wear your sunscreen every single day, even if the clouds are out. Those UV rays are thieves to our protective barrier. And do not be fooled by the grey weather up in the mountains. The reflection off the snow actually increases your UV exposure and can worsen damage to your skin.
- All in all, don’t neglect your skin. When you give it the hydration it needs, it will give you the healthiest look. Instead of a dull, tired appearance, you will reveal your very own natural glow.
Tracy Fischer, LMA
