Your Fall Skin Care Checklist

Fall is here, folks! Who doesn’t love sweater weather and the scent of crisp fallen leaves in the morning? Your skin, that’s who. Unfortunately, the transition into cooler weather can be hard on your skin, particularly by making it dry thanks to the low humidity outside and the drying effect of artificial heat inside. That’s why I’m popping in with a quick checklist of things you can do this year to make sure your autumn isn’t dampened by dry, irritated skin.

Grab a Heavy-Duty Moisturizer

A moisturizer is an essential step in anyone’s skin care routine, but that trusty lightweight moisturizer you loved during the summer might not cut it during the fall and winter. With drier air pulling the hydration out of your skin, you need a stronger moisturizer in the cooler months. Try a moisturizer that’s just a step above your summer moisturizer, like Jan Marini Hyla3D Face Cream.

Choose a Hydrating Cleanser

When you wash your skin, it can strip out more moisture than you’d like it to, and that problem becomes even more pronounced during the dry seasons. It’s still important to wash your face twice per day, but switch to a hydrating cleanser if you aren’t using one already. Revision Gentle Foaming Cleanser is a fantastic choice. You can also swap out your body wash in the shower for a hydrating body wash.

Pick Up a Hydrating Sunscreen

You might not be spending your weekends lounging poolside or bringing the kiddos to the park now that summer has ended, but that doesn’t mean you can retire your sunscreen. While sun damage isn’t as much of an issue during the fall, it’s still there and it’s still impactful. If you want to give your skin a more youthful look while also protecting it from the aging effects of sun damage, try a moisturizing sunscreen in your morning routine, like Murad Age-Balancing Moisture Broad-Spectrum SPF 30.

Give Your Lips Extra Attention

Just like your skin gets dry during the fall and winter, your lips get dry too. They might be fine during the summer but now it’s time to give them a little extra care. Depending on whether they’re dry or roughly textured, try adding a lip hydrator or lip exfoliator to your routine. It can also help to glam up with a tinted lip balm during this time of year rather than traditional lipstick which can be drying.

Tame Skin Irritation with a Soothing Serum

Have you noticed that your skin seems to be more sensitive and prone to inflammation and irritation during the cool months? You’re not alone! Moisture is important for your body to maintain its protective barrier, so when your skin is dry, that barrier is weaker and you’re more likely to get skin irritation.

While taking steps to hydrate your skin will help, you can also incorporate some soothing skin care products for an extra boost. Try a soothing face mask or a soothing serum like PCA Skin Anti-Redness Serum.

Invest in Retinol

When it comes to anti-aging, retinol is the ultimate A-lister. As wonderful as it is for helping your skin look smoother and more youthful, though, it does make your skin more sensitive to light. Some people don’t use it during the summer for that reason.

If you’ve been wanting some anti-aging skin care, now is a great time to add or reintroduce retinol products. Just make sure to ease your way because too much retinol can irritate your skin. And, even in the fall when you’re spending less time in the sun, you should only use retinol at night, not in the morning.

Lighten Up Your Exfoliating Schedule

Most of the tips above are things you should start doing or swaps you should make in your skin care routine. There’s one thing you may want to cut back on at this time of the year, though: exfoliating.

While exfoliating is a great way to smooth rough skin and to keep dead skin cells from clogging your pores, exfoliating too much can dry out your skin, and that’s the wrong direction to go when the air is dry in the fall. Consider dialing it back, perhaps from twice per week to once per week, especially if you’ve noticed your skin getting dry or sensitive.

Understanding Your Skin’s Needs in the Fall

Your skin can be resilient and powerful but it needs to be cared for a bit differently at different times of the year. This fall, you can embrace the changing of the seasons without suffering from dry or irritated skin with the checklist above. Enjoy celebrating with beautiful skin and all the pumpkins you could want, fall fans!