Must-know 12 Days of Skincare tips to make sure that your skin survives the Christmas and Holiday rush. The festive season can be a frenzy with parties and gatherings that last all the way into the night; holiday trips; and, rush shopping adventures. With more stress, and external attacks from air pollution, UV rays and pathogens, your skin can take a big hit.
Optimise your skin health with these important Christmas and Holiday Season tips to keep your skin glowing and you, ready to embrace the joys of the season.
#1 Transition your skincare products and regimen for the season
On the lead-up to the holidays, spend some time editing your skincare collection and regimen for the coming holidays. This means getting rid of makeup or skincare products that you haven’t used in the last 6 months or so. With warmer weather coming up, evaluate your SPF needs to protect your skin more from the harsh summer sun.
Christmastime will also mean huge savings on your skincare as there are often lots of SALE promotions that you can expect from your favourite brands, including at The Temple Skincare & Spa. This especially includes the Christmas Spa Packages that are beautifully luxurious and much sought-after curated Temple spa experiences.
#2 Load Up on Skin Omegas
With the festive period in full swing, it can be even trickier than usual to get a balanced diet. Making sure that you take your Omega-3 (a nutrient that can also be found in fish oils and avocados) supplements on the regular will help smooth and plump skin cells, giving your skin a luminous glow… just like an internal moisturiser! We highly recommend the Skin Omegas+ from our friends at Advanced Nutrition Programme. Their oil comes from sustainably sourced fish caught off the coast of Peru and adhering to Friends of the Seas standards as well as strict targets set by governments in terms of contaminants, heavy metal levels (for example Mercury) and fishing practices. Seriously, what’s not to love?!
#3 Cleanse twice a day
It gets hot at Christmastime and all the sweat, grime and other pollutants can clog pores. Twice-daily cleansing will help prevent the appearance of blackheads, whiteheads and other types of blemishes. In the morning, start with a light foaming cleanser and then at night, an oil-based cleanser will help to also remove your makeup.
#4 Slather on Antioxidants
Yes, buy the serum! Not only is it a much-needed and much-deserved dose of goodness for your skin, serums play a vital role in addressing skin concerns like fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone, dullness and dehydration.
Don’t forget to eat your fruits for an antioxidant boost from the inside. Cherries, citrus, pomegranates, and watermelon can combat skin dehydration and help delay signs of ageing, prevent lacklustre skin and even control breakouts. Avocados, green tea, tomatoes, your leafy greens and bell peppers are also musts to your food shopping list . These work to protect your skin from inflammation, and nourish your skin too. Also, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
#5 Switch to a lighter moisturiser
Moisturising and using serums is always an important skincare step, but for hot summers, it’s a good idea to change your heavy cream version for a lighter gel or water-based one. This can also help in preventing the skin from being too oily (and yes, oily skin ALSO needs moisturiser).
#6 Exfoliate
Maintain a glowing complexion throughout the Christmas and summer holidays with a good exfoliation routine. Once or twice a week, exfoliate with an enzyme if you have sensitive skin, or a glycolic acid if you have dry skin. This is also great for ageing skins to strengthen the skin’s foundation. Opt for products containing salicylic acid if you have oily skin to help keep the spots away. Go either way for combination skin two or three times a week depending on what your skin needs at the time. Three times a week with an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) open up blocked pores and remove oils that result in acne. Plus they feel nice and soothing on stressed-out and sun-exposed skin.
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#7 Get a Pro to do it
Your Temple Skincare & Spa aesthetician is your BFF in taking care of your skin. She knows your skin and is professionally trained to walk you through a treatment plan for skin concerns even before they happen! With the extra stress on your skin over the Christmas and the New Year, your skin needs some support that only a professional treatment can give. Whether it’s deciding on the best peel, or the best acne treatment, or simply for overall skin health, Temple Therapists are trained with post-graduate qualifications and are continuously receiving education on the latest skin technologies to make any skin journey come to fruition.
Remember to book in advance especially if you have a big event that you’re attending, too.
#8 Make sure your makeup is noncomedogenic
The goal is to always keep the skin clean and fresh. Taking care of your pores means taking a closer look at the ingredients and labels. Noncomedogenic during the summer and even in cooler months benefit to not occlude the skin and cause blemishes and breakouts.
#9 After party
It’s never a good idea to go to bed with makeup. First it traps dirt onto your skin and these pollutants can cause free radicals that speed up cell ageing and collagen degradation. It can also cause dry complexion as well as acne flare ups. Eye makeup can also lead to inflammation and redness — certainly things no one wants to wake up to. No matter how exhausted you may be from Christmas parties and gatherings, commit to your skincare routine and take the makeup off, cleanse, tone, treat and hydrate the skin before sleeping. You will wake up with skin refreshed and ready for the next event in your social calendar.
#10 SPF, SPF, SPF
Enjoy the warm weather… but with sun protection. Skin cancer is a real concern and whether indoors, outdoors or even on cloudy days, use sunscreen and use it often. This means reapplying when you get sweaty or after a swim. As a general rule, putting on your SPF every two hours when outdoors or every four indoors is best. Also stay in the shade as much as possible and be mindful to expose as little of your body as possible to direct sunlight. That might mean sitting underneath an umbrella, wearing an extra-large hat, or avoiding the midday sun.
Read the 6 Dangerous Sunscreen Mistakes here.
#11 Lip and Eye care
The lip and eye areas are different than other parts of our skin. They are much more delicate and tend to flake and dry up much faster than the skin on our face. Lips can develop wrinkles too, but often much faster and earlier than anybody would like. If you’re a smoker or someone with the habit or pursing her lips, those wrinkles can form even sooner. Dehydrated lips can also look rather shriveled or develop painful and unsightly cracks. Even its natural color can sometimes be affected.
Dark circles under the eyes can partly be caused by genetics and ageing. So make sure you’re getting good-quality sleep, managing your stress and avoiding potential irritants in your eye care products or makeup (read: parabens). To protect from hyperpigmentation and premature wrinkles, make sure you protect your skin from overexposure to UV rays.
#12 Find time for yourself to relax and decompress
If your schedule for the Christmas season can be described in one word – “hectic” – then this is all the more reason for you to get away from it all and decompress. The Holiday season should be just that — a long holiday where you can connect with friends and family members, but most especially, with oneself. Stressing out and pushing your body (and skin) to the limit will only cause more harm than good.
Block off 15 minutes daily for a simple self care ritual. Light a candle or spritz a scent into the air to signal the time for your body to relax and for your mind to focus on the moment. Listen to your favourite Christmas playlist and belt it out or move and dance. Better yet, get a massage that combines soothing scents and healing movements from the professional team at The Temple Skincare & Spa.
And there you go — 12 Days of Skincare that will ensure that not only will your heart glow with the season’s festivities, but also skin and soul.
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If you have skin concerns and need advice from Skin Experts, book a Specialist Consultation with today.