Are you ready for spring skin care?
It’s been a tough winter in many areas of the country, but even if you’re living in a temperate climate, it’s time to check your skincare routine.
Spring brings on changes in temperature, humidity, and even lifestyles, and these can all affect your skin.
We’ve got some tips to help you out.
11 Spring Skin Care Tips
1. Examine Your Current Skincare Products
What are you using right now? Get all the products out and place them on a counter where you can examine them.
Start by getting rid of anything that is out of date. If it’s expired, discolored, separated, or smells funny, out it goes!
Then ask yourself: what does my skin need now? Look at what you have to see if your current routine is filling those needs. Maybe you need something to revive dull and lackluster looking skin, fade dark spots, or make wrinkles less noticeable.
It can help to make a list of what you need first. Then, armed with your list, take a look at what you’ve got. It could be that you no longer need some products, but need to get some new ones to take care of certain issues.
Spring Skin Care Tip 2. Clean Your Makeup Brushes
This is an important task many of us put off for way too long. Every time you use your makeup brushes, you deposit bacteria on them. Leave them too long between cleanings and you could be depositing that bacteria right back onto your skin, increasing your risk of breakouts and irritation.
Regularly washing your brushes removes dirt, oil, and bacteria, making sure you’re starting with a clean slate. Use a gentle dish soap in a cup of water, then rinse thoroughly and lay the brushes out to air dry.
3. Check Your Cleanser
We frequently recommend switching your cleanser when the seasons change. Most skin types need a moisturizing cleanser in the winter to keep dryness at bay. But in the spring, the warmer air tends to be more humid in many locations. If you have oily or combination skin, you may be better off with a clarifying cleanser for the spring and summer months.
If you have dry skin in general, however, you can stick with your creamy, moisturizing cleanser all year round.
4. Consider Your Exfoliation Process
Are you already exfoliating?
Some people stop in the winter months because they feel it makes their skin dry out. As the weather warms up, though, your skin is better able to tolerate acids and stronger formulations in exfoliating solutions.
If you’re already exfoliating once or twice a week, ask yourself how your skin is doing. If it looks happy and healthy, stick with that routine. If you haven’t been exfoliating, now may be the time to step it up. Exfoliation can help get rid of dull winter buildup on your skin so it looks fresh and lively.
On the other hand, if your skin is showing signs of irritation, back off on exfoliation. You could be overdoing it.
Spring Skin Care Tip 5. Think About Your Diet
During the winter months, we’re naturally compelled to fill up on high-fat comfort foods. With spring around the corner, it may be time to rethink your diet.
Spring is the time for fresh produce, leafy greens, and lots of watery melons. They all contain antioxidants and other nutrients that feed your skin what it needs to repair itself after a long winter.
Then be sure to drink plenty of water. It’s the best way to keep your skin hydrated from the inside out.
6. Remember Sun Exposure
Though it’s wise to use sunscreen year-round to protect your skin, you’re likely to be out in the sun more often as the weather warms up. Check your sunscreen. It should be an SPF of 30 or higher with broad-spectrum protection.
Remember: If you are using chemical exfoliants like retinol or acids, they can make your skin more sensitive to the sun and could cause redness and even scarring, so it’s important to always use a sunscreen.
You might also consider swapping your retinol product for glycolic or lactic acid, which helps minimize dullness and uneven skin texture and even help with clogged pores and acne, but is a little gentler on the skin.
Glycolic acid also makes skin more sensitive to the sun, however, so always use sunscreen to protect your skin.
7. Drop the Slugging for Now
If you got onto the skin-slugging bandwagon (read more about that in our skin-slugging post), now is probably the time to get off of it. Whereas your skin may have enjoyed the extra moisture during the dry and cold winter months, it may be too much as the weather warms up.
Particularly if you find that your pores are more visible and you’re breaking out, that means that you need to lighten up on the moisturizing. Our Calming Moisture works great for all seasons as it’s deeply moisturizing but never heavy.
Spring Skin Care Tip 8. Try Skin Brushing
If you haven’t tried skin brushing yet, spring is a great time to get into the habit. You’ll be showing off more of your body skin, so you want it to look its best.
Simply purchase a gentle skin brush, then use it in circular motions all over your body before your bath or shower. It provides an exfoliating action that helps slough off all that dead winter skin, revealing the new, youthful skin underneath.
Slap some moisturizer on as soon as you step out of the tub (our Body Repair Lotion is perfect for radiance) and let your spring skin shine.
9. Don’t Forget Your Lips
Lips are the first to get dry and chapped during the winter months, and they often peel too.
If you don’t already have a lip scrub, get one now. Look for one that has a gentle scrubbing action with some moisturizing oils in it. Always add moisture after—our Restorative Skin Balm will help heal and repair winter-worn lips.
This may also be a good time to try lip-basting. It’s similar to slugging, but for your lips only. Whereas your skin may not need that much moisture now, your lips may be crying out for it so they can heal properly.
Find instructions on how to do it on our lip-basting post.
10. Consider Your Foundation
The foundation you used during the winter may not be the best option in the spring. It may look heavy and may settle into fine lines and wrinkles.
Check your foundation and see how it looks now. You may want to swap it out for a lighter formula, or even a tinted moisturizer. If you need more coverage in certain areas, try using a concealer only for the parts of your skin that really need it.
Celeb makeup artists recommend mixing our Calming Moisturizer with foundation for a more natural luminous look. It can help with skin inflammation and other issues while you’re at it.
Spring Skin Care Tip 11. Get the Jump on Allergies
If you have allergies, you know that spring is often the time when your symptoms increase. In addition to sneezing, itching, and watery eyes, you may also find that your skin is a bit more sensitive.
If you notice this happening to you, double-check everything that’s touching your skin, from the fibers in your clothing to your detergents to your cleansers and moisturizers. Some of these may be adding to your irritation. Then consider using more products to reduce skin inflammation. Taming the general level of inflammation can help your skin to better cope with the season.
All of our CV Skinlabs products are made to reduce inflammation, minimize itch, soothe irritation, and calm rashes. Daily use can shore up your skin’s defenses during allergy season.
Have you examined your spring skincare routine for potential changes?
