Don’t you just love Spring? Everything feels alive and new after the dull, drying cold of winter. Everything is blooming and brimming with life. Everyone has a little more energy and is out and about a bit more than a few months ago… I love Spring!
Your skin might have been suffering from the winter blues: dry, undernourished, clogged with thick creams, dead skin-cells and affected by winter home heating. So Spring is the time to shed the layers – re-organise your closet and do the same with your skin. Spring is also the time to think about the impending rising temperatures, sticky humidity, and family beach time ahead for us here on the Sapphire Coast and what that means for our skin, so start primping, prepping and preening and let’s get that glow happening!
Sandy’s Seven tips
for sensational
Spring skin:
1. Exfoliation
Exfoliating can slough off dry, dead skin cells after the winter months and restore a fresh radiance to the skin. A gentle exfoliation once a week helps moisturisers absorb into skin, evens skin texture, and if you use self-tanners, helps them go on more evenly and last longer. You can exfoliate gently at home, however why not come and see me for a fabulous microdermabrasion treatment and get the real deal? This process can really enhance and improve the skin’s appearance – goodbye dull and uneven skin tone, fine lines, blackheads and even fine wrinkles.
2. Peel Away
Our skin naturally replaces itself every 40 days, but this process slows down as we age. Accumulated dead skin cells causes the skin to look dull as it does not reflect light evenly. Peeling the skin removes dead skin cells and stimulates up your skin cell growth cycle which has many anti-ageing benefits for your skin. Regular peeling strengthens the outer layer of the skin, improves texture, softness, superficial blemishes and uneven skin tone. This is a great thing to undertake at the beginning of Spring, slough off the dead winter skin and brighten things up!
3. Deep Cleanse
Cold temperatures and frosty weather, bitter wind and visits to the snow, all can cause season long build up on the skin – of dead skin cells, leftover product, and environmental toxins. After exfoliation or a treatment like microdermabrasion, masks are the go. To keep skin smooth and hydrated I recommend applying a mask up to three times a week. Using a product like Ultraderm’s Skin Refining Clay Mask will cleanse deeply, clarify and refine the skin, plus its brightening effect will give you a fresh Spring glow.
4. Spring Moisturise
It’s time to swap out those heavy, thick winter creams and serums for lighter formulas and lotions, such as oil free creams. An Oil Free lotion won’t weigh your skin down in humid weather, and as you’re more likely to sweat when you’re out and about, switch to a lighter lotion that pumps from the bottle or squeezes from a tube, great to pop in the hand bag.
5. Use less make-up
Spring is a great time to let your skin go au natural and lighten up on the makeup. Warmer days mean sweating, which can leave a mess on your face if you wear a lot of makeup, leading to clogged pores and acne. Put away heavy foundation as part of your spring skin care routine and stick to a lighter foundation or skip it altogether in the spring. Why not try a tinted moisturiser and let your skin’s new season’s health shine through? Seek out your perfect colour or tint with both SPF and anti-oxidants. If you invest some time and money in this, you are much more likely to use the products every day. Your skin is priceless so worth protecting. I use Ultraderm’s All in one Balm which is a great skin enhancer. It’s a moisturiser, sunscreen and is tinted to boot!
6. Add a serum
Since the weather is already inviting, it is most likely that you are going to spend more time outdoors from now on. For this, you will need not just extra protection but hydration as well, and the perfect product that can give your skin what it needs is an antioxidant serum. At Sandy’s Skin Solutions I have a number of serums which can fight off free radicals, hold moisture in the skin, promote skin cell regeneration and reduce wrinkle depth. Ultraderm’s range of serums is spectacular and I can help you choose one that’s perfect for your Spring skin care routine.
7. Salute to the Sun – A two part point!
Once the temperature starts to rise it’s a must to start re-applying your sun protection. Spring is a particularly high-risk time for sun damage as it’s easy to discount the strength of the sun in these milder temperatures. Apply sun protection every morning and then again before any outdoor activity. I love Ultraderm’s Daily Protector with 30+SPF. It is light- textured, full of antioxidants and provides broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection. Remember to avoid excess sun exposure and wear hats, clothing, and sunscreen for added
protection and don’t forget your arms, legs, neck, chest, ears, chest and hands! And don’t forget to combat squinting – Aside from borrowing Audrey Hepburn’s sunglasses, it’s a good idea to combat those annoying squint lines with a nutrient rich eye cream or eye serum, preferably one with a high concentration of antioxidants, lipids and niacinimides. This will plump up the fine lines that have already formed and help reverse the collagen destroying effects of UV rays. Finally…
Sandy’s Spring Glow Treatment
It’s very important to care for your skin with delicacy and pleasure, avoiding any stress. I’ve put together a one-hour ‘Spring Cleanse and Renew Package’ which includes my specialised treatment combination of microdermabrasion, resurfacing peel, mask & LED light therapy, all using the professional range of Ultraderm products. This special Spring treatment includes a brand new element here at the clinic – rose quartz facial rolling – which is wonderful for puffy, sagging skin and for lymphatic drainage. It’s also a relaxing and luxurious massage that releases tension and boosts blood circulation.
I’m excited about the new season and I invite you to call me to discuss how we can help you unveil your fabulous Spring self!