Adjusting Your Skin Care

I’m often asked how often you should get a facial. More is better but a minimum of four times a year can often suffice if you’re basically happy with the state of your skin. Part of the reason I suggest four times a year is to be able to re-assess your skin and see what it needs for the current conditions. Human skin is very adaptable and people around the globe live in very different environments but where the struggle can come in is when the weather is changing. In the northeast, our weather is VERY changeable, especially as we move from one season to the next. One day it’s dry and cold, the next day it’s warm and humid, the skin is adapting to one condition and the next thing you know it changes again! So, here are my general tips:

Pay Attention to the Weather

If it’s cold, dry, or windy opt for a heavier moisturizer. If it’s warm and humid you can go with a lighter one.

Use a Mask

This is a great way to give your skin a boost. A hydrating mask for dry times and a sulfur or clay mask if you’re feeling too oily.

Changing or Adding a Serum

This is another way to help your skin when the weather is challenging. Serums can aid in hydration, brightening, tightening, fighting free radicals and pollution, soothing, and anti-inflammation.

Hydrate

Hydration is crucial for healthy skin, especially from the inside. Hydrated is not the same as dry when it comes to skin. Even oily skin can be dehydrated. Oily, dry, normal are skin types. Hydrated or dehydrated are skin conditions.  A diet rich in vegetables and fruit and drinking several glasses of water every day is essential. Your skin cells go through an amazing transformation as they work their way up from the dermis and finally reach the outer layer of the epidermis and then off. The skin cells need the right balance of water and fatty acids in order to stay flexible and have a good exchange of nutrients and waste.