It’s that time of year – parties, company dinners, family get-togethers and you want your skin to look great through the whole season. Here are some helpful tips to keep your skin looking great for the holidays:
1) Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize – dry skin and chapped lips are always a problem in the winter. The cold air and frequent hot showers makes the skin more dry. The lips which do not have hair follicles or oil glands to protect them like the rest of the skin, get especially dry. If you use a lotion base, then use a cream base in the winter or an ointment base if you use a cream base. Moisturize when you come out of the shower or bath within the first 10 minutes, when your skin is still damp. Don’t over soap. Only use the soap in your private areas. Even the most gentle soaps are harsh especially in the winter. Resist licking your lips. This will make your lips more dry. Drink plenty of water. Use a humidifier in your room to put moisture back into the air. A humidifying system can help your skin remain supple instead of cracked and dry. A good body scrub and facial exfoliant can help remove dead skin cells from your body. Add this to your cleansing routine once a week unless you have sensitive skin.
My favorite moisturizers are Vanicream or Cereve. I like aquaphor for the lips or otc hydrocortisone ointment for severely dry lips.
2) Don’t pop or touch the pimple – We’ve all done it, popped the pimple then regretted it when we saw the red blotchy mark it left. Popping your pimple can make things worse, irritating it further, spreading the bacteria and even leaving a permanent scar. If there is a head or a pustule on top of a pimple, take a warm towel and gently drain it. For a large red pimple, use over-the-counter hydrocortisone ointment, a few days before your big event. You can also get an injection of cortisone from your dermatologists for a big event a few days prior.
The redness that accompanies acne can be camouflaged with the right makeup and application techniques. Green based primers can be applied first, to help counteract the redness in the skin. Then a non-comedogenic makeup that matches your skin tone can be applied. Finish the skin with a light dusting of powder.
3) Throw out your old cosmetics – Take this time of year to review your cosmetics and gauge which ones really need to get tossed. Bacteria can grow on your cosmetics, a danger especially with the products you use around your eyes. This can create unwanted infections on your eyelashes. A general guide to longevity of cosmetics is:
mascara – max 3-4 months
foundation – 1 year, oil-based ones can last a few months longer
lipsticks and liners – 2 years
Make up brushes and applicators – clean them quarterly
4) Exercise regularly – At this time of year with busy schedules, exercise is sometimes put on the back burner, assuming it was there at all! Exercise helps relieve stress (a big factor in aging your skin) and increases the oxygen flow to your skin, promoting younger looking skin. The excuse we all use this time of year is “It’s freezing!” Bottomline, get over it. Put on gloves and sweats and keep exercising.
5) Don’t sweat it – Did you know that you can lose up to 2 liters of sweat in a hour! Worried about sweat marks on your silk dress? Look your best sweat free for those work holiday parties. Use an antiperspirant containing aluminum chloride. The Aluminium chloride plugs the sweat ducts so works best if applied the night before your big event. If you don’t want to use an antiperspirant or are sensitive to it, use baby cornstarch powder. If you want a more long term solution, Botox injections from your dermatologist also works great to give you up to 6 months of no perspiration.
6) Quit smoking as a new Year’s resolution – Smoking ages your skin by encouraging more lines and yellowing of the skin. Smoking decreases the oxygen that goes to your skin, giving it a dull look. The two worst offenses to aging the skin are smoking and too much sun. So for better youthful skin – don’t smoke and use sunblock daily even in the winter.
7) Get some rest – It’s important to make sure that you are getting enough sleep during this busy time of year. Sleep is when your body repairs itself. Your skin, hair and nails all show the signs of not enough sleep by becoming dull and dry, and your nails can become brittle. Let’s face it, the holidays are demanding and stressful and we tend to exercise less, so be kind to yourself when you have time by napping and going to bed early.
8) Glowing Skin treatments for the holidays – want to look your best for the holidays? There are specific procedures that can work within 1-2 weeks to make you look your best for those holiday parties. Here are a few. Neurotoxins can work within one week and smooth out the wrinkles and make you look fresh. Clear and brilliant laser is a great laser that helps your skin to look clear and brilliant within a few days. Hydrafacial treatments will infuse brightening ingredients that help your skin look bright and clear. Aquagold or gold finish are considered a red carpet treatment that infuses the best ingredients into the skin to create immediate tightening and brightening of the skin. Finally, Skin Vive, a newer treatment injects medicine to help hydrate your skin so it will look smooth and plump. To see which is right for you, make an appointment today.
