How to Transition your Skincare Routine for Autumn

Summer is transitioning into autumn – soon the air will get crisp enough for our favourite sweaters.

The verdant leaves will change to vivid foliage and the warm, humid air will become chilly and crisp.

While we’re busy getting all comfortable during this season, our skin might be getting uncomfortable.

A cleanser, sunscreen and a moisturiser are the staples for a basic skincare routine during any season.

As summer transitions into autumn, your skin may benefit from adjusting or modifying these basic steps while adding more steps as required.

Simply put, our skin thrives on consistency and the transition from summer to autumn might freak our skin out a bit.

Summer days can leave our skin worn out or ‘sun stressed’. Autumn is the perfect time to repair and rejuvenate post-summer skin.

Furthermore, the crisp dry air of autumn may compromise our skin barrier.

The importance of maintaining a healthy skin barrier is reiterated time and again by dermatologists.

The skin barrier is the outermost layer of our skin.

When this barrier is healthy, it does a good job of keeping hydration in and potential irritants out. The barrier determines how healthy our skin looks.

Autumn also gives us the perfect time to prep our skin for the approaching winter.

Adding products with humectant and emollient ingredients to your routine will make your skin thank you in the harsh winter days to come.

Day-to-day fluctuations in weather agitate our skin.

Our skin can’t keep its cool when it’s cool and dry one day and warm and humid the other.

Therefore, modifying our skincare regimen during this time can help to repair and reboot sun-stressed skin as well as maintain a healthy skin barrier, prepare our skin for dry winter days, and prevent sensitivity due to seasonal shifts.

Ahead, we’ll discuss how to welcome the new season with happy, thriving skin.

Don’t Skip Sunscreen

Now that autumn is on its way, you may be thinking it’s time to ditch your sunscreen.

Sun protection is the most crucial part of maintaining healthy, thriving skin.

SPF is your BFF all year round even if the hazy autumn sky has deceived you into thinking the sun is no longer around.

While UVB rays are the strongest in the summertime, these harmful rays don’t disappear as summer transitions into autumn.

UVB rays are associated with skin burning while UVA rays are associated with skin ageing.

The UVA rays remain strong throughout every season.

These rays are strong enough to penetrate through glass so it’s possible to be affected by them during the autumn months.

The sun can still damage your skin whether it’s a cloudy, rainy, or even snowy day.

Hydrate

As the temperature falls during autumn, so does the water content in the air.

It can be easy to slip back into old dehydration habits during autumn. But it’s important to remember that drinking water is something we should do all year round.

While it’s important to hydrate your skin from the inside out, we understand there’s only so much water you can drink when you’re not exactly feeling the thirst for it.

Plus, during this crisp and dry air season, our skin needs some form of faster and more direct hydration.

We recommend adding a humectant to your routine, like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or aloe vera.

Use a Gentle Cleanser

Swap your summertime heavy-duty cleanser with a more hydrating and nourishing cleanser.

While cleansing might feel like a no-brainer, it’s one of the skincare steps that can make or break your skincare routine.

During this time, using heavy-duty foaming cleansers that contain harsh detergents may disrupt the skin barrier.

Some cleansers may contain controversial skincare ingredients that can end up dehydrating your skin.

Additionally, cleansing your face too frequently may leave it vulnerable to dryness and irritation.

If your skin feels tight or dry in the morning, skipping the morning cleanse may be a good idea. You can just rinse your face with water and forgo washing using a cleanser.

An ideal cleanser for autumn and winter is gentle enough to take off makeup and eliminate the dirt and pollution accumulated throughout the day.

Moisturise

Autumn’s chilly weather accompanied by the low humidity and dry winds robs your skin of moisture.

Indoor heating can be extremely moisture-zapping as well.

Skin tightness, dryness and flaking are some commonly faced issues during this time.

Therefore, a good moisturiser is essential to support your skin barrier.

While it’s recommended to use a moisturiser all year round, skipping moisturiser during autumn or winter is a big no-no, whether you have oily or dry skin.

If you have sensitive skin, make sure that your moisturiser is free of controversial ingredients such as fragrance or drying alcohols that may exacerbate dryness and irritation.

Gently Exfoliate

Summer leaves our skin congested and with a lot of dead skin build-up. As the leaves turn and shed during autumn, it’s time to shed those dead layers of your skin.

Skin tends to get flakier during autumn than it was during summer, a common misconception is that exfoliation might help with this issue.

However, gentle exfoliation may be the best course of action as over-exfoliation may exacerbate dryness and flakiness.

We recommend using a gentle exfoliant no more than once or twice a week to keep dull skin at bay.

Chemical exfoliation containing AHAs or BHAs is preferred over physical exfoliation using harsh, gritty scrubs.

It’s better to exfoliate during the nighttime and get adequate sun protection the following day.

Don’t Forget the Rest of Your Body

Most of us give all our love to the face and neglect the rest of our bodies. But during the colder months, the skin of our body needs care more than ever.

The face is not the only area that is susceptible to skin issues.

The elbows, knees, and heels are likely to get rough patches during the colder months.

One of the tell tales of skin ageing is the appearance of wrinkles on the neck and décolletage.

Due to more sebaceous glands in the shoulders and chest, these areas of the body may be acne-prone.

It’s time to listen to your body and go beyond your face.

While we don’t recommend physical exfoliation for the face i.e. scrubbing your face with scrubs, the skin on your body is typically tougher than your face and hence better suited to exfoliation.

Neglecting to use sunscreen on your neck, hands, and other exposed areas of the body is a common skincare mistake that leads to premature ageing.

To summarise, the main things you can do to keep your skin thriving include moderate exfoliation, hydrating your skin using humectants, using a gentle cleanser, and using a moisturiser according to your skin type.

Listen to your skin and respond to its needs as they arise.