Winter Skin.... by A&E Beauty Laser

6 Expert Skin Care Tips to weather the Seasonal Climate Changes & avoid the LOOK of Dehydration.

Fall is the most important season to prepare your skin for the seasonal changes & drier air. If you haven’t felt the change in temperature & humidity in your face & lips yet, it is time to prepare. No matter what our age, most of us experience tight, flaky, itchy skin at some point when the weather gets chilly. The culprits may be winter wind, dry indoor air, harsh soaps, low humidity, or even cold-weather sunburn. It is a well known fact that different seasons will affect different skin types in different ways.

Remember your skin is a living, breathing organ that adapts to the environment and therefore you need to adapt your skin care approach accordingly, or you may get caught out in the wind & cold!

October’s edition of Aesthetic Exceptionalism, by A&E Beauty Laser discusses the influences of various climatic factors and how these affect your particular skin type & what you need to do to keep your skin healthy & beautiful.

Fall is already here & it leads strait to winter- these truths you can easily remember; but knowing the seasons won’t help you preserve the freshness and attractiveness of your complexion. Not unless you also remember their affects on your skin, & how to prepare for them!

For all skin types, the cold makes your skin glands to work a lot less, especially those on your face, and therefore your skin becomes dryer than in any other season of the year. The wind and the sun, together, take off what is left of the moisture in your skin, making tiny wrinkles all over your face, and before you know it, all the radiance and beauty of your face are gone. L

Help! But, before we give the tips, we first want you to consider your personal skin types & how your reacts to climate change.

For people with oily skin types, winter is often a 'good time', because the cold climate causes the skin's pores to close and thus less sebum is secreted. Conversely, people with dry skin types tend to have a reprieve in summer when pores open and secrete more oils that lubricate the otherwise dry skin.

It is important in either scenario to adapt the skin care regime to the changes in the skin. So if you have 'normal' skin in winter (oily skin types), then use a skin care system suitable for normal skin. Likewise, if you have a normal skin type in Summer (dry skin types), then change the skin care system to suit your normal winter skin. Your skin changes with the seasons and therefore so should your skin care system. Kind of like, how we change up our wardrobes to suit the seasons,…

So, get to know your skin and how it reacts to the changing seasons,& adapt your skin care system, incorporating professional skin treatments that will enable your daily skin care regime to give the most back to your thirsty skin.

Here are 6 tips on how to switch your skin to the fall mode & prevent dehydrated skin, & the fine lines, & sensitivities that it can create. *But first, remember as you go into the Fall season, consider your skin dry, even if it is not. Remember, we are coming off Summer Skin & it actually changes your skin. Because overexposure to the sun dries your skin cells, they can be *intensely dehydrated.

1st Tip for treating & preventing Seasonally Dry Skin:

Prepare Your Skin/ Clear Away Old Skin Cells

Although it may seem contradictory, dry skin benefits tremendously from exfoliation to help eliminate the flaking skin cells, to smooth the skin's surface and promote cell rejuvenation. Sloughing away dead cells is the first step to pampering your dry skin, writes Joely A. Kaufman, MD, in the American Academy of Dermatology's Skin News Briefs. That's because the clearer the skin, the deeper a moisturizer, or other topical serum can penetrate. Whether you choose to use a professional chemical exfoliant such as an AHA product like glycolic acid or a Salicylic acid, or a mechanical means such as a facial scrub; incorporating a means of exfoliation into your routine at least a few times a week can dramatically improve dry skin. Body exfoliations are also a must for the autumn. These remove the dead skin cells and refreshe the regenerating process of the cells. Another way you can do this is with a weekly mask. Professional clay & silt masks will greatly help to gently purify & exfoliate & will help to keep pores clean & improve their function of secreting fluid which is then evaporated from your skin to keep you cool, (better hydrated). A mask that exfoliates as well is best.

2. Take Time to Moisturize & at the Most Beneficial Time

Once you've got a fresh, smooth surface to work with, soothe winter-dry skin with a moisturizer rich in natural emollients that promote hydration. Thick, heavy products like these have more staying power, and keep water from evaporating from your skin. If you are Normal in the winter (oily) then only use a dab, & you will be covered! Maintaining the skin's moisture content during the winter months is critical for effective winter skin care. So, you will need to switch out your summer skin moisturizer to your winter skin one. Your skin will be thirstier, & pouring more of your lightweight stuff on will not quench like a winter climate formula with higher concentration of plant oils, extracts & powerful peptides. But, if emollients are seriously too much for you’re your oily skin, then focus on oil free hydration.

Moisturizers keep the skin conditioned while offering protection against the harsh effects of the cold. The drier the skin becomes, the more frequently a moisturizer should be applied. To treat any of those very dry, scaly patches that might develop, use a petroleum based product on the affected areas before bed.

The skin is typically well hydrated after a warm shower or steaming facial. Immediately seal in the moisture with a light coat of skin cream rich in emollients & then lightly pat to dry. (Use more, & more often the drier your skin may become).

3. Warm Showers and Baths Only, Please

Long, hot showers may feel divine, but they can be damning for troubled, itchy skin, drying it out even further, reports Susan C. Taylor, MD, in Skin News Briefs. The solution if you're dealing with dry skin: learn to warm up to short, lukewarm baths and showers, which help your body retain its natural, skin-protecting oils.

And when you bathe, only use soap on the spots that really need it, such as your face, underarms, groin, and feet. Since the rest of your body doesn't tend to get very dirty, a simple warm-water wash everywhere else is fine say the pros -- and it helps you retain those vital natural oils.

4. Use a Gentle Cleanser

Scented, deodorant, and anti-bacterial soaps can be harsh, stripping skin of essential oils. That's why skin care experts suggest using non-scented, mild cleansers or soap-free products are best for cleaning, and not stripping the lipid barrier of the skin. Look for naturally- derived cleansing agents such as Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, & Sucrose Laurate. Using a cleanser with Glycolic or Salicylic Acids a once or twice a week to help exfoliate dead surface cells from the skin & leave your complexion brighter & also allow your moisturizing agents to better penetrate is recommended if your skin is not too sensitive.

Body washes with petrolatum (another name for petroleum jelly) are also a great option for soothing very dry skin, helping to trap in water as you clean.

5. Be Aware of the Sun- Keep Using Sunscreen & Topical Antioxidants!

Though the sun's rays are less intense in winter, those rays can still burn and damage your skin. Like the time you got sunburned on an overcast day, the sun’s ultraviolet rays are less noticeable in Fall & Winter, but are still hitting you, doing dirty work in your skin.

If you already know us over at A&E Beauty Laser, then you know that we preach First and Foremost; your best defense for winter (& summer) skin care is sun protection!

Even during the winter months, you absolutely need to continue to apply a moisturizing SPF 45 sunscreen a sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays, every morning, especially when spending time outside. As a matter of fact, snow is an even better reflector than water, bouncing 80% of the sun's rays back to us, compared to less than 20% for sand and surf. That's why you can get nasty sunburn even in winter -- and why it's important to put on sunscreen all year long

Seriously, you might think the sun's effects are diminished during the winter months, yet *nothing could be farther from the truth! Wearing a scarf that can be easily pulled up to protect the cheeks and bottom portion of your face is also a helpful preventative measure to limit the skin's exposure to the elements. And, using topical aniti-oxidants, especially during the daytime hours is still a top priority in protecting the good health of your skin.

6. Stay Hydratred & Get Your Diet Into the Act!

Literally Drink &Eat Up for Better Skin

Unlike summer, during winter we tend to ad heat to our physical environment and like air conditioning, heating too dries the air reducing its moisture content. It is a principle of physics that if you are in a dry environment, your body will loose moisture to the dry environment. Hydration is therefore very important and necessary to stop your skin from becoming dry.

Dry and cracked lips are classic symptoms of dehydration that often appear during late Autumn and Winter. But the drying of the skin goes beyond the lips.

Eat a diet rich in healthy fats. Essential fatty acids like omega-3s help make up your skin's natural, moisture-retaining oil barrier. Too few of these healthy fats can not only encourage irritated, dry skin, but leave you more prone to acne, too!

Give your diet an essential fatty acid boost with omega-3-rich foods like flax, walnuts, and safflower oil, as well as cold-water fish such as tuna, herring, halibut, salmon, sardines, and mackerel.

Hydrate Yourself -- And Your House

Dry indoor air can really irritate your skin, so give it a fighting chance by keeping inside air moist. Use a humidifier to pump up the moisture, & even surrounding yourself with indoor plants is a help! Whichever you choose, aim for an indoor moisture level between 40% and 50%. Investing in a $5 hygrometer (humidity monitor) can help you easily keep track of your house's humidity.

And don't forget to humidify from the inside out by drinking lots of water. To keep skin at optimal hydration, you will need between 6-10 glasses daily depending on your body. Just like in Summer, your winter skin needs lots of water, as well as the right skin care regime to keep it moist and hydrated.

People suffering from Eczema/Dermatitis, which gets worse in Winter, need to pay particular attention to their fluid intake. I know from personal experience, that if I do not drink enough water, my skin soon lets me know and becomes very dry, itchy and irritated.

Is Your Skin Still Dry? Talk to a Pro

If you're skin gets really dry in winter and these tips aren't helping, or if you develop eczema or other skin irritation, it's time to talk to a dermatologist.

For more information on these tips & the recommended natural products such as silt masks, beta peels, face & body cleansers, topical Antioxidants, winter time moisturizers, & SPF 45 sun protection visit A&E Beauty Laser @ 2825 Rio Grande #C Austin TX 78705.

Call or email for your free consultation, 512-921-1411, myskin@aebeautylaser.com

Or online, at www.aebeautylaser.com