Spring has sprung! And you may be noticing your skin is reacting a bit, well, uncomfortably to the change of seasons. It may be time to spring clean your skincare routine and switch up some products.
The flowers are starting to bloom, the leaves are budding on the trees, and your skin is suddenly really, really dry and dull…
Wait a minute, that’s not very pleasant! The truth is, as the weather changes, so too do your skin’s needs. Here are three simple changes you can make to your spring skincare routine to help restore your natural glow just in time for the sunny days ahead.
1. Check your moisturiser
Winter, with its extreme temperatures, chilly winds, cold days, and dryness from using heaters, heat pumps, and the heating on blast in your car can leave your skin a bit dehydrated. Yes, even in Auckland, where it tends to be rainy and wet all winter long, your skin can get really dull and dehydrated. And as the weather warms up, your skin tends to be less dry, but may also have some winter dryness lingering in the form of accumulated dead skin cells and uneven skin texture.
The moisturiser you use in the autumn and winter may not be quite right for spring and summer – this depends, in part, on your skin type and age, and it’s not true for everyone. But if you feel like your moisturiser isn’t quite working for you now the season has changed, it’s a good time to visit your beauty therapist and see if you might need to try a different product and switch up this part of your skincare routine.
A hyaluronic acid-based formula may be a good choice for you, and because skin tends to hold more water in the warmer months, you may not need to use as much moisturiser as you do in winter, so use a pea-sized amount – not using too much moisturiser will help you avoid getting congested, grumpy skin that’s prone to breakouts and even more dullness, allowing the product to really work as it’s supposed to.
We recommend Germaine de Capuccini’s Hydracure range, which uniquely combines three types of Hyaluronic Acid with thermal aqua from a Japanese volcanic spring. Hydracure deeply hydrates, repairs, and protects skin suffering from dehydration.
2. Bring back the sunscreen
In New Zealand, we should all be wearing sunscreen year-round anyway – skin cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand, and we share the dubious distinction with Australia of having the highest melanoma skin cancer rates in the world. According to the Cancer Society, we need to wear sunscreen that’s at least SPF30, and especially protect our skin between the hours of 10am and 4pm from September to April – the sunny months.
If you’ve been slacking off on the sunscreen over the winter, spring is the ideal time to recommit to protecting your skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Choose a facial moisturiser with inbuilt SPF protection and you’re getting two jobs done – moisturising and protecting at the same time. Along with sunscreen, wear a sunhat to protect your face, and lightweight clothing that covers your body to give you more protection from the sun’s harsh rays.
We recommend Germaine de Capuccini Golden Caresse Face Advanced Anti-Age Sun Emulsion CC Sun Cream SPF50 (Tinted) 50ml, one of the lightest SPFs on the market with a powerful protective system of stem cells which stimulate the self-repair and self-defense of the cells, stopping the process of ageing. It has a nude tint which blends into the skin to provide great coverage.
3. Be kind to your eyes
Along with those lovely spring blooms comes hayfever, pollen allergies, and irritated, itchy eyes – and the skin around your eyes can really suffer for it. A gentle eye serum can help keep the delicate skin under and around your eyes hydrated and cared for (and can soothe itchiness and redness). An eye mask that cools and comforts can help decrease inflammation and minimise puffiness caused by allergy-related swelling.
If your eye area is sensitive at this time of year due to hayfever, it may be worth seeing your GP for antihistamines and also taking a break from contact lenses, which can be uncomfortable to wear when you’re suffering from seasonal allergies and, in turn, can cause you to feel like rubbing your eyes (which just makes the skin around your eyes even more sensitive and uncomfortable). While there’s no cure for seasonal allergies, you can manage things with soothing skincare until the pollen lets up and your skin settles down.
We recommend Excel Therapy O2 Pollution Defence Eye Contour Cream, a hydrating eye cream that boosts the skin’s oxygen levels to rejuvenate and detoxify the eye contour while delaying the early appearance of wrinkles. It also blocks the effects of four main types of pollution on the skin.
Thinking about seasonal skincare changes and need a bit of guidance? Book in with us at Gaia Day Spa and we can share our spring skincare recommendations tailored to your skin’s needs.
