How To Stick To Your New Year’s Skincare Resolutions

Don’t let 2023 come and go without achieving your skincare goals. While it can be hard, sticking to a routine will be worth it in the long run. No matter what your goals are, it is essential to stay consistent with your routine as well as find products that work well with your skin. Throughout the year your routine will become second nature.

The good news is that it is still early in the year. We are here to help you along the way and so, we have listed out 9 skincare resolutions to make for the new year.

Make Moisturizer a Priority
Utilizing moisturizer is a must-do in a skincare routine. If you have dry or oily skin, use a moisturizer! We have natural oils, (sebum), for a reason. It helps to maintain balance within the skin. When our skin lacks sebum, it can react in two different ways. Our skin can overcompensate, leading to excessive sebum production, or our skin cannot keep up with producing sebum, which creates the dryness. When the skin is lacking sebum, fine lines, wrinkles, and acne can be more prominent. But, when your skin has the correct amount of oils, it moves into a healthier, more balanced state.

Never Go To Bed With Makeup On
We understand that sometimes taking your makeup off before bed can be a daunting task. But, makeup is pore-clogging and suffocating to the skin, so falling asleep with it on can lead to compacted pores and no way for your skin to breathe and recover throughout the night. Our skin is most active at night, trying to slough off dead skin cells, regenerate new skin cells and heal any wounds! So if it’s after a night out or you are just extremely drowsy, we recommend trying to set aside a few minutes every night to wash your face. It takes two minutes, your skin will thank you!

Don’t Pick Your Skin
As tempting as it is, it is very important to leave your blemishes alone and not pick at them. Our fingers hold so much bacteria, and as we touch, pop, pick at our skin, the increase of infection, inflammation, redness and scarring goes up drastically. What can you do instead? If you have inflamed lesions, grab an ice cube and rub the affected area. Apply a spot treatment with ingredients that help to kill bacteria, like sulfur or benzoyl peroxide! Apply a pimple patch as a protective barrier for your lesion to heal effectively. This also works well as a deterrent for your pesky fingers! If you’re needing extractions, seek a professional that can properly handle the situation. This will lead to faster healing time and less trauma to the skin.

Exfoliate
As we age, our cell renewal process slows down. What does that mean? Our skin’s ability to slough off dead skin cells, heal and promote collagen production all slows down. When we’re young and get a scrape, our skin goes to work! It can only take a week for our skin to complete the cell renewal process, but by the time we’re 40, it can take up to 48 days for our bodies to complete this process. With this process being slowed down, our “old” skin cells can be covered by our new skin cells, causing congested pores, dullness and can cause a magnification effect on fine lines/wrinkles and unwanted pigmentation. There are a few different ways to exfoliate the skin. Chemical, manual and physical exfoliants. Not sure which way is best? Consult with a licensed esthetician to figure out what best suits your skin!

The Order Of Products Are Important
The way we apply our products is important, as each one has a different molecular size! An easy way to remember is thinnest to thickest. Always start by cleansing your skin morning and night to remove any makeup, dirt, environmental factors, dead skin cells and oil build up to ensure a clean canvas for your products. Next step is applying a toner, (if you have one in your routine, completely optional!), go onto putting on your serums, (again, thinnest to thickest), seal your products in with a moisturizer and then sunscreen! Of course at night you don’t need to wear sunscreen. Swap out the sunscreen for your retinol!

Drink Plenty of Water
The human body is of over 50% water! Drinking plenty of water and keeping our electrolytes in check helps to detoxify our body and promote an overall improvement in your skin. When we don’t have enough water intake, we can have increased transepidermal water loss, (loss of hydration due to evaporation), which damages the skin barrier. This can cause a number of things like premature aging, extreme dryness and acne. By staying hydrated, the overall tone of your skin improves, inflammation and puffiness decreases, elasticity in the skin increases, pH levels and oil production balances out and gut health is improved. Don’t underestimate the power of water! The amount is dependent on your lifestyle, but generally speaking, the recommended amount is 2.7-3.7 liters a day.

Get Plenty of Sleep
Just like water, sleep is another reason why your skin may not be looking and feeling refreshed as well as its best. Lack of sleep weakens the ability for the skin to heal itself. This may cause an increase of cortisol, the stress hormone that causes a numerous amount of issues, but one being more breakouts, fine lines and loss of collagen. Life is busy, and we don’t always find ways to care for ourselves, but making a conscious effort to set aside extra time for some sleep, even if it’s just an extra hour, could make a big difference!

Use SPF
If you’re investing money in your largest organ, AKA the skin! You need to be protecting it. The rays from the sun can cause skin cancer, which is one of the leading causes of cancer, but it also contributes to around 80% of our aging. It is a common misconception that sunscreen is not needed in the fall or winter. No matter what season we are in, the sun can damage your skin. Rain or shine, wear your SPF. But if you’re only applying sunscreen once a day, it’s not going to have much benefit. Reapplication is key. Be sure to reapply your sunscreen every two hours! There are sprays, powders and compacts available to make the reapplication process a breeze. Sunscreen is for all skin types. If you have a face, you need to be wearing sunscreen!

Don’t Forget About Your Neck & Chest
With an increased focus on facial skincare, your neck and chest can be neglected. It is important to take products such as serums and sunscreen all the way down to your chest. Simple but effective!

Before Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution Day on January 12th, make it a goal to have your routine finalized. If your goal is to achieve healthy and happier skin look no further, our Licensed Esthetician, Leah is here to guide you with any questions or concerns you may have.

So, what are your 2023 skincare resolutions and goals?