It's that time of the year again, when your lips begin to crack, makeup starts to cake in the dry lines on your face, redness forms on your cheeks, and your plump summer skin has shriveled into a flaky, dehydrated mess. What to do? Have no fear! Our resident medical esthetician, Cora, is here with her "Top 5 Tips for Radiant Skin", even during winter.
- Champagne and Strawberries! 🍾
Let me explain. Our newest visor collection was just released, and we are calling the custom color the "champagne". Contrary to popular belief, winter months are an important time as ever to wear UV protection. UVB rays may not be as high during winter time, but UVA rays (the ones that cause premature aging) are just as high. If you are going to be in the snow, know that UV reflection from snow can almost double your daily dose of radiation! High altitudes increase UV power as well, as the atmosphere is too thin to absorb the radiation. Be prepared with our full Champagne visor whenever you are in the snow. Which brings us to...
- Strawberries! 🍓
You're going to want to up your exfoliation routine in the winter months. Dry skin is a sign of dead skin cell build up. This can reduce the amount of absorption you are getting from your skin care products, and increase the vicious cycle of dryness and irritation. Moisturizing alone won't be effective until you exfoliate off that layer of dead skin cells, allowing your creams and serums to effectively penetrate. My favorite daily (or every other day) exfoliant is the Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant, by Eminence. The salicylic acid in the strawberries gently exfoliates dead skin cells without irritation, removes impurities to brighten the look of skin, and shrinks the appearance of pores. Mix one part Champagne sun protection and one part strawberry face mask, and you have one delicious pairing!
- More Strawberries 🍓 🍓
While we are at it, I'm going to talk about my second favorite strawberry-themed product by Eminence, the Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum. The reason I love this brand so much is all of their products are formulated with food and herbs that are so safe for use that you could eat them! And once you catch a whiff, you might be tempted to! The rhubarb in this serum is a good source of ascorbic acid (commonly known as Vit C) to fight the look of wrinkles. The Botanical Hyaluronic Acid (from marshmallow plant extract) is deeply hydrating, smooths and replenishes the look of skin, and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Sleep with a Humidifier: Why the cracked lips, redness, and dry, flaky lines? The humidity in the air drops considerably in the winter, sucking all the moisture from the air. When the air outside is dry, the water in your skin evaporates more quickly, thus makes your skin feel dry, flaky, and tight. You can remedy this by sleeping with a humidifier on at night. Night time is when much of the cellular repair happens (as your noisy mind is finally shut down and not requiring all of the attention). Take advantage of this and put it to work replacing moisture lost in the day!
- Skin Gym
It's a new year, so time to over commit on those new years goals! Let's pick a work out we actually will keep...facial workouts! Facial workouts are a great way to keep up skin elasticity by strengthening the muscles, releasing tension to keep wrinkles from forming, and increasing blood and oxygen flow, which improves skin tone. If you want to see results quickly you should aim to perform your facial exercises 3-5 times a week from around 20 minutes each time. Always clean hands and face before performing!
Exercise 1: Smooth crows feet. To increase blood flow around the eye area, use your ring finger and gently create figure 8's around the eye, starting from the bridge of the nose, and circling around the orbital bone. Repeat 8 times, and then switch directions.
Exercise 2: Plump to fill smile lines. Stick out both pointer and middle fingers, as if you were making finger guns. Place them on bottom of your jawbone, starting in the middle of the chin. Push up with the left hand, then the right, rolling over each other as if you were sweeping your skin. Work your way up from the jaw to the bottom of the cheek bone, firmly lifting and rolling. This will release any tension in your jaw (a place where many of us store tension). Work your way out from the chin to the ear. Repeat for 1 minute, then switch to the other side of the face, always working from the bottom up.
Exercise 3: Iron Your Forehead. Extend your pointer and middle fingers and tuck your thumb. Place finger pads at the point in between your eyebrows. Pretend you are ironing out your forehead, pressing firmly enough to get into the muscle. Press and scoop up, starting in the middle, and work your way out. Always follow the pattern of bottom - up, middle- out, to work along the lymphatic drainage lines. This will ensure you are getting rid of excess fluid and puffiness while working out the facial muscles. Repeat for 2 minutes across the forehead.
Exercise 4: Tighten a Sagging Neck. Press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Look upwards with your chin, smile, and swallow. Repeat for 30-60 seconds.