Skincare Essentials for A/W

Skincare: Autumn/Winter Edition.

Winter is all cute for cuddles but sadly, our skin cannot thrive only off cuddles (if at all). Personally. my skin ashes in winter and I am not looking forward to it, obviously. I am looking forward to stocking up on some good fighters (read "hydrants") to care for my skin and these are the things I'm looking out for on my skin-quest to protect my combination skin.

I shared my basic skincare routine here, , and that has carried me for as long as it could and it has done a job as good as any but it has nothing on winter, unfortunately. I will be amping up my 5-step routine for a 9-step one.

CLEANSING BALM.

(post make-up/build-up)

Seriously balmy, cleansing balms are meant to remove all dirt from the skin without even stripping your skin off its natural oils. you can also use these for eye makeup because there are usually only natural oils in them. their formulation is made to soothe the skin while melting any impurities like make-up or dust built-up. This is surely an essential for me because make-up works out better for in the winter and there is no threat of the Sun melting a good beat away.

FACE WASH.

(day-to-night)

You know the jig, your face needs this step. Using just water is just not going to cut it, throughout the day our facial skin picks up on all sorts of pollutants and bacteria - this step is important because it removes all build-up, if or when the cleansing balm is used and there are left-over oils then face washes can also clear that up.

FACE MASKS.

(weekly)

Skincare for self-care Sunday peeks here, hair up in a towel, face freshly cleansed and a cool face mask up is what Sunday dreams are made of. Keeping face masks in the cooler for a while before applying it on your face is great because the coolness will help in closing your pores after your cleanse. Keep a mask on only for as long as the instructions say and massage it in with the right tool while it is damp.

SERUM.

(day-to-night)

I have previously tried collagen as a serum but i have been hearing great things only about hyaluronic acid and its superpower for water retention and who does not need that in winter? This serum is also infamous for reducing redness. a hack? get this onto supple skin by not waiting for your skin to dry out.

EYE CREAM.

(day-to-night)

New territory for me. Often I have thought I do not need it because I am young but there are benefits of this as with anything, one can not be too young to start caring for themselves. Niacinamide, Vitamin C and Vitamin A and Hyaluronic Acid are some of the goodness found in eye creams, some of these ingredients work in getting rid of dark spots, hydration and smoothing out lines.

SPOT TREATMENT.

(day-to-night)

Meant to specifically to treat post-acne spots, NEED HER! Blocked pores that have redness, swelling and sometimes painful pores can be dissolved by spot treatment. Blemishes are not a cutie but I definitely do not any home-made remedies like apple cider vinegar, or bicarbonate of soda. Teatree oil, Vitamin C and Salicylic acid are good ingredients to spot in a spot treatment.

MOISTURISER.

(day-to-night)

Another absolute staple, whether you choose to use vaseline or glycerine on this step...does not matter, we can all agree that it is an important step! However, some of the previously mentioned ingredients can clog up pores and cause more bad than good. Something I am looking out for in all my moisturizers is hyaluronic because clearly no skincare product should do without it.

RETINOL.

(night-time)

Fancy name for a fave, Vitamin A. This product is in the business of reducing fine lines and increasing collagen-production (which improves skin colour). Scale-like textures on the skin make it harder for the skin to absorb what it needs but this product will counter those textures.

FACE OIL.

(day-to-night)

A goodie goldie, this step seals all this goodness into the skin. Oil just works best as a sealant of the skin, if any of the other products were placed above the facial oil then they would not even get to work in the actual skin. Interestingly, this step helps in balancing the production of natural oil production.

SUNSCREEN.

(day-time)

My absolute favourite girl. Much like many, I believe in sunscreen more than i believe in any of the previous 8-steps. SPF-50 allows only about 2% of UV rays onto your skin and SPF-30 lets in about 3% - so I definitely rate SPF 50, every morning on your middle and index fingers then onto your face and neck.

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Whew, now this is long but I am hopeful for a cosier winter for my skin and 8-steps should be the way to it glowing skin. I am hopeful!

Thankful that you have read this far and I hope you have enjoyed. Please leave suggestions or leave some love in the comments.

Love, Luxe Ledi.