With the signs of winter slowly melting away, it’s time to spring clean your skin care routine. This doesn’t necessarily mean throwing out your entire toiletries bag – although clearing out the old and unused isn’t a bad idea – it means adapting your routine to suit the season. Winter weather, despite being beautifully still and snowy, takes a toll on the skin and hair and strips both of their natural moisture. Although there are many winter-y remedies, skin can come out of the winter season dry and itchy and in need of some tender-loving care.
Spring is often synonymous with fresh, growth and blooming. These characteristics make pampering your skin and body even more appealing. It’s a time to freshen up your routine, and maybe even your style. Here are 4 ways to jump start your beauty routine for the coming months of April showers and May flowers.
1. Exfoliate the Winter Blues Away
Nothing feels better than exfoliating your face and body after winter hibernation. Exfoliating your skin not only feels amazing, but it holds benefits that make your skin shine. Just like the spring sunshine, routinely exfoliating brightens your skin, helps with skin discoloration and can keep wrinkles and fine lines in check (let’s hope we have a while to wait for this concern). Buffing the skin can keep your pores from clogging which helps with the fight against acne. When the winter winds die down, adding moisture to the skin is essential. Exfoliating your skin speeds up skin renewal, which helps moisturizer sink deeper into your skin giving you that extra boost of moisture.
Exfoliation is filled with benefits that will leave your face and skin glowing, but there are a couple things to watch out for before scrubbing away. First and foremost before putting anything on your face, test it out! Put a little dab on the inside of your arm or on your jawline and scrub very gently, leave you skin for a day or two and watch the result. This isn’t going to show any amazing results, but it is to ensure that you aren’t allergic to the product. Secondly, the more sensitive your skin, the smaller the grain in your exfoliator should be. To avoid skin irritation find a gentle exfoliator that is suited to sensitive skin. To further avoid irritation and to avoid mitigating any negative results, don’t exfoliate more than at a bi-weekly rate as it gives the skin a time to soak in the moisture without stripping it bare of natural oils.
There are plenty of exfoliators on the shelves for you to choose from, even on your kitchen shelves. The internet is full of homemade exfoliator recipes, like a simple sugar face scrub using coconut oil. The rule of testing before applying is even more important with homemade products; we have all seen the horror stories! If you aren’t in to rubbing olive oil on your face, head to Sephora where there are many different varieties of scrubs for all types of face types.
My favourite? First Aid Beauty’s Facial Radiance Polish. For only $30 it’s gentle enough and leaves your face feeling refreshed.
Find it on Sephora.com.
2. Bikini body ready means moisturizing!
I am certainly not giving up pizza to get the much talked about “bikini body,” because a true summer-ready body is your own body with pampered skin! Winter can take a toll on your feet, elbows, knees and everywhere in between. Get that fresh, dewy spring glow by moisturizing every inch of your body. Now we are busy people, so moisturizing every day may not be on the agenda, but moisturizing after every shower or bath is enough to get that much needed moisture. It also lets it skin in faster!
The benefits of moisturizer are pretty immediate. That itchiness associated with dry skin is whisked away with the first drop of moisturizer, and so is the potential redness. Moisturizer locks in skin’s natural moisture and hydrates leaving your skin smooth and glowing, give anyone a nice little confidence boost. It also helps the skin maintain elasticity keeping it tight and soft. Walking down that huge, long aisle of moisturizer options at the drug store can be intimidating, but the selection is really all yours. Moisturizers claim to do a lot, so a touch of skepticism is required. Moisturizer isn’t going to give you a brand new body or giving you a flawless tan, so when choosing a moisturizer look for one with one of these three ingredients in the top five, lanolin, glycerin or petrolatum. These ingredients seal in moisture and glycerin attracts water to the outer layer of the skin. At the end of the day, choose a moisturizer that contains nutrients, vitamins and if your skin is sensitive avoid crazy smells (although I know those can be appealing).
3. Love the sun, but not too much!
With the sun starting to shine, soak it up, but with a hint of caution. Longer days and warm sun, means more vitamin D and happier moods. It means no jacket and cute flowy dresses (eventually, like after April), but the Suns associated UV rays can cause some serious damage to the skin. With winter being a bit of a reprieve from the harsh rays (not completely, remember), it is easy to fall out of use of a moisturizer with SPF. Find a facial moisturizer with at least a 15 SPF to apply before your morning makeup can not only protect your skin from sun damage and reduce your risk of sun cancer, but it can also lead to more youthful skin for longer with the retained ability of collagen production. Daily SPF keeps your skin looking healthy, and as we transition to summer it is crucial to only up the application of SPF. This SPF rule goes for your full body too! With the application of sun screen, or moisturizer with SPF, you protect yourself again from many dangers that come with the warmer, stronger sun.
Aveeno’s Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 15 moisturizer is a perfect solution, clinically proven and with natural ingredients.
Find it online at Aveeno for $17
Want an even easier way of getting your SPF fix? Many beauty companies have begun producing foundations, concealers and BB creams with SPF 15 included. Worried about acne? Find a non-comedogenic sunscreen, moisturizer product; sunburns and tans can even flare acne outbreaks, so don’t chintz out on the sunscreen for a free of acne.
Want a BB Cream that doesn’t cause acne, contains SPF 15 and covers blemishes. Use the Garnier SkinActive Skin Renew BB Cream for around $10. This cream has replaced my daily foundation for years.
Find it at Shoppers Drug Mart or online at Garnier!
4. Enough of the dry winds of winter, it’s time to pamper your hair.
Stepping up your spring beauty routine doesn’t stop at just your skin, taking care of your hair is even more important after a long dry windy winter. Winter can leave your hair a little lackluster. The dryness of winter air, cranking up the heat and warm showers can leave your hair damages through dry scalp, split ends and dry strands. So, spring is the perfect time to add some pep to hair (with the help of an umbrella and frizz control, because of spring showers and the start summer humidity). Use moisturizing conditioners or oils to smooth your hair and find a hair mask to repair you hair. Whether it is already in your routine or not, now is the time to add in a heat protector into that mix to take away additional stress from your hair.
Spring is in the air (knock on wood) and the freshness and feeling of new beginnings is contagious. It is the perfect time for a beauty routine refresh. Take a little time to pamper yourself, get those flowy dresses and floral patterns out, soak in the sunshine and breathe in the rain!