‘Tis the season to get merry, which involves more late nights out than usual, champagne, wine, mince pies, chocolates and sweets – all of the things that are not so good for our skin. Here’s a handy guide to make it through to 2024, skin unscathed….
1: Use The Appropriate Cleanser
You’re likely well aware that excess oil causes breakouts, but did you know that when your skin is dry, it also contributes to pesky spots? Dry skin lacks essential moisture, the skin then overcompensates with sebum production which builds up in your pores, alongside dull, dead skin cells, causing breakouts.
It’s well known that harsh cold weather and dehydrating alcohol both dry the skin out so this party season, look for a non-drying gentle cream cleanser won’t strip your skin & dry it out.
Give these a whirl, all are very similar so choose according to your budget:
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser, £17 for 500 ml // Medik8 Cream Cleanse, £22 (currently £15.40 in BF Sale) // Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Purifying Cream Cleanser, £28
If you have recurring break-outs, or oily to combination skin, a salicylic acid cleanser is brilliant to for keeping blemishes at bay.
CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser, £12 // Caudalie VinoPure Gel Cleanser, £15 // Skinceuticals Blemish + Age Cleanser, £50
2: Update Your Serum Wardrobe:
Beauty experts have a wardrobe of serums, so that they can target whatever their skin faces them with each morning.
Your AM serum calms any redness, fighting those fires that have erupted overnight. Look for ingredients like salicyic acid and miacinimide that are going to calm the skin.
Try: Rodial Breakout Drops, £44 // Beauty Pie Super Drops, £15 (£50) // Medik8 Clarity Peptide, £45 (currently £31 in BF Sale)
Your PM serum is more of a preventative; think retinols that will unclog the pores overnight and refine the skins texture, reducing any scarring from past pimples.
Try: Medik8 Crystal Retinal 3, £38 // CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol with Ceramides, £21 // Elizabeth Arden Retinol Ceramide Capsules, £49
3: Moisturise.
A lot of people prone to blemishes skip this step, thinking that it’ll make them break out even more, but you need to be supporting your skins barrier as much as possible, keeping it strong and healthy so that those blemishes don’t form. Look for a skin-barrier boosting moisturiser that’s non-comedogenic like La Roche Posay Toleraine Soothing Cream, £21 or Dermalogica Ultra Calming Barrier Repair, £49 or try a moisturiser speciically formulated for blemish-prone skin like La Roche Posay Effaclar+, £20
4: SOS Fire Extinguisher:
Everyone need a targeted spot treatment for blemish busting in emergency situations…
Medik8 Blemish SOS, £21 (currently £14.70 in BF sale) // CeraVe Blemish Control Gel, £14.50 // Origins Super Spot Remover, £14
