While we love you just the way you are (and hope you do too!), the new year is always a great time to set some goals and try to improve some of your habits and/or routines. How did you treat your skin in 2016? Did you get a skincare routine in place and stick to it? Did you feed your skin nourishing foods? The truth is that good skin doesn’t happen overnight. It requires sticking to a routine, using good skincare products, getting monthly treatments, and being healthy with your food choices, as a very general guideline. If you slacked in all these aspects in 2016, how about setting some #SkincareResolutions for 2017? Below, we recommend some of the most important skincare resolutions you should aim to keep in 2017:

  • Build a skincare routine (and stick to it!)

You have to exercise your skin the same way you exercise the muscles in your body if you want it to get healthy, and as you know, you won’t see much improvement in muscle tone if you only work out here and there. One way to make sure your exercising your skin is to stick to a daily skincare routine. It doesn’t have to be rocket science either! If you’re just starting out on your quest for great skin, pick a cleanser, a moisturizer with SPF, and a good night cream to start and you’ll be doing wonders for your skin! With time, you can add in other helpful skincare products, like an eye cream, a serum, and a masque to step up your skincare game even more. The key is really sticking to your routine, so you can start seeing results in as little as 3-4 weeks!

  • Use the right products

Of course, having a skincare routine and following it religiously means NOTHING if you’re not using the right products. But what exactly are the right products you should be using? Although that will partly depend on your skin type, as a rule of thumb you should make sure to purchase your skincare products from trusted sources and stay out of that grocery skincare aisle! While companies will (and do!) advertise all sorts of miraculous results from the use of their various products, unless you’re a skincare pro, it’s hard to look at the list of ingredients and check/spot clinically proven ingredients that have been shown to give results. The best way to know you’re using the right products is, without a doubt, to consult your aesthetician about your specific skincare concerns so you can get the right product recommendation. Otherwise I’m sorry to say you’re wasting your money. As another rule of thumb, make sure you’re not using any sort of scrubs with granules or beads, as these tend to scratch the skin.

  • Start using an eye cream

Most people think an eye cream is a plus to have in a skincare routine, but not necessarily a must. Turns out most people are wrong. An eye cream is the only effective way to really hydrate and care for the thin, sensitive area around your eyes. In fact, this is the area where most people first start showing signs of aging. So long story short, start using an eye cream! From hydration to brightening and tightening, there are multiple formulas available to target your specific concerns.

  • Wear SPF religiously

If you keep one single resolution in 2017 out of all of these, using an SPF every day should definitely be the one! And honestly, it might be the easier resolution to keep since it simply involves applying a moisturizer with SPF to skin, which you can do virtually anywhere. Need a good reason to commit to sunscreen? Wearing SPF daily wards off signs of aging like fine lines & wrinkles and protects your skin for the harmful effects of the sun.

  • Never go to bed without washing off your makeup

Cosmetics mixed with daily dirt and pollution buildup can wreak havoc on your skin, leading to irritated skin, clogged pores, and breakouts. Needless to say, it is super important to make sure your cleansing the day off your skin at night time. Even if you can’t drag yourself to the bathroom for a proper wash, make sure you at least keep a stash of cleansing wipes in your nightstand. Although wipes will never be as good as a cleanse, they will help get rid of surface debris and minimize bacteria on the skin.

  • Invest in a silk pillowcase

Sleeping on silk may not be something that has occurred to you yet, but there are a few benefits of switching to a silk pillowcase. For one thing, silk is extremely soft which feels great annnnnd causes lees friction between the skin and fabric, meaning that silk pillowcases can minimize wrinkles. Silk pillowcases can also help delay signs of aging due to their hypoallergenic temperature regulators that also work to keep skin hydrated. It may sound like magic, but its true! And if you need an immediate benefit to skin as a reason to make the switch, silk allows the skin to slide over its surface more easily, meaning that you will no longer wake up and see those fine lines pressed in when you wake up. We see #WokeUpLikeThis being a popular hashtag in 2017 if you keep this resolution!

 

  • Get more sleep

You can own all the silk pillowcases in the world, but getting enough sleep is still one of the most important and essential beauty rituals you can keep. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body overreacts to things like hormonal changes, which can result in breakouts. Not to mention that when you’re awake when you shouldn’t be, your cortisol levels stay high, leading to dark circles and puffiness in the short term and wrinkles in the long run. Night time is also when skin recovers and repairs itself, which is essential to warding off new lines and wrinkles. Don’t have enough time to clock in those 7-9 hrs of recommended sleep? Try sneaking in a 20 min nap during your day for a little refresher. And if you have trouble falling sleep, there are a ton of apps you can look into dedicated solely to the purpose of helping you get those zzzzzz’s in, so no excuses!

  • Eat less sugar

Although you should aim to eat less sugar for overall health, this is especially true when it comes to your skin. Sugar, just like all carbs, can trigger inflammation, leading to adult acne or the bumpy kind of rosacea. High quantities of sugar, specifically, can lead to glycation, a process in which sugar molecules attach to collagen, leading to cracks and wrinkles over time. Best way to avoid it? do away with sugar all together. But if that isn’t realistic for you (we like a good glass of red wine or a cookie now and then, too!), keep your intake of sweets to moderate amounts and use skin products that repair collagen, or a collagen supplement.

  • Reduce stress

Ahh, stress! We all know it well. But did you know that the stress-skin connection is real? When you’re stressed, your body starts pumping cortisol, which over time lowers the body’s ability to keep skin issues like breakouts at bay. Although stress isn’t really the reason for the breakout, it definitely is the thing that pushes your skin over the edge. Not to mention that stress can also trigger eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea flares. The thing about reducing stress is that everyone has a different method that works for them. Whether you reduce anxiety and stress by doing yoga, hiking, getting a pedicure, or simply listening to some soothing music, make sure to take the time to destress and your skin will thank you.

Need some help establishing your 2017 Skin Resolutions? Give us a call at 303-440-9493 or come see us!