Your Fall Skin Renewal Plan

Summer is just about over, and it’s time to undo all the damage from spending long hours outside enjoying the warm sunshine.  Although spring is considered the time for yearly renewal, fall is a great time to start developing your skin renewal plan.  With the daily hours of sunlight waning, this is the best time of year to consider asking your skin care practitioner about skin rejuvenation treatments such as chemical peels or microdermabrasion, laser facial resurfacing and facial plastic surgery procedures.  Even if your skin is in perfect condition, it’s an ideal time to indulge in at least one seasonal deep-cleansing facial before the dry winter months.

Fall is also the optimal time of year to start thinking about hair removal options.  Since laser hair removal generally requires a series of 4-10 treatments spaced 4-8 weeks apart for best results, beginning a laser hair removal series now will have you razor-free and smooth by next summer.

Clinical rejuvenation treatments will smooth your skin texture, and reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and visible spots.   Resurfacing treatments will also trigger the acute inflammatory process to encourage collagen and elastin production, and begin the healing process.  Proper post-care is crucial as well, to stop the acute inflammatory process before it becomes a chronic condition, which could further harm your skin. 

Whether you decide to undergo a complete facial rejuvenation series, indulge in a seasonal facial, or start laser hair removal treatments, home care is still a very important part of your skin care plan.  The healthier your skin barrier is before your procedure, the better your healing and results will be, along with a lower chance of complications.  Look for home care cosmeceutical products that are formulated with ingredients that calm chronic inflammatory factors, and protect and strengthen your protective skin barrier (the outermost layers of your skin). Ingredients that help calm inflammation and have antioxidant properties include date palm extract, meadowfoam, apple, flax and avocado.  Ingredients that help repair and strengthen the skin barrier include safflower oil, meadowfoam seed extract, phytosterols and phytosphingosine.  Many products claim to calm inflammation or build your barrier, but they don’t do both, so ask your skin care professional to recommend the right products that work best for your skin care goals.

With summer winding down, fall is the best time of year to renew our skin after the warm sunny months of summer. Time spent outdoors is healthy for our bodies, but it can create a lot of environmental injury to our skin – injuries that won’t appear for another five to twenty years down the road.  Your skin care professional will help you take care of your skin and minimize the damage of the summer with a comprehensive fall skin treatment plan.