KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Switch the heavy products from your winter skincare routine out for lighter products during the warmer months
- Always take your skin type into account when choosing products
- Keep it simple and don't over-do it with too many products - good thing our sunscreens double as a moisturizer!
Why You Need to Change Your Skin Care Routine for Spring
As the sun starts to make an appearance again, spring cleaning is a must around the house as the seasons change, and there's no better time to spring clean your skin care routine as well!
Your winter skincare routine was likely based on using heavier creams to protect your skin from the cold air. But in spring, the sun is out, and your winter routine isn't suited to the warmer weather. With crisp mornings that lead into dry days, your spring routine should accommodate skin that may be oily or dry from the heat, or experiencing breakouts due to seasonal allergies.
Adapt your spring skincare routine by swapping out those winter skincare products for lighter products. More time outdoors in the warmer months makes it crucial to properly hydrate your body to keep your skin healthy, so your summer skincare routine doesn’t have to include damage control!
As the warmer months approach, here's a step-by-step daily spring skin care routine for healthy skin and hydration.
Step-By-Step Daily Spring Skin Care Routine
- Lather Up in Moisturizer
- Don't Forget Your Lips
- Wear Sunscreen
- Use Cleanser at Night
- Incorporate Niacinamide
Step 1 - Lather Up in Moisturizer
Start your day off right by lathering your body in a lighter moisturizer that absorbs quickly and is enriched with emollients for extra hydration and nourishment.
Post-winter, we can emerge with dry skin or dull skin as a result of our skin being unloved. It's bound to happen after months of being hidden under layers of clothing and exposure to artificial heating.
Now, though, we can ditch the heavy moisturizer and face masks we were using during winter. These can clog pores and prevent that healthy glow we're all looking for during the warmer months.
For the face, We Are Feel Good Inc's Good Morning SPF50 makes a perfect makeup base while We Are Feel Good Inc's Coco Milk coconut moisturizer is perfect for the rest of your body. It's a lighter moisturizer containing coconut oil that's great for hydration and smells amazing! Coconut oil also helps reduce inflammation caused by harmful UV rays.
Step 2 - Don't Forget Your Lips
Once you've moisturised your face and body, be sure to show those lips some love! Our lips are often forgotten when it comes to skin care and sun protection. They're prone to dead skin cells and there’s nothing worse than chapped, dry lips.
We Are Feel Good Inc's SPF 50+ Lip Balm provides broad spectrum, SPF 50+ sun protection and is enriched with Vitamin E, Cocoa Oil, Shea Butter and Omega 3, 6 and 9 to promote healthy skin on your lips. Throw it in your makeup bag, pucker up, and let the lip balm do the rest.
If you're suffering from dry lips, you can use a very gentle exfoliating scrub then use a lip balm with SPF to hydrate and protect your lips.
Step 3 - Wear Sunscreen
Once your moisturizer has absorbed, it's time to pop on some sunscreen. You should wear sunscreen all year round as not only is it your best defence against skin cancer, it actually slows the process of skin aging by helping to prevent fine lines and wrinkles in skin texture. So start your day by lathering up before stepping out the door.
Even if you use makeup with SPF in it, it’s not enough to replace sunscreen. You could check out a tinted SPF sunscreen for your face instead of using a cream foundation, and don't forget to wear sunscreen on your whole body, not just your face.
“A broad spectrum, SPF 50+ sunscreen is key to ensuring adequate coverage and protection against harmful UV rays,” says Dr Scott McGregor.
Invest in a sunscreen that feels good so you wear it every day. We Are Feel Good Inc's new Tropical SPF50+ is perfect for spring and the summer months as it provides broad spectrum SPF 50+ sun protection with yummy notes of pineapple, bananas and juicy mangoes.
It also helps to protect your skin by mopping up free radicals (one of the main causes of fine lines, dark spots and other visible signs of aging) caused by sun exposure causing damage to skin cells.
Forgot the sunscreen and ended up with a sunburn? We Are Feel Good Inc's After Sun Cooling Lotion is formulated with aloe vera to help calm the burn on your sensitive skin. And remember the sunscreen next time!
Step 4 - Use Cleanser at Night
At the end of your day, use a gentle, soap-free cleanser with warm water (hot water will dry skin out) to protect your skin's hydration.
We Are Feel Good Inc's Good Night Gentle Foaming Cleanser is the ultimate cleanser for spring. It's packed with antioxidants and includes hyaluronic acid, giving a deep cleanse while being gentler on all skin types than exfoliating regularly.
Unless you’ve applied makeup products or something that needs to be washed off, forget using a cleanser in the morning during spring. There's also no need to exfoliate day and night. Using a cleanser too often can strip natural oils away and if you exfoliate too often you'll damage the skin barrier. Just gently wash your face with cold water to start your day.
Oh and speaking of cleansing, spring is the perfect time to clean your makeup brushes! Micellar water is a great cleanser for makeup brushes. Give them a gentle scrub to rid them of the bacteria and grime that builds up. It's important to keep your makeup brushes clean as this grubby muck can cause breakouts, cancelling out all the good work you're doing with cleansing and moisturizing.
Step 5 - Incorporate Niacinamide
Niacinamide, or Vitamin B3, is a must-have in your daily skin care all year round, but especially leading into the summer months. Not only does it encourage the turnover of skin cells, but it also aids collagen production, helping to rejuvenate the skin for a healthy glow and more youthful looking skin.
If you suffer from inflammatory skin conditions like acne or rosacea, or experience hormonal pigmentation, skincare products containing Niacinamide can reduce melanin concentration leaving you with a more even complexion. It’s also great if you suffer from clogged pores, as it helps reduce pores and improve their appearance.
Try incorporating a moisturizer in your spring routine that has added Niacinamide, like We Are Feel Good Inc's Good Night Skin Restoring Cream (present at 7%) for your face and Kakadu Plum Body Milk (2%) for your body to boost collagen production and help repair sun damage caused by harmful UV rays. Kakadu Plum has some of the world’s highest vitamin C content and is high in antioxidants so it’s magic for skin. Slather them on before bed and let them work their magic on your skin overnight.
Top 5 Spring Skincare Tips
1. Listen to Your Skin
It's important to pay attention to your skin when creating your spring skincare routine and you really need to know your skin type and what's best for it.
For dry skin, you should focus on hydrating products that provide intense moisture and can help build up your skin barrier.
For sensitive skin, use gentle, fragrance-free products that are designed specifically for your skin type to avoid any irritation.
If you have oily skin, make sure that you cleanse regularly to prevent build-up that can cause breakouts and use a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer and other oil-free products that won’t clog pores.
If you have acne prone skin, use a spot treatment to help keep your pores clear and look for makeup that's specifically designed for acne sufferers. They often contain salicylic acid which can help conceal acne and reduce blemishes.
2. Hydrate
Hydration is such an important part of your spring routine. Drink plenty of water, around 2 to 3 litres a day, to keep your skin healthy and soft.
Drinking a sufficient amount of water on a daily basis will help dry skin maintain elasticity and retain its moisture levels. It also aids in flushing out toxins and increases blood flow to your skin, resulting in healthy, glowing spring skin.
3. Keep it Simple
Don't overdo it with makeup products and don't throw the kitchen sink at your skin with a thousand different skincare products. Just keep it simple!
Even if you don't have sensitive skin, using sensitive skin products that are more gentle on your skin will help avoid breakouts and reactions.
We Are Feel Good Inc's Good Morning SPF50 makes a perfect makeup base and will keep your face protected. Alternatively, you can use a tinted SPF foundation or moisturiser, but make sure it offers at least SPF50 protection. For the rest of your body, use We Are Feel Good Inc's Sensitive Sunscreen SPF50+ to prevent sun damage and stay safe.
4. Don't Over-Exfoliate
Be sure not to exfoliate too often to risk damaging your skin barrier. A gentle scrub once a week is often enough for the majority of skin types to maintain beautiful spring skin.
If you have acne prone skin, you can use a gentle exfoliating scrub 2-3 times a week to help remove dead skin cells, increase blood flow, and keep pores clear.
5. Check Your Products
Skincare products, makeup, and sunscreen all have expiration dates, so spring cleaning your bathroom cupboard at the start of the season is a great idea. Check expiration dates and texture and smell, and if it's expired or looks or smells different from when you first opened it, toss it.
Keep in mind that opened shelf life is different to expiry date. Once opened, the usual shelf life of sunscreen, skincare products, and makeup is usually between 6 - 12 months. If you have any opened bottles that have been kicking around longer than last summer, they're ready for the bin.
Updating Your Skincare Routine for Spring
Heading into the warmer months, our skin changes, and it’s essential to transition into a spring skincare routine to maintain healthy skin. The cold winter months can leave us with dull skin, or dry skin that's cracked, making it crucial to adapt our skincare routine to the new season. Spring is not just about spring cleaning and going on road trips; it’s about updating our skincare routine for healthy skin that looks and feels its best, all season long.