If you've ever noticed a sudden change in your skin –sensitivities, breakouts, and uneven tone—it could be the seasonal change. It's that period when the weather changes from hot to cold, or cold to hot and often leaves skin in a state of flux, reeling to catch up. As we enter warmer weather, help your skin out by making a few adjustments to your skincare routine early on to counteract these changes. Here are some tips on how to transition your skincare routine from winter to warmer.

The importance of exfoliation

Over the winter months skin loses moisture and becomes dry and rough. If the skin is dehydrated, which often happens during winter, dead skin cells can become trapped in tight pores. These 'plugs' of debris can eventually lead to breakouts, especially as temperatures rise and the skin produces more sweat and oil. To combat clogged pores, exfoliate routinely to slough off dead skin cells and help keep your skin clear. It's also a great way to stimulate cellular regeneration and get your skin glowing for spring!

Our Bamboo Charcoal Sponge can be used as a gentle daily exfoliator as it is made out of konjac root to help gently exfoliate the skin and charcoal to remove any build up of dead skin cells. Sloughing off dead skin cells also allows your skincare products like your moisturizer or serum to penetrate more deeply afterwards, delivering hydration to your skin more effectively.

How to layer your products

Much like clothing, layering your products gives you flexibility to ‘lighten up’ or ‘load up’ on what your skin needs during periods of fluctuating weather. In the dead of winter, dry skin needs all the bells and whistles: a hydrating toner, water-soluble serum, moisturizer, oil or face balm. In the spring when there’s more warm moisture in the air, you can pick and choose the combination of products to suit your needs.

Try pairing a hydrating toner like our Face Food Mineral Mist with an oil serum like Superfood Serum or a light moisturizer (Skin Stuff Face + Eye Cream) is one of my favourites). 

You can also lighten up heavier moisturizers like the Berry Rich Cream with a few sprays of the Face Food and blend that into the skin.

Make sunscreen a part of your daily routine

Much of ultraviolet radiation occurs incidentally, such as when you’re in your car, walking to work, or sitting by a window. UVA rays (aka ‘Ultraviolet Aging Rays’) can still penetrate windows and shade. For this reason, sunscreen should be worn year-round. Since the warmer weather draws us out to enjoy the sunshine, we should be especially diligent and wear an SPF every day during the spring and summer. Once you find the perfect sunscreen that sits well with your makeup and feels great on your skin, you'll be sure to wear it every day!

Increase antioxidants

Before you go patio hopping and sun bathing, add an extra line of defense against the sun using antioxidants. This is a term that gets thrown around, but antioxidants are actually one of the best ways to arm your skin against ultraviolet damage. One of the most common antioxidants to use is vitamin C and can be applied topically via a concentrated serum. Some plant and fruit oils are also rich in antioxidants and work to counteract damage causing wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation. Slather on The Superfood Serum, made with antioxidant-rich blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry seed oils before heading out into the sun, or afterwards, to help heal inflammation and counteract sun damage.

There you have it. Keep these transitional skincare tips in mind as the weather warms up. Make a few changes to your skincare routine and you'll be sure to help your skin adjust to any changes the warmer seasons throw at it.

Seanna Cohen is a certified skin care therapist and the founder of Clean Beauty School, an online resource to learn beauty tips and answer all of your skincare questions. Seanna empowers others to establish a more natural beauty routine through personal skincare coaching sessions, blog, and workshops. Follow Seanna's journey and get inspired to live a clean, green, beautiful life @cleanbeautyschool and cleanbeautyschool.com

Summary

• Our Bamboo Charcoal Sponge can be used as a gentle daily exfoliator as it is made out of konjac root to help gently exfoliate the skin and charcoal to remove impurities.
• Pairing a hydrating toner like our Face Food Mineral Mist with Superfood Serum and/or Skin Stuff Face + Eye Cream
• You can also lighten up heavier moisturizers like the Berry Rich Cream with a few sprays of the Face Food and blend that into the skin.
• Wear an SPF every day during the spring and summer
• Use antioxidant rich products like The Superfood Serum,  to help heal inflammation and counteract sun damage.