Skin feeling dry, dehydrated, dull, and tired after December? You’re not alone!
We recently asked our Elevated Aesthetics followers on Instagram, and the results were undeniable – 100% of respondents felt their skin was “all of the above” when offered the options of dull, dehydrated, or tired.
Here’s why…
- Holiday stress. Cortisol is our stress hormone, which rises considerably during the holidays, and really does a number on our overall wellness but also on our skin. Additionally, we tend to “let ourselves go” during this time which has its own consequences on the condition of our skin.
- Holiday foods. Parties bring the fatty finger foods, and family gatherings bring the nostalgic but heavy foods like ham, bacon- & butter-laden veggies, & tons of starches. Let’s not even start on the sweets! Our intake of processed foods (who else is addicted to Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes?!) jumps up dramatically in the months leading up to Christmas. All of these unhealthy, heavy, salty, and sweet foods wreak havoc on our skin.
- Increased alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates our skin, increases stress hormones, and increases flares of acne & rosacea.
- Less sleep. We let our usual 6-8 hours fall to 4-6 hours, due to our endless list of things to get done keeping us up or the worries of what the holidays bring. Lack of sleep wears on our skin – our skin repairs and regenerates when we sleep!
- Skimping on skincare & treatments. Whether it’s to save money, we’re too tired at the end of the day to wash our face, one thing’s for sure: nothing shows on our face more than skimping on the things we know do good things for our skin. I found myself at the end of the day going straight to another task without taking time to reset from work, and wash my face/do my skincare routine. And my skin let me know it!
So, my recommendation is to just START. You’ve gotta START somewhere, and the new year is the best time to get that skin back on track! So I created a mnemonic to help us remember how to START.
S kincare
T reatments
A waken
R esurfacing
T ox
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Skincare.
The #1 way to get your skin back on track is quality, medical-grade skincare. Although its cost is higher than those you’ll find in drugstores, Sephora, or Ulta, the quality is heads and tails above those easily-accessible products. “Medical grade” means they can only be obtained from a provider who has a medical director, and they must prove what they say they do with clinical studies. The potency is higher, but also – when directed by experienced providers – can actually be much gentler, safer, and more effective. If you are only doing the bare minimum, start by just adding one important step. If you want to know where to start, this blog post is for you!
Treatments.
Just like a tired car sometimes needs a little jump start, so does your skin. Getting your nutrition and water intake dialed back in is so important, but it might take a while to begin to see improvements in your skin from just doing those alone. Jump start your skin out of dullness with skin treatments. The biggest bang-for-your-buck treatments for dull, dehydrated, blah skin? Medical microneedling with skin boosters like PRF, VAMP/PDRN, or PDGF… IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) to lighten and brighten skin… and medical-grade facials to hydrate, nourish, and repair. Also consider IV Vitamin Drips that will replenish missing nutrients and rehydrate; in particular the powerful antioxidant glutathione has been shown to be effective for all skin-related issues but particularly melasma! You can book all of these and more here.
Awaken.
When you look in the mirror, do you look tired? Feel like you need toothpicks for your eyelids? We might have a few tricks up our sleeve to help you look and feel more alive. When my patients struggle with under-eye puffiness, here are my recommendations: lymphatic massage, Colorescience’s Total Eye® Serum & Hydrogel Masks, & under-eye creams with caffeine (like Instant Effect Gel EYE by skinbetter science). If it’s hooded/heavy eyelids, you have 3 options – eye drops called Upneeq (they stimulate an involuntary muscle behind the eye to keep the lids lifted; I *swear* by these daily!! They are prescription, so you’ll have to come in for a quick eval so I can write you a script and give you a sample to try), neuromodulator injections (Jeuveau, Dysport, or Xeomin which are like Botox but better in our opinion) which can temporarily relax the muscles that can pull the eyelid down and in, and the Matrix Duo treatments which gradually tighten and lift the upper eyelids with our expertise.
Resurfacing.
One of the most impactful ways to truly transform all aspects of your skin is laser resurfacing. We use the trusted, phenomenal technology of Candela’s Nordlys platform to harness the power of no- or low-downtime nonablative fractionated laser (NAFL) resurfacing. We have the no-downtime “Airbrush Laser Facial” which polishes your skin for a pretty glow, addresses unwanted pigment, and surface irregularities (the technical wavelength of this technology is 1940 nm). The “Skin Deep Laser Treatment” combines 2 wavelengths – the 1940nm (used for the “Airbrush Laser Facial”) and the 1550 nm (which stimulates collagen, addresses deeper lines, and tightens skin) for the dual purpose of addressing both superficial and deeper concerns. This treatment is considered low-downtime (you will be flaky for up to a week). For the ultimate glow-up, combine IPL with NAFL (both 1550 & 1940 resurfacing) for the classic favorite, “Light & Bright™” treatment, which has a similar downtime to the “Skin Deep Laser Treatment”. Book a consultation to determine which one is best for you! If you’re already an existing patient, book a Gameplan Visit!
Tox.
We know this is technically a “treatment” but neurotoxin injections (affectionately referred to as “tox”) are a quick, easy way to smooth out lines & wrinkles, open up your eyes, and help you look refreshed and rejuvenated in as little as 3 days! Most patients are candidates for neurotoxin injections, so feel free to book a Wrinkle Relaxer appointment with one of our 2 expert injectors!
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So don’t let the joy of the holidays be lost in the aftermath of skin dullness, dryness, and “tired” appearance. And don’t beat yourself up if you overindulged or put yourself on the back burner in December. Just brush yourself off, wash your face, and START again this new year! We are happy to help you at Elevated Aesthetics.
Much love,
