It’s Freakin’ Fall
Summer is Over, How Is Your Skin?
We welcome the start of Spooky Season, with witches and skeletons and tombstones galore… but the one thing that shouldn’t be causing you fright is your skin! In that spirit, here are some common autumnal skin maladies and my favorite ways to correct or prevent them.
Raquel x
1. CONGESTION
If you haven’t come in for your post-summer clean out, chances are you’re still harboring some congestion from the sweat and sunscreen of those summer days that feel like a distant memory. Dead, dehydrated skin cells might be accumulating on the surface so it’s best to get rid of all that mess and have a fresh new start for fall.
If you haven’t or can’t make it in to the studio for my absolute favorite treatment, The Peel Series, you can recreate it at home using the genius Environ product Revival Mask. Choose one day per week to apply a thin layer of the mask to clean, dry skin. It will tingle, but if you can stand it, leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing off and applying your normal routine. On Week 2, leave it on for 11 or 12 minutes. Week 3, increase another 1-2 minutes, and so on.
The trio of AHAs will exfoliate as well as entice your skin to release growth factors to promote collagen production, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, smooth and refine texture, and gently lift irregular pigment. You can continue weekly applications in perpetuity, working up to leaving it on the skin for 20 minutes at a time.
2. DRYNESS/DEHYDRATION
When the weather changes, so does our skin, and we often need to make tweaks to our routines to accommodate. That feeling of dryness is super common this time of year, and can appear in the form of loss of suppleness, feeling less hydrated, or even dry, patchy redness. If that sounds like something you’re experiencing, it’s time to switch to your thicker fall/winter moisturizer, add a deeply hydrating serum, or boost your current products with an oil.
If your skin feels less supple, I recommend adding Olivier Midy’s Éclat Midy to your routine. It’s the Goldilocks of face oils, not too thick and not too thin, mixes beautifully with every moisturizer I’ve tried thus far, and stands on its own as a final moisturizing step. If you feel like you need a hydration boost, I love Reome’s Active Recovery Broth (aka Skin Soup). It’s a concentrated serum, but honestly the word Broth sums it up perfectly. You can swap your toner or essence for the Broth to boost hydration, or use it as a first serum step. Bonus points that it smells RICH 🤑
If your autumnal dryness is showing up in the form of rough, red or dry patches, or just a feeling of general sensitivity, swap your current moisturizer for Neova’s Creme de la Copper. It’s a rich but not heavy cream chock full of Copper Peptides and DNA Repair Enzymes. The Copper Peptides are the star here, as Cu3 has intensive skin regenerating properties and can be used on the most sensitive and delicate skin to replenish and strengthen its integrity.
3. ITCHY/FLAKY BODY SKIN
This is an end-of-year classic. You might have remnants of that beautiful bronze tan I didn’t want you to get, but you find your skin is ashy and flaky, or even itchy! Hard to show it off when that’s the case. For this, I recommend a multi-pronged approach, courtesy of the chicest body care line, Costa Brazil. First, soak in their delicious Sal de Banho bath salts. Not only do they smell amazing and come housed in an impossibly chic silver tub, but the combination of Epsom and Magnesium will relax your muscles, while the combination of Amazonian oils will soften and nourish your skin.
Next (or instead, if you don’t have time for a bath), scrub yourself down with their Exfoliante Para O Corpo (that’s Portugese for Body Scrub). The thick brown gel smells lightly of coffee, and once emulsified it turns into a milk that gently sloughs away dead skin.
Finally, once you towel off, massage the indulgent combo of Kaya Jungle Firming Oil and Creme Para O Corpo over your whole body to ensure the smoothest, silkiest skin. I love to combine the two products, but these body moisturizers work as beautifully alone as they do as a pair, so if you prefer just an oil or just a cream, have at it. They’re lightly scented with the antioxidant trifecta of Kaya, Cacay and Breu, three Amazonian substances that nourish the skin and happen to smell intoxicating.
While those are the top three fall skin complaints I hear, they are by no means the only ones. So if you have any others, remember we are always a call or a mouse click away. We’re available seven days/week for facials, by appointment for retail shopping, and in case you didn’t know, we can even messenger or ship products to you!
It’s Written In The Stars
Our own Monica David gives us a peek into the astrological events that will affect us in October.
The month kicks off with a Libra new moon and solar eclipse on October 2nd, emphasizing how we connect to others versus the relationship to self. This is the second eclipse, following the one we just had on September 17th, so pay attention to a particular theme that may come to a head!
Eclipses are a time of great change, so prepare for a noticeable shift around this time. After months of retrograde, both Jupiter and Pluto will finally go direct, allowing these planet’s energies to flow freely and move forward.
On October 17th, we will have a full moon in Aries, highlighting our individuality and autonomy, which can bring up certain questions or new dynamics in your relationships. Shortly after, the sun will enter into the depths of Scorpio, so prepare to get deep and intense, just in time for Halloween!