Tips to Take Care of Your Skin in Spring
Post the gloomy winter months, everyone is excited to usher in the beautiful season of spring. Finally, you can flaunt your skin without having to cover up every inch of it to brave the chilly weather. As exciting as it sounds, spring is the driest season and that poses several skincare challenges. During this time of the year, the skin tends to get undernourished and dehydrated. To help you avoid such a thing, here are 8 effective tips for spring skincare.
1. Always Use Sunscreen
As the skin is usually covered during the winter months, you may not be using sunscreen for a few months now. This may lead you to forget to use it every single time you step out of the house. Pay special attention to use sunscreen every time you go out. Since your skin has not been exposed to the sun for a few months, it will be more sensitive now. Make sure that the sunscreen which you use has an SPF of 15 or above.
Also, if you are spending long hours in the sun, make sure that you reapply your sunscreen every 2 to 3 hours. This will not only help you avoid tanning, but it will also leave your skin nourished and hydrated.
2. Exfoliate
During the winter months, there is a lot of accumulation of dead cells on the skin. By the end of the season, these make it difficult for moisturizers to work on the skin and as a result, it feels dry. Hence during springs, make it a practice to use a non-abrasive liquid scrub on a soft towel and slough off the dead skin cells regularly. For people of all age groups, the use of an anti-antioxidant enriched scrub is encouraged. You will be amazed to see how much more radiant your skin will look post such exfoliating sessions. Concerns about dry skin will also reduce considerably.
3. Ginger Scrub
If you have a sensitive skin, you might not be comfortable using the scrubs available in the market. In such a case, take 2 cups of brown sugar and mix it with a teaspoon of ground ginger and a cup of olive oil. Apply this on your elbows, knees, and ankles first followed by the rest of the body. While applying on your face, make sure that you move in a gentle circular motion. This is safe for application on all types of skin. Post the application of scrub, wash it off with your regular face or body wash and pat dry with a soft towel.
4. Fix Your Diet
Having a hydrated body is the key to smooth and moisturized skin. Unlike the summer months, you might not be feeling thirsty all the time. That is why it is important to make a conscious effort to drink 3 litres of fluids every day. Ideally, this should include about 9-10 cups of water and a couple of glasses of fresh fruit juices. Avoid aerated drinks as much as possible. Also, try to include fruits and green leafy vegetables in your daily diet. These are rich in antioxidants and will help your skin make a smooth transition through the different seasons.
5. Milk and Honey Mask
One of the reasons why your skin appears dry during the spring months is because of vitamin and calcium deficiency. Mix milk and honey in equal proportions and prepare a paste. This paste is rich in vitamins, minerals, and calcium and will go a long way in keeping your skin hydrated. Apply the paste on your face, arms and legs, and let it stand for 15 minutes, post which you can rinse it off with lukewarm water.
Repeating this procedure twice a week will help you maintain lustrous skin throughout the spring months.
6. Use a Lighter Moisturizer
As your skin feels dry, it is a natural tendency to apply moisturizer more often. However, it is important to note that as the temperature around you rises in the spring, your skin will be oilier. Irrespective of the brand that you are using, make sure that you switch to a lighter moisturizer than what you did in the last few months.
Water-based moisturizers are more appropriate for the season. Also, the use of cleansing milk is encouraged. This will help restore the balance of your skin by adding moisture. Ideally, one must use cleansing milk to gently cleanse the skin at the end of the day, and then apply an appropriate moisturizer.
7. Avoid Hot Showers
Contact with high-temperature water results in the loss of natural oils from the skin. During the winter months, the body produces excess natural oils and so this is not a major problem. However, as the outside temperature rises, the body’s mechanism adapts to it. One simple way to protect the skin during such transitions is to avoid warm showers and stick to lukewarm showers instead.
8. Citrus and egg white masque for aging dry skin
Although dry skin is a problem that most people encounter during the spring season, the problem becomes much more complex when you cross the age of 35. However, you can have moisturized, glowing skin and tighter pores with this simple technique.
Take 2 raw egg whites and mix it with 1/4th glass of any fresh citrus juice. The juice may be that of mousambi, orange or lemon. Apply this to your skin and let it stand until dry. Rinse off with cold water and repeat this every alternate day to notice visible results.
As you can see, a little preparation on your part will allow your skin to look soft and lustrous all through the beautiful spring.
Follow the tips mentioned above and you will be able to make the most of the birds chirping, flowers blooming and all other things that spring has to offer; all of that without worrying about chappy dry skin!
