Fall is on the way and pretty soon people will be trading their short sleeve shirts for sweaters and button-ups. Just as your style changes from season to season, your skincare routine should change as well. During the fall months, the amount of humidity in the air decreases, essentially sucking a lot of the moisture from your skin leaving it dry and flaky.
You’ll notice that the products you used in the summer don’t give you the same type of finish on your skin as they did a few months ago. Some of us could get away with a few squirts of lotion to moisturize our skin in the summertime, but fall requires a different regimen. Everybody feels the flux during this period. People with eczema and excessively dry skin experience exacerbated or heightened symptoms due to the changes in our environment in the fall months.
We don’t want to leave you out there to dry (literally), so we’ve found an expert to help you get through these few months. We can worry about winter later, that’s another story.
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Dr. Peggy Fuller, dermatologist and founder of Charlotte, NC - based Esthetics Center for Dermatology, has some great advice about how to protect your precious epidermis this season.
BlackDoctor.org: What changes does Black skin go through from the summer to the fall?
Dr. Fuller: As fall approaches, colder temperatures produce less humidity. Limited humidity tends to cause and or exacerbate dryness to the skin.
BlackDoctor.org: What are your top 5 tips to keep Black skin healthy in the fall?
Dr. Fuller: Bathe in tepid showers or baths. Hot H20 zaps humidity and robs the skin of moisture.
Stay hydrated.
Divide your weight by two, and that will calculate the recommended ounces of H20 that you should consume daily.
Don't neglect to moisturize. If the skin appears ashy, by golly... moisturize. Moisturize regularly and
often. Don't forget to moisturize your lips as well.
Wear gloves, hats and scarves to retain moisture. Not only will you look stylish, your skin will be more protected and will feel great.
Finally, the most important component is diet/nutrition. Choose a diet rich in antioxidants. Think primary colors: including red, green, orange, yellow and purple whole foods, which give your body the internal nutrients necessary to produce a sustained glow.
READ: 3 Things To Never Do To Your Skin
BlackDoctor.org: What fall skin care products do you recommend for Black skin?
Dr. Fuller:
- Vanicream Facial Cleanser and Vanicream Bar Soap
- Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream and Vanicream Lite Lotion
- Theraplex Hydrolotion and Theraplex Clearlotion
- Dr. Bronner's Almond Soap: bar or liquid (please follow recommended dilution instructions accordingly).
- Local organic products sold in Charlotte:
- Hair 180 Whipped Shea Butter
- Truth Dry Skin Oil and Truth Esther's Oil for the face. Truth Body Oil for other parts of the body.
Until next time stay moisturized and let your soooooulllllll glow. Name that movie!