SL’s 3-step Spring Routine Healthy, Glowing Skin
SL’s 3-step Spring Routine Healthy, Glowing Skin
I love this time of year in Toronto. The trees are budding, my magnolia bush is in
bloom, and neighbourhoods look magical with apple and cherry blossoms sprinkled on
the sidewalks. Even out in Saskatchewan, my home away from home, the fields are
getting greener and seeding has begun!
Like Spring rain cleanses the earth to make everything lush and healthy again, Spring
is a perfect time to eliminate the effects of winter on our skin – like flaky areas,
clogged pores and impurities that make your skin dull, lackluster and breakout prone.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1 – Start with Gentle Exfoliation
To remove winter build-up, start with a gentle exfoliant. Exfoliants are designed to
remove dead skin cells which accumulate on our skin every 30 days or so, and can
worsen over winter from drying indoor heat and frigid weather.
There are three types of exfoliants:
- Chemical - plant-derived acids (Alpha, Beta or Poly Hydroxy Acids) which
dissolve dead skin cells and are formulated as a liquid or pre-soaked pads;
- Physical, which contain granular particles from sugars and grains to buff away
impurities; or
- cellulose-based gels which slough off dead skin cells when spread over skin.
(You can read more about exfoliants here).
I personally love the NEOGEN Gauze Peeling Wine Pads. Check out Emily on my
instagram, who used these pads for her Spring skin reset. Her skin is glowing!
Or you can try the Purito Gentle Oat-In Exfoliating Cleanser , a gentle, oatmeal-based scrub that is verypampering to use. Or check out Beauty of Joseon’s Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel, which iterally peels off impurities. So satisfying! Or take a look at my full selection of exfoliants, located here.
2. Layer on Hydration
After exfoliating your skin, it is a good time to replenish its hydration, as the
exfoliation process enables nourishment to better sink into skin.
Choose a hydrating essence or serum that include humectants, which literally bind
water to skin, needed to balance its oil-water ratio, prevent premature aging and
provide overall skin barrier support.
Effective skin humectants include ingredients like hyaluronic acid, beta glucan or
panthenol (pro vitamin B5).
Choose a hydrating essence or serum like Haruharu’s Black Rice Probiotics Essence,
Iunik’s Beta Glucan Power Moisture Serum or the very popular Torriden Dive-In Low
Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Serum.
Your skin will literally drink these products in and will feel nourished, look plumper
and feel less dry and tight.
Step 3 – Seal the Deal with an Emollient-Rich Moisturizer
To get the full benefit from hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, which can
evaporate from skin, so it is helpful to seal them into skin with an emollient-rich
moisturizer.
Emollients are fatty substances, like glycerin, ceramides or squalane, that will literally
lock in the goodness of your skincare routine and protect your skin barrier from
external irritants. Here are some good ones -- the Aestura Atobarrier 365 Cream,
Genabelle PDRN Recovery Balm, or IOPE’s lovely Stem III Clinical Recovery Cream.
Try this three-step approach to a Spring skin reset and watch your glow return!