Why not celebrate your skin this month? The fall season is the perfect time to give your skin extra love from a harsh, sun-damaging summer season. September is National Skin Care Awareness Month and on our Healthy Dose of Stamina Instagram Live, we recently spoke with Dr. Donna Bilu Martin of Premier Dermatology about habits and experiences that enhance skin health as well as wellness overall as we head into the cooler months.
This month is the perfect time to reassess your skincare routine and not get lax about it now that the kids are back in school, summer is over, and the holidays are around the corner. When speaking with Dr. Bilu-Martin, she said that ‘most people say the eyes are the window to the soul,’ but many of us dermatologists believe that the 'skin is the window to the soul’ and greatly represents us. As our largest organ, it is so important to take care of the skin, both medically and from a cosmetic angle.
Throughout the decades skincare has become significant to the beauty industry with billions of dollars going towards products. Consumers are intrigued, curious, and love to be informed of new products, but the issue is that there is so much misinformation and misconception that a lot of us are just stuck, confused, and overwhelmed. But we are here to share some useful and easy tips with you so you don’t let good skincare habits slip your mind. And, if you don’t have a skincare habit yet, it’s never too late to start!
Daily Skincare Elements You Should Use:
- Sunscreen should be one of your daily non-negotiables. Regardless of clouds, rain, or shine, don’t let the shorter days fool you - sun protection should be put on continuously throughout the day. Your product should have an SPF of at least 30 and be broad-spectrum to block out both UVA and UVB rays. Although we are writing at a time when the weather is getting cooler, it’s important to note that if you’re swimming, you should let the sunscreen absorb into the skin prior to getting wet and you need to reapply.
- Excellent antioxidants are important to repair the damage that’s already been caused to our skin because of pollution or environmental issues, and they can also prevent future damage. Many skincare products contain antioxidants, such as retinoids, Vitamin C, or vitamin E. These ingredients can play a beneficial role in preventing skin conditions, too! Did you know that some skin adaptogens found in Stamina Cosmetics skincare line are also skin superfood antioxidants: resveratrol, green tea, curcumin?
- Cleansing is an essential step nightly to gently removing day’s grime, cleaning the face, and restoring the cells to skin balance. If your skin is vulnerable and gets major irritations and breakouts throughout the day, it's best to cleanse it throughout the day with refreshing, calming and setting toner, such as our Stamina Mist. By misting your tired and reactive skin with this hypochlorous acid-based skin adaptogen multiple times a day, you can help your skin regulate skin cadence and stamina.
- Retinol slows the breakdown of collagen and increases elasticity, giving your skin a firmer and plumper look along with skin brightening exfoliation. One major benefit of retinol is that it can help with regulation of melanin, the pigment that causes dark skin discoloration and sun spots. The only issue with applying retinol is that it can sometimes be irritating and difficult for some people to tolerate, so start with a pea-sized amount and only 3 nights a week. Here are some of our favorite Retinoids for skin brilliance: Skin Better AlphaRet, Dr. Sajic Renutriate, Avene Retinal.
- Note that retinol should not be used when pregnant or nursing. If you can’t tolerate it at all you may be using it too frequently and can switch to using a moisturizer first then retinol for better tolerance. If pregnant or nursing you can skip retinol altogether and use something else for cell turnover such as the Stamina Mask which has low concentration of Glycolic Acid, AHA and a great pregnancy-safe skin brightening alternative.
- Moisturizer is a gift to our skin. Between the sweat and sun, applying a moisturizer helps replenish moisture, keeping the skin hydrated, plump and glowing. Check out our adaptogenic moisturizer to improve skin balance, Stamina Moisturizer.
Those are the five top products you should use on your skin for a healthy look. Everything else that we use should be used for specific concerns only such as rosacea, acne, etc.
Aside from your skin regime, there are a few secret weapons we’d suggest: always keeping on hand with you to prevent skin damage and repair your skin throughout the day, a must-have skin-care for everyone in the purse/backpack/gym bag!
- Vaseline is a great wound healer. Although we grew up believing that Neosporin is the best for wounds, it is often a contact allergen. Plain old Vaseline or Aquaphor healing ointment for dry lips and eczema is a wonderful skin rescue tool.
- For a refreshing and easy rejuvenation at any point in the day use the Stamina Mist. This is particularly a great product if you’re traveling or on-the-go active lifestyle. It contains a gentle, yet powerful skin adaptogen, Hypochlorous acid, that helps to promote skin resilience by supporting microbe skin balance, calming skin irritation and expediting skin healing.
At Stamina, we hope that we can integrate wellness with our skincare routine together by introducing mindful moments into the skincare ritual. Dr. Bilu-Martin says that she keeps her routine simple, but whenever she does her routine, she tries to slow down and breathe with relaxing music. Stress is detrimental not only to our health, but overall wellbeing including our skin, GI Tract, and cardiovascular system and the rest of our bodies. Your skin routine is the perfect time to take moments to de-stress, relax and feel grateful. This can even result in differences visible on your skin. Our skincare moment can uplift our skin’s beauty and health, stamina and wellness, and learn more about Stamina Synergy.
Anything that you do to help with skin protection and stimulate skin repair will help you in the long run so reassess your skin routine or start a new one. Skin adaptogens found in our Stamina Complex are meant to adapt our skin to skin stressors by protecting, balancing, and revitalizing skin. Simplify the amount of skin products to amplify results. As we stated earlier, it is never too late to begin the continual longevity of our skin that will make the most changes, extending skin’s health span. Follow Stamina @staminacosmetics for more tips and advice on a journey to healthy, restorative skin on a healthy #DoseofStamina.
Be Well,
Dr. MBK
Founder and CEO of Stamina Cosmetics.
