Beauty Tips: Get Your Skin Ready for Spring

Though spring has been here for over a month, the weather is just starting to warm up! That means warmer weather, picnics, and beach days are just around the corner; it also means were ready to trade in all those layers in favor of shorts, backless dresses, and spaghetti straps.   After a brutal winter and several snowstorms you might be ready for spring, but is your skin?  We spoke with the experts to find the best ways to rejuvenate your skin so your sundress ready.

According to Christie Lavigne, Director of Skincare at Oasis Day Spa in New York City, “Before you add anything to the skin, you need to remove the egg-shell barrier (or crust of dry skin) that has formed on the surface of the skin after a long, cold and dry winter season … This barrier keeps the skin from being able to absorb any products you may apply topically (moisturizers) and prevents your skin from being able to purge oil and bacteria.”  In order to get rid of that layer of dead skin, Lavigne recommends exfoliating your skin and going to a professional for faster results.  “[Get rid of dead skin] in a professional setting, by receiving a facial with a series of peels or microdermabrasions,” Lavigne shares.   “At your dermatologist’s office, a deeper peel procedure, such as skin resurfacing or fraxel [will help your skin be ready for spring].”

However, you don’t need an appointment to rejuvenate your skin for spring, there are several products on the market today that will also do the job.   According to Lavigne, “… you can incorporate a few products into your regimen, which will take a bit longer, but will definitely heed positive results—an exfoliant to be used 2-3 times a week, either physical (something with a grain) or chemical (some sort of acid—lactic, salicylic or alpha-hydroxy), and a product to promote skincell turnover, such as the vitamin A (retinols) and a vitamin C product to brighten … and as always, don’t forget to use a SPF everyday—that will prevent future damage to skin more than anything else you do!”

We recommend the Red Door Spa Professional Lemon Burst Polish Scrub as a gentle and revitalizing exfoliator.  For a smoother complexion overnight, RéVive Moisture Renewal Cream is the perfect treatment to hydrate your skin while you snooze.  if silky smooth skin that’s firmed and toned is what you’re after, try Caudalie’s Slimming Regimen.  Their wine-derived Crushed Cabernet Scrub will both nourish and provide intense hydration for satiny polished skin.  The Contouring Concentrate promotes circulation and hydration while diminishing the appearance of cellulite and leaving you ready to take on the summer.

For a completely natural DIY remedy, Global Chief Creative Officer of Red Door Spas, Cornelia Zicu has some great advice.  Start by detoxing you skin in her special secret cleanse which will hydrate your skin.  You’ll need some oatmeal (to calm the skin), 2 table spoons of milk powder, a teaspoon of honey, 2 drops of lavender essential oil, and half a cup of olive or avocado oil.  Mix all these ingredients together and add them to a simple fragrance-free body wash.  Zicu recommends using this mixture once a week in the shower to cleanse your body.  Rinse it off and admire your silky smooth skin!  “This is a great trick for those who forgot to moisturize all winter long,” Zicu shares.

Zicu also suggests a “soothing facial refresher” to get soft velvety skin.  In order to perform one at home, cleanse your face then wrap an ice cube in a sterilized wet cotton pad which has been soaked in cold milk.  Apply this to your face until the cube melts.  “This is a great, nourishing, natural home remedy to reduce inflammation or irritation and helps even skin tone,” Zicu exclaims.  Another way to detoxify your skin is by soaking once a week in a warm (not hot) bath with Epsom salt and 1/2 pound of baking soda.

No matter if you head into your local professionals office, try one of the miracle products we listed above, or test out one of the home remedies we suggest, you’re sure to be ready for spring in no time!

—Janine Silver