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When caring for your skin, the New Year is a great time to look at your routine and see what habits you should stop, and which you should start. Ahead, skincare expert, licensed esthetician and wellness enthusiast Sara Botta shares her do’s and don’ts when it comes to New Year “Skinsolutions.”
5 Skincare Do’s and Don’ts for 2024
1. Stop assuming skincare is one size fits all.
Just because you see a skincare trend on TikTok, doesn’t mean it’s right for your skin. The serum your best friend loves may not be appropriate for your skin’s needs. Be sure to tailor your skin regimen for YOUR skin. Consulting with an esthetician or other skin professional is one of the best ways to figure out what will work best for you, as they can recommend a treatment plan to help amplify your at home routine.
2. Add in an antioxidant protectant to your routine.
We need to defend our skin against environmental stressors in the air like pollution, smoke, and the elements that can break down and damage our healthy cells. Think of when you cut open an apple and it turns brown, this oxidation also happens to our skin. Look for ingredients like Caffeine, Ferulic Acid, Vitamin C, and Sylmarin. I love the Ultraceuticals Ultra Protective Antioxidant Complex. It goes over your moisturizer and under your sunscreen and has a beautiful silky texture perfect for a smooth makeup application.
3. Don’t skip your nighttime routine.
Even on those late nights or times when you are too exhausted to stand, please at minimum cleanse your skin and apply your moisturizer. Our skin is very active while we are sleeping. Damage is repaired at night, our skin is receiving nutrients from our blood and rejuvenating, and it’s more receptive to products at night making it the best time to apply that skincare routine. You don’t have to do a full regimen, but those two simple steps will make a very visible difference in your skin when done consistently. Skincare can be simple and very effective. Ultra DNA³ Complex Recovery Night Cream is perfect to repair skin overnight.
4. Stop buying expensive skin gadgets and excessive skincare tools.
Unless you are a true skincare devotee chances are you aren’t using most of those extras anyway. I love Gua Sha and rollers, LED lights, skin scrubbers, you name it, I probably have it. As a skincare professional I can admit I NEVER use them! I have just about enough time and energy to do my skincare routine let alone sit there for 10 minutes rolling my face or using the LED. If not done routinely, most of these add ons won’t have much benefit, so if you are already having trouble with the product part of your routine, skip the gadgets.
5. Do embrace your age and stage in life!
I love the Pro Aging movement and think that 2024 will be the year of empowerment and changing our perspective on how we treat ourselves and our skin! Work towards a healthy mind, body and skin, but stop chasing perfection. Choose products and treatments because you want to have healthy skin and make it part of your overall wellness plan.
