How the Holidays Affect Your Skin

By: Gail Erickson

That cheery, merry time of year affects so much in our lives, including: our finances, our waistlines and even our skin. Here are some factors that affect the skin during this time and some remedies and preventative measures.

So Much to Do: Office parties, late night shopping, baking marathons and school plays. Whatever you’re doing, you’re not getting enough sleep which causes dark circles under your eyes. Start taking a multivitamin and drink lots of water. Invest in a good eye cream. This will help lessen the darkness.

Too Much Cheer: Alcohol consumption can affect your skin overnight. Alcohol dilates the blood vessels, allowing fluid to leave the vessels and enter the tissue. The result is puffiness, usually around the eye and cheek areas. One way to avoid or reduce this inflammation is to sleep with the head slightly elevated to help drain the fluid. Alcohol consumption also results in dehydrated skin so drink plenty of water before and after the party.

So Little Time: Stress escalates to a whole new level around the holidays. For women, more of the hormone testosterone is produced during stressful times. These hormonal surges lead to breakouts. A salicylic treatment applied directly to the pimple will help to dry it out. When a breakout occurs, apply Visine to constrict the blood vessels around the pimple. Then conceal by feathering your foundation over the area.

Food, Food Everywhere: Richer, saltier foods can lead to bloated, puffy, dehydrated skin. Applying a cool washcloth around the eye area for 5 – 7 minutes can make a big difference. Make sure you are using a good moisturizer twice a day. Hyaluronic acid helps water to penetrate into your skin and is an important ingredient for your moisturizer to contain.

Enjoy the holidays: Don’t hide from the cameras. It is a great idea to begin the season being diligent with your exfoliation routine (shedding of dead skin cells), whether it is a scrub or a retinol cream. Increase your moisture levels with LOTS of water and invest in a good moisturizer that you apply twice a day (after each time you cleanse you need to moisturize.)

Gail Erickson is a licensed Clinical Esthetician with an English degree from USF, Tampa. She works at Practically Frivolous, a full-service salon in St. Petersburg. Please direct any skin care questions to gail_erickson@yahoo.com