4 Things You Should Be Doing For Holiday Ready Skin

Want gorgeous glowing skin for the holidays? Make sure you’re not looking in the mirror the day before that big holiday party wishing that your skin looked its best. We know life gets busy but trust us—you should take time to take extra care of your skin before the holiday season starts. This will ensure that your skin is camera-ready when all the parties and family dinners roll around this time of year.

1. Eat Right

Start now by cutting back on foods high in sugar and alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates skin and causes inflammation (which can lead to redness of the skin). Sugars can age skin by damaging collagen fibers resulting in glycation which is not easily repaired. This process can prematurely age skin so make sure to moderate your sugar intake.  

So what should you be eating instead? Make sure that you’re getting your five servings of fruits and veggies each day. This will ensure that you’re getting nutrients like lutein and beta-carotene, both of which are vital to healthy cell development and a glowing skin tone. You should also make sure that you’re eating foods high in vitamin C like citrus and broccoli since vitamin C is critical to the maintenance of collagen. Another important vitamin is vitamin E. It is a powerful antioxidant that protects skin from photo aging and cell damage. Foods like avocados and almonds contain lots of vitamin E so load up! 

Finally, make sure you are incorporating healthy fats into your diet. Foods such as nuts, seeds, avocados, oily fish like salmon, and chia seeds contain lots of healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids. These fats help keep skin elastic and supple as well as help reduce inflammation. By eating right the weeks leading up to a big event, you’re going to ensure that your skin is healthy from within.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Not only is better sleep better for your mood and productivity, it is also key to a good complexion. Of course everyone looks better when they are well rested but did you know that your quality of sleep can impact your long term skin health? Studies show that those who sleep 7-9 hours per night have much better skin barrier function compared with people who sleep less. Their skin was also much better at recovering from injury or irritation. 

3. Hydrate and Moisturize

Keeping your body hydrated is another critical task in the days leading up to a big event. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and keeping your skin moisturized. You should be avoiding long hot showers, and applying an occlusive (heavier) moisturizer within a few minutes after a shower. This will help keep all that moisture on your skin. You should also try to incorporate some hyaluronic acid or sodium hyaluronate into your skincare routine. Hyaluronic acid (and its salt form sodium hyaluronate) is a magical molecule that can hold almost 1000 times its weight in water. It can draw moisture from the air and help keep your skin from drying out. It’s one of our favorite skin loving ingredients and is appropriate for all skin types.

4. Pay attention to the timing of professional exfoliation treatments, laser treatments, or facials

We love professional treatments like lasers, peels, and microdermabrasion when preparing for a big event. While these types of procedures are amazing for quickly achieving gorgeous results, we recommend timing them very carefully to allow the appropriate recovery period before a big event. The type of treatment you get will also impact how soon in advance you will need to schedule your appointment so check with your Dermatologist or Esthetician for the recommended recovery time for your specific procedure and plan accordingly. Some treatments may also require several months of repeat visits before you can really see results so if you are considering a new type of procedure that you’ve never done before, we’d recommend waiting until you can afford some extra recovery time before starting.

Disclaimer: As with all of the information on this site, this post is meant to be for informational and educational purposes only, and is not medical advice. When in doubt, please ask your physician.