12 Days of Christmas: Our Top Tips

If your skin isn’t presenting the clear, radiant complexion you hoped for this Christmas, know that you’re not alone. Between late nights, party snacking, drinking more wine and the social stresses that come hand in hand with festivities, Christmas time is essentially a recipe for experiencing some sort of skin upset. To help you mitigate the potential damage this year, we’ve compiled some simple skin tips to help see you through the 12 days of Christmas with clear, glowing skin.

1. Champion Gentle Cleansing

Come late December, there’s high chance that the drop in temperatures will leave your skin feeling a little drier than normal. It’s important to make sure you’re protecting your skin barrier by opting for gentle cleansers that help to nourish the skin, as opposed to stripping it. PreProbiotic Cleanse helps to remove makeup and grime, boost hydration and soothe any general winter-related upset.

2. Counteract Central Heating

Did you know that central heating can wreak havoc with our skin? Sapping skin of moisture, central heating can contribute to skin dryness and all of the problems that go alongside it. To help restore and maintain your glow, be sure to keep skin moisturised all day long. (Nerdie tip: if you find the air in your house is particularly dry, you might like to consider investing in a humidifier to prevent skin, as well as nose and throat, dryness.)

3. Use a Pre-Serum

Reaching for a product-boosting pre-serum, like Skin Veg, straight after cleansing will soothe the skin and deliver instant hydration, as well as increase the absorption of whichever serum you apply over the top.

4. Load Up on Omega-3

Any kind of nutrient deficiency can impact the skin in a negative way, and with the festive period in full swing, it can be even trickier than normal to get a balanced diet. However, ensuring you are consuming enough omega-3 (which can be found in avocados and oily fish), will help prevent deficiency-related skin dryness.

5. Slather on Antioxidants

Skin protection is key whatever the circumstances, but come Christmas our skin tends to face an abundance of daily aggressors. Give your skin the tools it needs to protect itself against damage by making sure you apply an antioxidant serum every day.

6. Make Your Skin Work Harder

Speaking of skin helping itself, to keep that festive glow well into the new year, it’s important to give sluggish skin a helping hand by providing it with ingredients that help boost its natural functions. Skin Protein contains vitamin A to speed up cell renewal and a shedload of those all-important aforementioned antioxidants to protect skin against damaging free radicals.

7. Apply SPF Every. Single. Day.

Come rain or shine, SPF is key. Skin Shield SPF 50 PA+++ helps defend skin against damaging UVA rays (which penetrate through clouds in the winter), blue light (which is emitted through phone screens, TVs and laptops) and pollution. Plus, it will give skin an instant glow. What’s not to love?

8. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

You will have guessed by now that hydration is key during cold weather. To keep skin happy and healthy over Christmas, be sure to nourish your skin barrier with ceramide creams. Skin Good Fats quenches thirsty skin in seconds, taking down any dryness-related irritation while it’s at it.

9. Remove Your Makeup

We know you don’t need us to tell you this but taking off your makeup before you hit the hay is the first step to avoiding breakouts. With party season in full swing, it’s likely you’ll be feeling more tired than usual and might be tempted to give it a miss. However, Cleanse Off Mitt makes removing makeup easier than ever. Just add water to remove all traces of makeup (yes, even mascara).

10. Exfoliate Smart

Dryness can risk leaving complexions looking dull and lacklustre, which makes exfoliating important. However, it’s important to get exfoliation right in order not to aggravate dry skin even more. Aha! Cleanse(R) contains brightening lactic acid as well as moisture-retaining PHA to keep skin glowing and healthy-looking, without causing irritation. If it’s breakouts you’re struggling with, Sally Cleanse contains high levels of salicylic acid to dissolve oil and slough away at pore-clogging dead skin cells.

11. Try a Quick Facial Massage

If you find yourself with a little bit more time on your hands over Twixmas, spend an extra couple of minutes on your skincare routine in the morning. A quick facial massage when you’re applying your morning skincare can help reduce puffiness and boost luminosity.

12. Relax and Unwind

Our biggest Christmas skincare tip is to use this time to relax, unwind and enjoy yourself. Hormone changes that take place when we’re stressed are thought to contribute to inflammation, wrinkle formation, breakouts and exacerbated skin conditions. The best way to keep your soul and skin happy this Christmas? Just take it easy.