FACE FORWARD

Spring Skincare Tips

Waterways publisher Jackie McGrath sat down with Jaime Carson, founder of Carson Skin Rejuvenation, and asked her for spring skincare tips.

What changes should I make to my daily skincare regimen as we move from winter to spring?

Here in Greater Austin, where we experience generally cold winters leading into a warm, humid spring, there are simple adjustments that can be made. If you’ve been running indoor heat during the winter, chances are your skin dried out during that time, so your daily skincare routine needs to be more hydrating and moisturizing. Active products such as retinol and alpha and beta hydroxy acids don’t always play well in dry climates and can cause a lot of irritation.

The opposite is true when the climate becomes more humid. Skin tends to do wonderfully with active ingredients when humidity is in the air. I call humidity “nature’s moisturizer.” As the weather becomes warmer and more humid in the spring, you can lighten up on your use of moisturizer and increase exfoliation to brighten your skin after the long, dry winter.

For some of us, springtime humidity brings increased breakouts, so adding an AHA/BHA exfoliating pad into your evening routine can keep your pores clear and prevent those breakouts. Detoxifying clay masques are nice to use in the spring, too, because they also pull excess oils and pollutants from the pores, which can easily build up in humid conditions.

If you can only afford to invest in one premium skincare product, in what category would that be and why?

The old adage “you get what you pay for” is not always true when it comes to skincare. When you see A-List celebrities advertising skincare brands in magazines and on TV, remember that you as the consumer are paying for that marketing budget. Sometimes, companies put more money into their marketing than they put into the ingredients in their products.

When it comes to choosing which skincare products to invest in, you first need to take into account your unique concerns and prioritize results-oriented products that will improve your skin’s condition.

Are breakouts your main concern? If so, you’ll want to invest in pore de-cloggers such as AHA/BHA pads or serums. If hyperpigmentation is your concern, you’ll first want to identify if the problem pigmentation is sun damage, melasma or hereditary age spots. Once you’ve determined this, you can invest in a serum containing the correct blend of pigment regulators for your condition.

If you are blessed with “normal” balanced, healthy skin, invest in a topical Vitamin A formula to maintain the cellular

health of your skin. And if you are on a budget, invest in the products that stay on your skin for hours rather than high-priced cleansers, scrubs and masks that get washed off quickly.

Can I use my regular moisturizer for my eyes, or do I need a separate eye cream—and why?

The skin around the eye is some of the thinnest skin on your body. This delicate skin can be prone to milia—those little white pearls that seem to pop up under the skin out of nowhere—and the veins and capillaries around this area show through more easily than other areas of the face where the skin is thicker.

I recommend using an eye gel or cream that is formulated for this tender skin because it truly is different from the skin on the rest of the face. Plus, the eye area tends to exhibit its own unique set of issues such as puffiness, crepey texture and bluish pigmentation. If you are prone to milia, stick with a gel texture around the eye rather than a cream.

Do I really need an a.m. and a p.m. face moisturizer, or can I just use one—and why?

If the moisturizer you are using does not contain sunscreen, you can absolutely use that product in the morning and evening. In fact, one of my favorite vitamin creams is designed to be used morning and night. Nighttime is a wonderful time to use more active serums because you are not competing with sun exposure, which tends to oxidize some of the product sitting on our skin. I love creating simple hydrating and sun-protective morning routines for my clients while having them follow a reparative skin routine at night.

Serums, creams and AHAs—oh my! In what order should I apply these—and why?

Confusion over how to use such products is the reason that many of my clients end up accidentally irritating their skin. With so many active ingredients in products that are sold, always bolstered by testimonials, it’s easy to feel like you are missing out if you are not using “everything.” But unless you are layering serums that are designed to be worn at the same time, you can end up stressing and irritating your skin instead of rejuvenating it.

My advice is to stick with one serum and one cream at a time. This means that you can use a lactic acid serum at night beneath your moisturizer and a hyaluronic acid or Vitamin C serum during the day beneath your chosen moisturizer. Just don’t layer multiple serums unless you’re being guided by either a licensed esthetician or a dermatologist.

As for layering, you want the textures to go from thinnest to thickest, always ending with an SPF if it’s daytime. Follow this order: (1) Cleanse. (2) Tone (if you are using a toner). (3) Apply your serum (because those molecules are smaller, they will not be able to penetrate deep into the skin as intended if you try to put them over the top of a thick product like a moisturizing cream). (4) Apply moisturizer or facial oil to seal in the moisture. (5) Top with SPF during the day. Easy!

Another reason why you should consider using serums is that your moisturizer is there to protect your skin’s moisture from evaporating off the surface. It seals in your skin’s moisture and protects your skin’s barrier. A serum is your worker bee. Serums are cosmeceuticals meant to solve skin problems—for example, by providing extra Vitamin C and antioxidants to protect skin from oxidative damage, providing a brightening effect or retexturizing and smoothing the skin while lightening hyperpigmentation with the use of an AHA blend.

There is a serum option for every skin condition. Serums come in handy as we age and find that simply keeping the skin moisturized is no longer enough to give us the visible improvement we are looking for in the appearance of our skin.