We all make holiday skincare mistakes now and then.
The season is full of excitement, family gatherings, and delicious food, but it’s also a stressful time of year.
With shopping, parties, travel, and late nights, it’s easy to let our skincare routines slip, leading to breakouts, dullness, and other skin problems.
With a few simple tweaks, you can keep your skin looking flawless this year!
10 Common Holiday Skincare Mistakes—and How to Prevent Them
Below are 10 of the most common holiday skincare mistakes people make, and what you can do instead to keep your glow alive.
1. Skipping Your Skincare Routine Before Bed
With late-night parties and family dinners, it’s tempting to fall into bed without going through your usual skincare routine. But leaving makeup, dirt, and oil on your skin overnight can clog pores and lead to breakouts, as well as dry out skin, leading to dullness and a lackluster appearance.
What To Do Instead:
Even if you’re tired, make it non-negotiable to cleanse and moisturize your skin before bed. Keep makeup remover wipes by your bed as a last resort. Add a travel-sized tube of Calming Moisture by your bed for a quick dash of moisture. Not only will it boost radiance, but it will help keep skin balanced and free of eczema, rosacea, or acne breakouts.
2. Overindulging in Sugary Treats
Holiday cookies and treats come once a year, but too much sugar increases inflammation in the body, which, in turn, causes inflammation in your skin. Inflammation leads to breakouts, redness, puffiness, and drying. High-sugar diets can also break down collagen, causing premature aging.
What To Do Instead:
Enjoy treats in moderation, and try to balance them with foods rich in antioxidants, like berries, nuts, and leafy greens. These foods help combat inflammation and support skin health. Use our antioxidant-rich Calming Moisture to help reduce any inflammation or redness in the skin.
3. Not Getting Enough Sleep
This one is tough during the holidays! We often go without the sleep we need. But lack of sleep shows up on the skin, and fast. Just one night of not enough rest makes our fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging more noticeable, while also leading to dark circles, puffy eyes, and a dull complexion.
What To Do Instead:
Aim for quality sleep whenever possible. Keep your bedtimes and wake times consistent. If you have a late night, try for a 20-minute nap the next day to help rejuvenate your skin. A silk pillowcase can also help prevent sleep creases, keeping your skin smooth.
4. Forgetting to Hydrate
With the busy holiday rush, it’s easy to forget to drink enough water. Plus, the cold weather and heated indoor spaces can dry out your skin, making it look tired and flaky.
What To Do Instead:
Cold weather makes us less thirsty, so you can’t always rely on your thirst impulses. Keep a water bottle without you throughout the day. Set reminders to drink a glass of water if you need to. Herbal teas also work great for hydrating and warming you up. Keep a hydrating mist like our Rescue + Relief Spray in your bag to give your skin a quick refresh on the go. Restorative Skin Balm is also great as a quick fixe for dry, flaky patches anywhere.
5. Skipping Sunscreen
Winter sun is just as damaging as summer sun, but many people skip their SPF during the colder months. This can lead to UV damage, which accelerates aging and causes hyperpigmentation.
What To Do Instead:
Apply sunscreen as part of your daily routine, no matter the season. Choose one with an SPF of 30 or higher that includes safe ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
6. Using Harsh, Scented Products
Gift sets of skincare products are popular during the holidays, but many contain heavily fragranced and harsh, chemical ingredients that aren’t good for the skin, particularly sensitive skin. They can strip your skin’s natural oils, cause irritation, and for sensitive individuals, result in redness, rashes, and inflammation.
What To Do Instead:
Stick with your tried-and-true skincare products, like our CV Skinlabs products, which are perfect for sensitive skin. We have several gift kits to choose from that make perfect presents around the holiday season!
7. Not Easing Stress
The holiday rush and family dynamics can be stressful, which triggers cortisol production. High cortisol levels can increase oil production, leading to breakouts, while also increasing inflammation, which accelerates aging.
What To Do Instead:
Do something every day to reduce stress. Try meditation, deep breathing, naps, quick walks, exercise routines, art therapy, time with loved ones, crafting, or whatever works to help you feel more relaxed and centered.
8. Using Hot Water to Wash
Hot water feels so good when it’s cold outside, but it’s not great for your skin. It strips it of its natural oils, leaving it dry and more susceptible to irritation.
What To Do Instead:
Wash most of the time with lukewarm water and avoid long, hot showers and baths. Your skin will retain more moisture and better resist damaging elements.
9. Not Moisturizing Enough
The skin often needs more moisture than usual during the holidays. It’s cold outside in most locations, and cold air pulls moisture from the skin. If you’re using hot water on your skin, that also dries it out. Stress increases dryness, as does a high-sugar diet. If you indulge in alcoholic beverages, these dry out the skin too. All these drying factors can leave your skin drier than ever, exacerbating fine lines, wrinkles, redness, irritation, and breakouts.
What To Do Instead:
Use a deeply hydrating moisturizer like our Calming Moisture and Body Repair Lotion. Both sink deeply into the skin and deliver moisturizing ingredients like aloe vera, natural oils, ceramides, plant extracts, glycerin, and more to keep skin hydrated throughout the day. Use whenever your skin feels tight, and always apply right after a shower or bath to take advantage of damp skin, which clings to moisture. You can also add a humidifier to your bedroom to keep the air and your skin hydrated overnight.
10. Neglecting Lip Care
Between the cold weather and indoor heating, your lips are prone to dryness and cracking. The skin on the lips is thinner than the rest of our skin, so it dries out faster. We often forget to give our lips extra TLC until they start chapping and flaking.
What To Do Instead:
Gently exfoliate your lips once or twice a week with a sugar lip scrub or damp washcloth. Follow up with our Restorative Skin Balm for deep, nourishing moisture and healing. Use it on your lips or anywhere you have dry, cracked, flaky skin. It’s a little miracle worker.
Holiday Skincare Mistakes: You Can Keep Your Skin Looking Great!
The holiday season may be busy and stressful, but you don’t have to let your skin suffer. With a few mindful adjustments, you can avoid these common skincare mistakes and keep your skin looking fresh and vibrant. A little self-care can go a long way in maintaining your natural glow through all the holiday fun.
Have you made some of these holiday skincare mistakes?
Featured image by Julia Larson via Pexels.