Springtime skincare changes!

Spring has finally arrived, and that means our skincare routine changes as well! As the weather warms up and sun rays intensify, the problems of winter--dry, itchy, or flaky skin--become less notable. Here are some tips to deal with the changing seasons!

1. Toss out old, expired products

Make sure you're not using old products that have already expired. Some key signs include consistency changes (separating into layers, clumps, etc.), color changes, and fragrance changes. Products, particularly moisturizers containing antioxidants and retinol, can degrade with time and lose their effectiveness. Lastly, sunscreens do have expiration dates. While most manufacturers have a 2-3 year expiration date, there is no real consensus as to how long the sunscreen remains effective. Most experts suggest changing sunscreens yearly.

2. Use sunscreen more regularly

While we all know to use sunscreen regularly, even during the winter, it is essential to continue using sunscreen, especially as the sun rays intensify during the spring. Many skincare professionals recommend applying a SPF 30 sunscreen 30 minutes before leaving home and reapplying every 2-3 hours. Also consider looking for a hand cream with SPF, as your hands are constantly exposed to the sun rays as well!

Moreover, there are two types of sunscreens: chemical and physical sunscreens. Each have their own pros and cons. You can check out my informative post on sunscreen here.

[TOSOWOONG Soft Touch Suncream] [Innisfree Eco Safety Daily Sunblock]

3. Lighten up your products

During the springtime, your skin becomes more oily, meaning that you no longer need heavy creams, moisturizers, or hydrating serums that can then clog pores. Instead, look for lighter products that provide the needed moisturizing properties. For those with oily skin, look for gentle toners that help clear pores and remove excess oils.

[Etude House Pure Water BaoBab Toner] [Etude House Aloe Moistfull Soothing Lotion]

Beautiful skill is all about taking care of your skin and knowing what product to use and when! Even though I don't like wasting products, be careful to evaluate how your changing, springtime skin may react to your old, winter-time products. And be sure to keep an eye out on expiration dates!

Do you have any product suggestions or skincare tips for the spring?

Skin Tips: Pollution, oh pollution!

Round 2! The sources for this information is still from the awesome TotalBeauty! I hope you guys find this information useful! I never really paid any attention pollution before...Now I'm sort of worried about the condition of my air! >___<

Source: Wiki Commons

Pollution

• Pollution enhances the properties of UV. Be sure to apply sunscreen regularly! Even though it's smoggy and the sun doesn't seem to be shining through, UV rays may actually be enhanced! Also, there's two types of pollution: particulate and ozone. 
• The particulate is very fine and gets into pores. It can cause aging! Sonic cleansing brushes (like Clarisonic--I want one T___T) are recommended because it can clean 30x better than normal hand washing. 
• Ozone causes the breakdown of proteins and lipids in the skin. Thus, antioxidant serums are really important for combating this pollution.
• Check out State of the Air to see how clean your air is! Sorry, this is for the States only. LA has a rating of F for both particulate and ozone pollution--how sad!

Sources: 1, 2

Do you guys have a Clarisonic Mia? I don't, but I wish I had one >___<

Skin Tips: Summer Sun Care

Hope everyone's been having a great summer! Recently, I just tumbled onto the site Total Beauty...Have you ever heard of it before? It's so interest and so useful. I want to share with you all about some summer skin care tips I discovered on the site. It makes me wanna spend so much money on skin care products now~~ hahaha

Sunscreen

• Look for mineral rather than chemical sunscreen ingredients: zinc and titanium dioxide over avobenzone and octinoxate. Why? Because avobenzone and octinoxate break down as they absorb UV rays, releasing free radicals! Free radicals may lead to aging...On the other hand, the mineral ingredients lay on top of the skin (rather than being soaked into your skin) and provide a protective layer!
• It doesn't matter if the sunscreen has antioxidants! The antioxidants don't work well if "drowned" in SPF ingredients! Rather use an antioxidant serum first and then apply a layer of sunscreen after the serum has been absorbed. The antioxidants can help prevent the breakdown of elastin, but doesn't help reverse the process of aging. Look for a serum containing Vitamin C and E and ferulic acid. Vitamin E can help extend shelf life if combined with C, and ferulic acid helps increase the UV protective properties of Vitamin C. 
• Avoid retinol in sunscreen. Retinol lessens appearances of fine lines and speeds up cell turnover rate. It is best used at night, because the sun lessens its effectiveness, so using such an expensive ingredient is wasteful during the day...

Sources: 1, 2, 3

What's your summer skin care regime like? Mine's really lacking...I barely do anything! Gotta protect my skin more now!