8 skincare tips for the party season

Dr Ginny provides eight top tips for keeping your skin looking great, from the pre-Christmas build-up right into the New Year.

The nights before Christmas

Tip 1: Look out for hardworking ingredients

Coping with both cold winter air and warm central heating can be a challenge for skin at this time of year. An effective moisturising regime is essential. As the weather gets colder, cream-based moisturisers may be a more suitable choice than thinner lotions. Look for hardworking ingredients, such as Vitamin B5, which is both hydrating and helps heal skin.

Tip 2: Don’t forget to use sun protection

UV rays can damage, even in winter, especially on clear, crisp days. Niacinamide is one of my favourite anti-aging ingredients as it helps fade pigmentation and fine lines in a gentle way, helping your skin look at its best for the party season.

Tip 3: Keep skin hydrated and cleansed

Effective cleansing makes the skin look more radiant and fresh and has been shown to help anti-aging creams work better. It is important to stay well-hydrated, so drink plenty of water. A healthy diet, including oily fish, grains, sweet potato, leafy vegetables and berries will help skin look its best. This is a time when some people may benefit from extra supplements of vitamin C and zinc.

Tip 4: Take sleep seriously

We don’t have to tell you: sleep is very important for healthy skin. Tired bodies have tired-looking skin, which lacks radiance. Lack of sleep or an irregular sleep pattern can also upset the hormones, which in turn can lead to breakouts – not what you want for that special Christmas party!

Over the holiday

Tip 5: Sleep some more

You’re on holiday, so try to get as much sleep as possible. Alcohol certainly has a drying effect on skin, but for most people, sleep is the big one. Alcohol alters our sleep patterns, so this will make the drying effect of alcohol even worse.

Tip 6: Don’t cut back on your daily regime

Always cleanse morning and night. Use a day moisturiser with SPF. Use a richer cream at night, to help repair any damage that has occurred during the day. An eye cream is important to help minimize dark circles. Look for an eye cream, which gives instant brightening as well as longer-term benefits.

Tip 7: Try to reduce stress levels

Stress affects our hormone balance and can cause a surge of the blemish-provoking ones. This can in turn lead to breakouts of pimples. The other effect of stress on the skin is that it can reduce the skin’s energy levels. This, together with UV light, pollution and smoking can make the skin fatigued; fatigued skin has been found to respond less well to anti-aging ingredients.

Into the New Year

Tip 8: Detox your skin

After a month of stress, lack of sleep, increased amounts of drinking and countless holiday parties, a New Year detox can be helpful for the skin. I think it is sensible to reduce or stop alcohol, drink plenty of water and green tea and eat plenty of fruit and veg. At this time of year, skin may benefit from gentle exfoliation and a weekly nourishing mask, to try to repair some of the damage.