New Year, New You: How To Stick To Your Skincare Resolutions

The festive season is over, and the New Year is here: prime season for New Year’s Resolutions! The good health of your skin is often dependent on other aspects of your lifestyle – so while you’re assessing those, why not think about switching up your skincare routine too?

Take It Slow

If you’ve got some bad habits, we can appreciate it’s a little difficult to put a full stop to them all at once. It’s no secret that the majority of New Year’s resolutions fail, but most of the time it’s because people try to do too much all at once; the key is to focus on one thing at a time. Your first call is to create a simple skincare routine and stick with it. Whether it’s a modified one from last year, a completely new one or even exactly the same – it’s all up to you!

The keys are simplicity and consistency. Whatever you’re doing, make sure it quickly becomes habit. That way, once it’s ingrained in your head it becomes less of a conscious effort, and so less likely to fail. Keep it simple – cleanse, tone and moisturise twice a day.

Don’t Treat It Mean – Keep It Clean!

The New Year is also a perfect time to have a tidy round the house, and there’s no better first place to look than your bathroom. Get ruthless, and throw out old beauty and skincare products, especially if they’re not working for you. What’s more though, old skincare products that go untouched for too long can start harbouring bacteria and other nasties, which you won’t want anywhere near your skin!

Going to the gym more often is a common New Year’s resolution, and it’s a great opportunity to think about your skin as you do it – you can achieve two resolutions in one! Always remove your makeup before you exercise, and remember to shower afterward – this might sound really basic, but increasing numbers of people don’t have time, or forget all about it, leaving sweat and other oils there that can mean havoc for their skin. The shower is also a great place to moisturise, as you can easily remind yourself to do it while your skin is still damp. Careful not to excessively exfoliate though, which is a particular risk during the cold winter months – you could wash off all the natural oils from your skin and damage it in the process.

It’s The Little Things That Matter

If you don’t feel like popping down the gym, or you’re not a fitness bunny, that’s OK too – you can still switch up your lifestyle in lots of little ways. Giving up smoking, cutting down on alcohol, or switching sugary foods for healthier ones can all have positive knock-on effects for your skin, as what happens inside the body has huge effects on the outside. Even something as simple as going to bed on time can help – your skin goes into repair mode when you’re asleep, so getting proper amounts of it gives it a chance to recover from its daily duress.

All that probably sounds daunting all at once, and that’s because it is! But that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for: focus on one thing at a time, and give yourself a chance for one good habit to become – well, habit – before you try to tackle the next one. You’re actually rewiring your brain, so you can’t expect it to handle too many changes at once!

As always, we’re here to help. You can call us on 01254 297 000 or visit our homepage to book your free consultation.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @APSkincare_