Are you struggling to revive the look of lackluster skin now that the holiday season is over? While you may be tempted to give up and wait until the kinder months of spring arrive, dullness is usually only the first problem in a long line of post-festive skin woes. Ignore the issue, and you could end up dealing with inflammation, breakouts, severe dryness, and more.
So, if turning a blind eye to your drab complexion isn’t an option, what can you do to restore your skin’s glow? Keep reading as Celestolite talks through some of the most common dull skin causes at this time of the year, along with what you can do to fix things!
Sleep Deprivation
Late nights tend to be the norm during the holidays, but all of those missed hours of sleep can start to take a toll once the new year rolls in. Your skin cells need you to sleep well each night in order for them to function properly. Nighttime is when they switch over to repair mode and undergo a restorative process that sees cell regeneration, protein production, and DNA repair peak.
If you miss out on your beauty sleep, those processes stall. Even just one night of sleep deprivation can affect your skin in the form of dark circles, puffy eye bags, acne breakouts, and an uneven skin tone. This is why regular late nights over the holidays are one of the most common dull skin causes at this time of the year.
How to Fix It
The first step to fixing this problem is obvious: make sure that you’re now getting plenty of sleep! Aim for about eight hours each night. This needs to be quality sleep – if you continuously wake up through the night, you’ll keep interrupting the work that your skin cells are doing.
At the same time, you should also be giving your skin topical products that leave it feeling better supported overnight. Look for dedicated nighttime products, as these usually contain ingredients that do exactly that. The Celestolite Estrella Night Cream, for example, is filled with ingredients that not only hydrate the skin but also keep skin cells feeling fortified and resilient.
Cold and Dry Air
Your skin has likely been dealing with winter weather for a few months now. However, the cold and dry air coupled with all of the other dull skin causes we’ve already talked about can make the complexion a lot worse at this time of the year.
Both cold temperatures and the lack of humidity in the winter damage the skin’s natural protective barrier. This not only leads to the dehydration we discussed earlier, but it also allows impurities to enter the skin, where they then interfere with the skin’s radiance. With indoor air usually heated in the winter, which means that it’s also very dry, the skin never really gets the relief that it needs.
How to Fix It
The best way to shield your skin from the winter elements is with a rich moisturizer. This will form a physical barrier between your skin and the environment around you. If your skin is dry, it will drink up your moisturizer very quickly, so a single application in the morning might not be enough. Keep your moisturizer nearby during the day, so that you can top up whenever needed.
A humidifier will also go a long way in helping your skin to deal with the dry winter air. Humidifiers add moisture back into the air, which slows down the rate at which your skin loses moisture to evaporation. While you’re unlikely to be able to add a humidifier to every room in your home, keeping one in your bedroom will make a big difference to your skin. Moisture loss drastically increases overnight while you sleep. A humidifier will help your skin to retain more moisture. With a humidifier in your bedroom, your skin won’t look quite so dull in the mornings. In fact, it will likely be glowing!
Dehydration
You’re probably already aware of how essential moisture is for your skin cells. Not only does it keep the skin feeling plump and supple, but it’s also crucial for the various processes that take place in your skin, such as collagen production and skin cell regeneration.
Unfortunately, dehydration is extremely common during the holiday season. From holiday feasts to holiday cocktails, all of those unhealthy foods and beverages you consume during the festivities have a very dehydrating effect on the body, including the skin. This is exacerbated by late nights, cold weather, and stress. They all wreak havoc on the skin’s natural protective barrier, preventing that barrier from effectively holding moisture in.
The result? In addition to dullness, dehydration can also cause severe dryness, inflammation, acne breakouts, accelerated skin aging, and a whole host of other problems.
How to Fix It
The first step to rehydrating your skin is to ensure that your body is no longer dehydrated. Drink plenty of fluids, opting for water and tea rather than sugar-filled drinks. Certain foods have a high moisture content too, which will give your body an additional boost of hydration.
Topical hydration is important too. Ideally, each step of your skincare routine should contain a few hydrating ingredients. However, it would also be worth adding a hydration-focused formula to your skincare routine, like the Celestolite Mars Stellar Serum. With sodium hyaluronate, peptides, collagen, and other moisture-binding ingredients, this serum quickly leaves thirsty skin cells feeling deeply quenched.
Of course, you’ll also need to work on ensuring that your skin’s newfound moisture doesn’t evaporate away too quickly. After hydrating your skin topically, always lock that moisture in with a face cream. Ideally, apply your cream while your skin is still damp from the serum – this will further elevate your skin’s hydration levels.
Holiday Stress
As enjoyable as the holidays may be, most people also find them pretty stressful. Although this may be normal, the extra stress that you experienced won’t have done your skin any favors.
Stress is one of the biggest dull skin causes, and has also been linked to inflammation, acne breakouts, dryness, premature aging, and more. While you may no longer be feeling quite as stressed now that the holidays are over, the effects of all of that chronic stress can linger, making it difficult to overcome the dullness that it has brought on.
How to Fix It
The first step to dealing with stressed skin is to tackle your stressors head-on. You’ll need to get rid of those internal feelings of stress in order to lower the cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in your body. If you’re still experiencing some post-holiday stress, spend more time doing things that calm you down. Whether this may be spending time in nature, exercising more, learning some deep breathing exercises, or picking up a new hobby, all of these activities are known for effectively lowering cortisol.
At the same time, take the necessary steps to calm your complexion down too. Cut back on potent active ingredients for a while, swapping them out for ingredients that leave the skin feeling soothed and relaxed. The Celestolite Estrella Facial Toner, which is infused with aloe vera and cucumber fruit extract, is great for this!
An Unhealthy Diet
We’ve already mentioned how all of the festive feasts that people indulge in over the holidays can quickly leave the skin feeling dehydrated. However, that’s not all that an unhealthy diet will do…
Even over short periods of time, filling your body with refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, and all of the other treats that are common during the holidays can quickly take a toll. In addition to being one of the big dull skin causes, an unhealthy diet will also trigger inflammation, acne, premature wrinkles, dryness, and an uneven skin tone.
How to Fix It
You are what you eat, meaning that the only way to change the negative effects that your diet has had on your skin is to eat the right foods. Many people place dietary changes at the top of their list of New Year’s resolutions, which is something that you should also consider doing if your diet is regularly on the unhealthy side.
What should you be eating? Balanced meals filled with plenty of fresh and whole foods are what your body and skin need. Lean proteins, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats will feed your skin from within.
Skincare Inconsistency
With so much going on during the festive period, it’s all too easy to let skincare slide. This is understandable, but it’s also one of the reasons why many people experience dullness after the holidays.
If you’ve been inconsistent with your skincare, the products that you use won’t be able to work to their full potential. Skincare products need regularity, especially since many ingredients need to accumulate to certain levels in the skin before they take effect.
How to Fix It
The easiest way to fix this problem is to make a bigger effort to be consistent with your skincare. This shouldn’t be such a challenge now that the holiday season is over. If you struggle to remember about skincare, set some reminders on your phone for both morning and night.
It can also help to keep your skincare products visible rather than hidden away in a drawer or cupboard. Line them up in order of use, as this will make your skincare routine faster and more convenient.
Summary
It’s completely normal for the skin to look lackluster at this time of the year. With so many post-holiday dull skin causes out there, it’s easy to see why this happens so much! The good news is that they’re all relatively easy to overcome. Follow the tips that we’ve shared, and you’ll be able to restore radiance to your skin in no time!
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