How to Build a Fall Skincare Routine: A Guide for Men

According to survey results, more than half of Americans love fall. You might enjoy the turning of the season, but your skin probably doesn’t.

Fall and winter can really do a number on one’s skin, and a lot of people don’t know how to deal with the sudden changes. Fortunately, there are some fundamental skincare best practices you can implement to combat the harsh effects of fall weather.

Just because the weather’s turning bad doesn’t mean your skin has to. Keep reading for a list of the best fall skincare tips you can use to tweak your routine.

How Weather Changes Affect Our Skin

During fall, humidity levels plummet. Lower humidity levels dry out the skin, leaving it feeling rough, flaky, itchy, and less elastic. Dry air can also exacerbate skin conditions like eczema and weaken your skin’s moisture barrier.

Cold and windy conditions can also leave your skin red and irritated.

Some people even experience an uptick in acne symptoms, as excessive dryness can cause the skin to produce more oil, leading to clogged pores and increased breakouts.

Finally, you might notice that your skin looks dull and lacklustre in fall and winter. This can be due to less light exposure, resulting in lower levels of vitamin D. You might also be less inclined to eat fresh fruits and vegetables during the cooler months of the year, which can have an impact on vitamin C levels.

Vitamin C is a critical antioxidant that plays a key role in collagen production.

Autumn Skincare: How to Combat the Drying Effects of Fall

Fall is taking a toll on your skin health and you want to correct this. But the plethora of skincare products and ingredients out there is leaving you even less sure of what to do.

Here are the most important things to focus on when building an autumn skincare routine:

Use a Gentle Cleanser

First up, evaluate your cleanser.

As the air becomes dryer, the last thing you want to do is use a harsh cleanser that strips your skin of even more moisture. Does your face feel tight after you wash it? If yes, then your cleanser is probably too strong.

If you’re using bar soap or body cleanser to wash your face, stop immediately. Bar soaps and body washes are far too aggressive for the face, often containing harsh detergents and fragrances that can irritate the skin.

Instead, look for a cleanser that’s specifically designed for the face and contains soothing, hydrating ingredients such as aloe, panthenol, and allantoin.

The Particle Face Wash contains all of these, as well as a cinnamon extract to boost collagen and reduce inflammation, and glycolic acid which gently helps to get rid of dead skin cells and reduce pigmentation.

Hydrate Your Skin

You should be hydrating your skin twice a day year-round, but this is extra important in fall and winter. If you’re apt to skip the moisturizer in the morning, now is the time to wrangle it back into your routine.

Make sure you pick a moisturizer that actively helps to replace moisture in the skin. Here are some hydration heroes to scan ingredient lists for:

• Hyaluronic acid
• Glycerin
• Pentavitin
• Lactic acid

These types of humectant ingredients will help to restore your moisture barrier, plumping up the skin and making it more resilient to the harsh winter air.

Also, don’t forget about your body. Applying a good body lotion is key if you want to comprehensively look after your skin.

Lock In Moisture

Besides hydrating your skin, you also need to lock in the moisture, otherwise the dry air will suck it out again. This is where occlusives come in.

It might sound like we’re wading deep into the weeds of skincare here, but occlusives are simply any ingredient or product that will create a protective layer through which less moisture is lost out of your skin and into the air. Occlusive ingredients include things like:

• Petroleum jelly (aka vaseline)
• Oils (such as squalene oil)
• Cocoa butter
• Shea butter

Any lotion or ingredient that is thick and rich can act as an occlusive.

If you pick the right face cream, you can combine hydration and moisture loss protection in one product. An ideal face cream for fall and winter should contain both hydration ingredients and a rich occlusive to lock it all in.

For instance, with the Particle Face Cream, we combined humectant, hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid with shea butter to nourish and protect the skin.

Double Down on Acne-Fighting Ingredients

If you struggle with adult acne that worsens in cold weather, now is the time to double down on your anti-acne routine. But you also need to be careful you don’t dry out your skin.

Acne-fighting ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide can be harsh. Look for a product that contains soothing ingredients and will target oiliness and enlarged pores without stripping your skin.

A clay-based mask such as the one here at Particle could be a good solution.

Don’t Slack on Sun Protection

The summer months might be when we’re most motivated to slap on sunscreen, but sun protection shouldn’t take a backseat in fall and winter.

It’s true, UV levels are lower in fall, but they’re not low enough that you don’t need to protect your skin. Skin damage doesn’t just occur when you get a sunburn. It can mount up slowly over time, aging your skin, triggering sunspots, and fast-tracking fine lines and wrinkles.

Photoaging (aka sun damage) is responsible for over 90% of visible signs of skin ageing. So invest in a good sunscreen and wear it daily, even if you’re going to be mostly indoors.

Follow These Fall Skincare Tips to Look and Feel Your Best

Are you feeling the drying effects of fall on your skin? Fortunately, red, dry, and irritated skin doesn’t have to be your signature look for the rest of the year.

With these fall skincare tips, you can hydrate and protect your skin to withstand low humidity levels and dropping temperatures.

Here at Particle, our driving mission is to make skincare products for men that work. Our products go through intense dermatological research to ensure they’re effective.

We take the guesswork out of skincare for men.

Shop our online store today.