The weather is changing. There's a briskness to the air and heaters may start to turn on at night. We just got done with 3 great months of summer heat and fun in the sun. Our skin may respond with some rebellion. Often I see people come into the treatment room this time of year with complaints of unbalanced skin. Dehydration mixed with dead skin build up can create havoc and will show itself with break outs, rough texture and uneven oiliness. Not to mention, our skin may have taken a beating in the sun this summer, so now we have possible sun damage concerns to address. So how can we bring our skin into balance to ensure our winter months aren't a train wreck? I have 5 easy steps to help you this fall. I promise, you won't look scary by the end of October if you follow these simple tricks!

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1. It's time to exfoliate! You want that rough texture to go away and your skin to glow? Get rid of that dead skin build up by exfoliating! Now, if you know anything about me, you know I'm not a fan of scrubs. There are few and far between that I care for but a good gommage at home can really help things along. Try a boot camp of gommaging your face once a day for 7 days and see how that leaves your skin feeling!

2. Book a facial! Not only can we go over your home regimen to make sure it still fits you, consider booking a peel! There are lots of ways we can go deeper than home gommage treatments to stimulate cell renewal and remove damaged, dead skin cells. How about a Hydro-dermabrasion treatment? It uses water mixed with a special blend of essential oils to hydrate and plump the skin while the tip and vacuum pressure gently exfoliate the top layer of the epidermis. You end up with a soft glowing complexion! Not sure Aqua-Glow is right for you? If brown spots are your issue, book an Essential White facial with 30% Glycolic peel or our Alpha Vital Smoothing treatment.

3. Skin gets dehydrated with the cooler air starting to come in. Air becomes dryer in its humidity and heaters leech moisture from the air. Boost your skin care regimen at home with Hyaluronic Acid. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that bonds water molecules to skin cells. It actually will grab water from the air and bond it to your skin. It plumps and hydrates and boosts the effectiveness of moisturizing ingredients in your moisturizers. You can find it in the Hydra Booster, Hydra N1 serum, creme or mask. Remember to up your water during the day to keep you hydrated from the inside out. Also, don't wash our skin in hot water or take long hot baths and showers. Try for tepid water and keep your time in the water short.

4. Try a Mask! This subject area is overlooked and often mis-judged. Masking is a great treat you can do at home to help correct skin issues that arise from imbalances. Masks are not only fun, they can be a useful tool to customize your home regimen and target specific needs. Say you are experiencing oiliness in your t-zone and dullness in your cheeks. You can use a clay mask, like YonKa's Masque 103 down your t-zone and a hydrating mask like YonKa's Masque N1 on your cheeks. Needing to smooth and brighten? Work on some sagging? There are masks for that too! I love, love, love YonKa's Excellence Code Masque filled with nutgrass & sweet almond proteins to firm and tighten while brightening with AHAs. It's seriously received the nick name "Spanx for your face!" So pick a mask! They aren't just for Halloween anymore.

5. Consider doing a "boot camp" for your skin to treat the brown spots you created in the sun and the damage that occurred, with products geared to even out pigmentation. Products like YonKa's Essential White Program, full of Red & Brown Algae, Vitamin C, Glycolic Acid, & Beech Bud Peptides all work to diminish dark spots and even out skin tone. Don't forget your SPF!!

So there you have it! My top 5 tips to look fabulous this fall! Let me know which ones you have tried and how they worked for you. Your biggest tip is to work with a professional that can help tweak things for you and answer questions. Fall is my favorite time of year. No reason to let it take a toll on your complexion!