The season is transitioning and so should your skincare. Here, expert advice, cutting-edge treatments, and pioneering new products reinvigorate sun-damaged skin.
Fall is the season of exciting fresh starts, and that includes your skincare routine. As the weather cools, it’s an ideal opportunity to add more active ingredients, bring back formulas like retinoids and exfoliants you may have paused during the hot months, and experiment with new treatments that your skin can tolerate better in lower temperatures. And after a summer of high heat, intense UVA, UVB, SPF, and environmental mayhem, repairing any lingering effects of sun exposure—such as dark spots and fine lines—is also a priority now. “At the same time, so is combatting dryness and maintaining hydration this time of year,” says Samantha Mansell, spa director at Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in San Diego. “Incorporating richer moisturizers and protective ingredients helps shield your skin from fall’s drier air while keeping
it nourished and healthy.” Mansell explains that we’re entering prime time for complexion restoration, when we undo past damage and head face-forward to a healthy glow. There’s a lot you can do, from shifting your product lineup to perhaps trying a new addition of a laser treatment, all targeted to restore your skin’s vitality and give it what it needs right now.
“Sun exposure from the past summer can damage skin cells, resulting in dark spots, wrinkles, and fine lines due to the loss of elasticity.”
— Dr. Dendy Engelman, board-certified dermatologist at Shafer Clinic in New York City
Consider a Laser Treatment
If you’ve prioritized organic skincare, you may not have entertained technology as part of your routine. But most new laser treatments offer a truly holistic way to rejuvenate your skin by working with your body’s natural healing processes, says Dendy Engelman, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Shafer Clinic in New York City, known for her device expertise and a proponent of this revolutionary tech for its holistic approach. Harnessing the power of light or radio frequency energy, lasers penetrate the skin’s layers to stimulate collagen and elastin production and boost cell turnover for a plumper, more even and robust complexion, without the need for chemicals or additives. “The treatments not only enhance your skin’s ability to rebuild itself better and stronger, but also allow clean, nourishing ingredients to absorb more deeply when you use your regular products,” says Dr. Engelman. Once the domain of clinical settings, today spas around the world are increasingly incorporating these non- invasive technologies into their treatment rooms, recognizing their effectiveness in delivering real, lasting results while not detracting from a holistic approach to skin health.
For those looking for a powerful kickstart to skin rejuvenation, Fraxel is one of the procedures Dr. Engelman recommends. “The laser uses microscopic beams of light to create focused, controlled columns of injury, breaking down damaged skin and triggering the natural collagen-rebuilding process. Over time, this leads to a smoother, bouncier complexion that’s healthier and more vibrant.”
And for a resurfacing experience that isn’t laser- based, Dr. Engelman suggests Diamond Glow, a treatment that uses a diamond tip wand for deep cleansing and reviving, while also extracting impurities and infusing the skin with nourishing serum.
Turn Up the Cellular Energy
During the hotter months, skin experts advise going easy on exfoliation due to increased sun sensitivity, but fall is the perfect time to ramp it up and reenergize your complexion. Naana Boakye, MD, a lifestyle dermatologist who advocates for clean ingredients and an inside-out approach to healthy skin, explains that exfoliation is a natural way to stimulate skin renewal. She suggests exfoliating one to three times per week as part of a broader skin wellness routine, which includes a diet of whole foods, exercise, mindfulness, and sleep—all factors to pay attention to this time of year when schedules get busier. “AHAs like mandelic, lactic, and glycolic acid are effective, natural exfoliants that improve skin texture and help with hyperpigmentation,” says Dr. Boakye, who practices in New Jersey. “And because exfoliation removes dead surface skin cells, making it a habit allows your nutrient-rich skincare products to penetrate deeper, enhancing the benefits of active ingredients.”
To make meeting that goal easy, Skinbetter Science Refining Foam Cleanser is a new two-in-one face wash that removes impurities while it exfoliates using alpha hydroxy acids and salicylic acid. For a more scrubby experience, Ursa Major recently formulated Green Slate Mineral Polish, full of natural exfoliants like volcanic ash and wintergreen to resurface, plus birch sap for moisturizing minerals. This fine buffer does not disintegrate once water hits it so it stays nice and gritty (but still gentle) for a very satisfying face-refresher.
And new brand HPPY Skin is making masks utilizing cold-press technology to preserve clean, powerful active ingredients from super foods at their height of potency. The Rewind mask uses fresh grapes, lactic acid, and rosehip oil to brighten and regenerate your complexion.
Bring Back Retinoids
These vitamin A derivatives are the rock stars of cell turnover—causing new cells to come to the surface faster than they normally would, says Dr. Engelman. That, in turn, ramps up collagen production, along with elastin formation for thicker, firmer skin, while minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, skin laxity, roughness, and discoloration. And this time of year, with the sun’s rays less intense, the risk of vulnerability and irritation from retinoids is reduced, says Dr. Engelman, allowing these powerful ingredients to work their magic.
New formulations and delivery methods are continuously evolving, giving us options that vary in potency. Kate Somerville Mega-A Skin Transforming Serum utilizes retinal (retinaldehyde), a retinoid said to be 11 times more effective than traditional retinol, yet without being aggressive, in a micro-carrier delivery system. Dual-weight hyaluronic acid (an updated formulation that absorbs into different skin layers) and squalane add hydration to keep things even gentler.
But if any version of retinoid is too harsh, bakuchiol is a natural retinol alternative that’s super gentle, and proven to do a similar job of cellular renewal. New to market from Savor Beauty, Blue Tansy 2% Bakuchiol Serum is a light, dry oil that combines bakuchiol with anti-inflammatory blue tansy (a plant beloved by skincare brands for its soothing effect) and other hydrating, skin-healing ingredients in two formulas: Heal for sensitive, oily skin, and Regenerate for aging, dry complexions. Naturopathica’s recently reformulated Holy Basil & Bakuchiol Ageless Night Oil combines adaptogenic Holy Basil with the gentler retinoid twin for a lightweight oil that targets wrinkles, lines, and hyperpigmentation—and they have clinical studies to back up the impressive results.
Get Your Barrier in Shape and Feed it Nutrients
This is a mandate skin experts can’t stress enough these days. By fortifying the outermost layer of your epidermis during the cooler, dryer season, you help your skin retain moisture and improve its resilience against environmental factors. “You want to add in products that support barrier function, such as those containing ceramides, peptides, and niacinamide, and provide nutrients and antioxidants to strengthen your skin’s defenses,” explains Dr. Boakye. “I have seen the negative impact of the environment on the skin barrier—prolonged UV exposure and pollution can lead to premature aging and increase transdermal water loss.”
For this very reason, she launched her line of clean skincare, including a Cocoa Barrier Cream. Botanically derived, it blends bioavailable peptides, shea butter, niacinamide (vitamin B3), and ceramides to reinforce the skin’s protective layer, using a liquid crystal emulsifier to help the ingredients penetrate. Cocoa, sourced from Dr. Boakye’s homeland of Ghana, is added for its impressive antioxidant content to shield against environmental stressors. The texture is pure delight.
Another barrier-protecting product, Virginskin Daily Glow Active Hydrator, used in Canyon Ranch spas in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Tucson, has been newly re-engineered to be extremely high- performing, according to founder Andrea Lefkovits. Botanicals from Provence are included for their multitasking abilities to heal, firm, de-stress, tone down redness, and in general, stop the clock on your skin. “Niacinamide is added at double the active level to fortify against transdermal water loss and optimize the health of your cells,” she says. There’s a lot more in there, but what you’ll care most about is how alive it makes you look.
Meanwhile, Acaderma’s approach to barrier health and skin longevity involves increasing cellular energy through an exclusive anti-inflammaging ingredient called Seh-Haw EX that’s extracted from the kinkeliba plant. You’ll get it in the new Better With Age Revival Light Cream.
Deal with New-Season Breakouts
“Various factors—environmental changes, product swaps, stress—during seasonal transitions can disrupt your skin’s microbiome and cause breakouts, even if you’re not normally prone,” says Dr. Engelman. A number of brands have come to the rescue with adult-appropriate solutions that utilize new research on the acne front.
Glo Skin Beauty’s line of microbiome-balancing formulations honed its ingredients to restore homeostasis within the skin’s delicate ecosystem of microorganisms to reduce breakouts and excess sebum that creates an environment favorable to acne-causing bacteria. The collection includes the Microbiome Restoring PM Moisturizer, BHA Clarifying Gel Moisturizer, an Acne Spot Treatment, and a Recovery Spot Cream, all with a microbiome complex, botanicals, and vegan lactic acid and salicylic acid.
For a really smart on-the-go solution, Kat Burki designed the VitaBiome Active Skin Optimizer as a portable spray that strengthens the skin’s microbiome fast and easily. Formulated with prebiotic bioferment, polysaccharides, and antioxidants, the Optimizer restores skin to a healthy state to keep breakouts at bay. Snow mushrooms are added to offer deep hydration. Your goal—balanced, clear, and beaming—will be met.
“This time of year, I recommend exfoliating one to three times per week based on skin tolerance.”
— Naana Boakye, MD, MPH, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Dr. Naana Beauty
