Banner Image: Hub For Belle, Elisa Osmo of Glow Medispa.
Does your skin freak out during the holiday season? Elisa Osmo, Advanced Dermal Therapist and founder of Glow Medispa has given us the run down of the best treatments to get during the chaos for calm, happy skin.
Maintaining a healthy glow doesn’t have to feel like a lost cause. Elisa breaks up her tips into a few to prep, protect, and perfect skin, and to ensure your glow lasts from the first holiday party to the first day back in the new year.
It’s also important to know that what you do at home matters just as much as what you’re doing in clinic. Let’s jump in.
Before The Madness, It’s Time to Prep And Protect
Preparing your skin for a stressful season at home means it’s time to strengthen your skin barrier, and not the time to experiment with new actives or exfoliants.
Your focus before the madness is on hydration and nourishment, so your skin can handle late nights and extra makeup days.
Hydration can come from layering calming serums or hydrating toners, and when you are using actives, opting for more gentle alternatives like niacinamide is always a great bet.
We love the Rebound range from The Breakout Hack and Hannah English. Check out our Rebound range review here.
Elisa mentions that incorporate a hydrating or brightening mask before special events for an extra glow, and it’s a great way to prep the night before a big makeup day.
Shop: Outlayer WE LOVE HYDRATION | 3 FACE SHEETS, $32.00
If you love a sheet mask, check out Outlayer’s WE LOVE HYDRATION sheet masks, which have hyaluronic acid, panthenol, and niacinamide (amongst other goodies). All perfect for the skin barrier.
If the days feel full and busy, you can use a multi-tasking face cream, like this one from Hub For Belle. Their Antioxidant Hydration Concentrated Face Cream has calming botanical antioxidants that give you more results for less steps, with nourishing oils like coconut and Squalene, great for forever thirsty skin.
Their Hydra Glow Facial Oil has argan oil and vitamin E, perfect for restoration, too.
Shop: Hub For Belle Antioxidant Hydration Infused – Concentrated Face Cream, $68.00
Your non-negotiable daily step is to finish your morning routine with a sunscreen to protect against UV and environmental stress.
In-clinic? Elisa shares:
“Treatments such as our Glow & Go, which uses customised Enzyme Therapy to gently exfoliate, hydrate, and boost circulation – the perfect way to maintain your skin’s glow with no downtime.”
During The Madness, Focus on Calming And Balance
We’re cautioned that our skin might be more reactive from the extra stress, change in drinking habits, and makeup.
Simple and soothing steps at home are best for the joy-filled (and a little stress-filled) days.
Elisa tells us to opt for gentle cleansers, and replenish moisture with barrier supporting products containing ceramides and peptides. Sounds great to us!
For gentle cleansers, we love SAMI’s No-Rinse Hydrating Cream Cleanser. You can check out SAMI’s full range review here.
Shop: SAMI’s No-Rinse Hydrating Cream Cleanser, $48.00 (Use code “WRS20 for 20% off)
Take care when removing those heavy makeup days, and be extra gentle of your eye area and lashes. Using a moisturising lash serum is a fantastic way to strengthen your lashes during the back to back days of tugging and makeup removal.
This one from Inica has vitamin E and omega fatty acids which help replenish dry brittle lashes. The Natural Eyebrow and Eyelash Care Serum comes in at $25.99, not bad to not lose all your lashes over the holidays!
In-clinic, Elisa’s advice points us towards LED. She shares:
“A LED Light Therapy session works wonders to calm inflammation, stimulate collagen, and revive a tired complexion. This can be a quick pick-me-up between events.”
After The Chaos, Enjoy The Reset and Restore
Once the celebrations are over, it’s time to unclog and rejuvenate the skin. It’s go time for actives (like your Vit C and Retinols), but reintroduce them slowly.
But what can we do in-clinic for some skin TLC?:
“The Correct & Perfect facial helps refine texture, rebalance the skin, and restore luminosity after a busy end to the year. Detoxifying treatments such as our Herbal Peel are also ideal for refreshing the skin and clearing impurities accumulated over the festive season.” Elisa shares.
A Note on Body Care
Although the skin on our face is usually the first to show our stress and how tired we are, it’s easy to forget self care and our body. Keeping hydrated is always important, but especially when there’s packed days.
We’ve recently been trialing out the Natural Marine Collagen from INNOUR in “Summer Fruits” in office and it’s been the best way to keep reaching for our water bottles, while marine collagen deeply restores.
Shop: Natural Marine Collagen from INNOUR in “Summer Fruits”, $75.00
Their “Natural” flavour is the most flavourless we’ve tried, and a scoop in the mid-day coffee is an easy way to supercharge hydration. It’s great when good habits are easy.
All the extra hand washing and cooking can leave our hands cracking and tragic, too. If you can, get a protective manicure before the silly season starts to save nails from swelling in water, and make sure to always lock in moisture after your hands get wet.
For hand cream? Opt for a more nourishing pick like Dalan’s D’Olive Intensive Hand Cream (under $15!). The oils (in this case olive oil) in the formula help form a barrier to trap in moisture.
Shop: Dalan’s D’Olive Intensive Hand Cream, $14.95
If you have super sensitive hands that flare easily, check out: The Holy Grail Hand Cream From the Viral Cicaplast Range Saved my Sensitive Hands
Elisa’s final tip:
“The most underrated glow secret? Consistency. Even simple daily habits, double cleansing, increased hydration, SPF, and a few intentional treatments make a world of difference.”
Glow Medispa is located Suite 3 / 1 Union St, Pyrmont NSW 2009, and you can check out their availabilities during the festive season here. We’re thinking it’d make a great gift, too. Hint hint
Any tips to survive the holidays? We’re all ears.
Travelling for the holidays? Check out this popular write up: Why You Aren’t Coming Back From Holiday with That Glow (and How to Fix It)
WRS Team x
Leave a Reply