Autumn, The Season For A Skin Reset

The long, hot days of summer are over and winter’s chill is yet to come. Consider autumn the season for a skin reset.

- Stephanie Darling

Australia may come alive during summer, but the cooler months have their merits, too — you could do worse than sipping pinot noir while rugged up in cashmere. It’s also the ideal time to redress your beauty balance after those hot beach days that may have left your complexion a little worse for wear. These products and treatments will restore summer-struck skin to its best.

Start fresh

“Women and men come to see me after summer as their skin is congested from all the sunblock and they have new sun damage, which means more pigmentation and some scarring,” says Kaye Scott, co-founder of Sydney’s The Clinic. Her first order of business is a pro-grade exfoliation using a mild alpha hydroxy acid peel to boost clarity. She then follows up with old fashioned extractions to purge pores and clear the complexion. To cleanse, exfoliate and refine in one sitting, try a professional Hydrafacial, which employs a multi-use handpiece to push actives into skin while pulling debris out. The four-step process leaves skin refreshed and revived in less than an hour.

Skin still sun-stressed? Avoid potentially irritating actives with dermablading. It’s a popular treatment, known as Epidermal Levelling, at Melbourne’s Liberty Belle Skin Centre. An angled blade sloughs away dead skin cells and fine facial fluff, leaving skin with a luminous glow. The absence of peach fuzz also allows products to absorb better, boosting their efficacy.

Go pro

“The cooler months are optimal for treating pigmentation, as people are much less tempted to spend damaging time in the sun,” says Dr Joseph Hkeik of All Saints Skin Clinic in Sydney. He has a range of different lasers he powers up to address redness and UV-induced pigmentation.