5 Tips to Show Your Hair and Skin Extra Love

What you think you know about moisturizers and other beauty products might not be totally correct. Find out the truth. (Phakimata/Deposit Photos)

By Kynadi Hyde

With the constantly changing weather, our bodies are exposed to different environmental conditions, which can change our appearance. If your body alters at the same rate as the seasons change, why not stay a step ahead? It’s time to revamp your beauty routine!

Here are 5 tips for your hair and skin that will help you transition from season to season, staying as hydrated as possible!

1. EXFOLIATE!

Chilly weather with dry air can dehydrate our skin, making it dry, flaky and dull due to the lack of moisture. According to licensed esthetician, Marina Diggs, exfoliating helps to remove dead skin cells, allowing the fresh, healthy skin underneath to shine through.

“Exfoliation promotes better product absorption, meaning your moisturizers and serums will work more effectively,” the St. Louis native explained. “People should definitely continue to exfoliate into spring. With it getting warmer outside, it is more likely for pores to be open and get clogged. Exfoliating helps alleviate that.” 

By incorporating exfoliation into your spring skincare routine, you can achieve a radiant, glowing complexion that’s ready to face the new season. 

HUMANRACE Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator. $45.

5 Tips to Show Your Hair and Skin Extra Love

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2. DON’T NEGLECT PROTECTIVE STYLES

Constant manipulation coupled with unpredictable weather patterns can extensively damage your tresses. To avoid overexposure to nature’s elements, consider protective styles for an effortless and low-maintenance hair-do. For example, braided or twisted hairstyles, scarf updos and even wigs act as a barrier between your natural hair and the changing weather conditions that come with entering a new season. 

 

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3. LOCK IN MOISTURE WITH A SERUM 

Both hair and skin serums could be the extra moisture boosts your body needs this season. While facial serums can sometimes leave the skin overly oily in the summer, they are perfect for transitional weather. Serums include intense active ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C and Retinol, which typically promote anti-aging and combat the hyperpigmentation that plagues melanated skin during the winter.

SheaMoisture Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Dry Skin. $14.

5 Tips to Show Your Hair and Skin Extra Love

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4, DEEP CONDITION MORE FREQUENTLY

Incorporating deep conditioning into your routine can help alleviate damage throughout each season, according to Mielle, one of the leading natural hair product suppliers in the country. Even though some products are explicitly produced as “deep conditioners,” the process of deep conditioning is simply leaving a conditioner on for an extended period of time. This action allows more time for the conditioner to penetrate the hair shaft and scalp, yielding shiny, moisturized hair that can endure fluctuating weather.

Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner. $14.

5. USE SUNSCREEN YEAR-ROUND

Though people of deeper skin tones are less likely to become visibly sunburned, everyone, regardless of pigment, is “susceptible to sun-induced damage — such as sun spots and wrinkles — and cancer,” according to  The Winchester Hospital in Winchester, Virginia.

Sunscreen acts as another layer of protection from ultraviolet rays, which can be detrimental to the skin at any time of the year. UV rays can reflect from the ice or snow on the ground during winter, and act just as dangerous as they are in the summer. Originally launched in 2016, Black Girl Sunscreen is a global retailer that says it “caters exclusively to women of color.” You can find Black Girl Sunscreen at retailers such as Target or Ulta Beauty.  

Diggs, who opened her own practice in 2021,  suggests that her No. 1 tip to Black women working to combat being a victim of transitional weather is to use sunscreen in the spring.

“Even though sunscreen should be used year-round, it is very important to keep your skin protected in the spring,” Diggs advises. “The climate will be changing, and the skin will be more exposed to the sun. Sunscreen is the best way to stay ready for any season!”

Kynadi Hyde is a reporter and social media editor for FierceforBlackWomen.com.