It's official Fall is here - you can feel the change in the weather, see all the warm clothes in the stores and very likely see the after-effects the past season has left on your body! Luckily it's easy enough to reverse most of the damage you've done with a few easy beauty routines...
Exfoliate the hell out of yourself
If you are anything like me, you are a big, scaly snake-like mess right now and you need to shed some skin! If you're feeling flush, get yourself to the spa and have some microdermabrasion or a chemical peel. Don't have the time or money - exfoliate at home with a scrub - you can buy great ones for your face and body or in a pinch, use a homemade combo of oatmeal or sugar mixed with a bit of honey!
Moisturize with abandon
Now that you've sloughed off all the old dead crap the shiny new stuff underneath would like an uninterrupted drink! Body oils are great for this and you can even get a friend to help!
For your face you might want to take a look at what you've been using for the past few months and decide if it's time for a seasonal change as many people like to amp up their moisturizer when temperatures drop.
If you have dry to very dry skin it's easy to just trade up to a thicker cream that will be more comfortable for you skin. It's a little trickier for oily and combo skins. I find when I use a heavier moisturizer it just ends up clogging my pores and feels like it's just sitting on the top of my skin. On the other hand my usual lightweight moisturizer leaves my skin feeling like it's not enough and my skin would still enjoy some more moisture. I solve this problem by layering a moisturizing serum under my regular moisturizer - serums are nice and light so they don't add the heavy feeling that creams can and add a nice boost of moisture - I like to just use the serum in any drier areas avoiding the oily ones for perfectly balanced skin!
Don't forget your hair
Between the summer sun, wind and pollution, add to that the dryness brought on by the weather change, your hair could be looking pretty dull and lifeless about now! A clarifying shampoo for a week or two will have it looking lots better as will a deep conditioning mask twice a week. For super results once you apply the mask, pop a plastic bag on your head and wrap a towel around it and let it sit for 20-30 minutes to really help it soak in. Learn from my mistakes though and don't fall asleep like that or you will have a terrible hard mess come morning!
As well, applying a semi-permanent colour will actually make your hair look shiny and healthier or if you are a non-colour-er, a glaze treatment will give you the same effect without any colour change.
I know you probably miss the sun now that the cold weather is here to stay, but there is an upside - now that your legs won't be seeing daylight for a few more months you can stop shaving them, you won't have to choose between poutine or wearing a bikini and let's not forget all the wonderful, glorious fall boots - now go kick some leaves my friends!