The most wonderful time of the year is here! The time to indulge in delicious foods, binge movies with the family, and party up the holiday season with your closest friends. But those late-night parties, sugary treats, and delicious cocktails paired with the stress of planning and lack of sleep can wreak havoc on our skin. 

Check out our latest More Than A Pretty Face Podcast video, where Lacie and I give all the insight on Holiday Beauty Prep.​

Let's dive into my 5 tips for your holiday glow-up this season!

1. Keep it clean & hydrate

Piling on make-up for a busy social season can clog your pores especially if you’re not cleansing properly.  This can cause your pores to get compacted with makeup, dirt, and debris leading to stretched-out pores and breakouts.  And if that’s not enough it can also make your complexion dull.  Follow these guidelines to keep your skin clean and well-hydrated.

• Double Cleanse - double cleansing is exactly what it sounds like—thoroughly cleansing the skin with 2 different types of cleansers.  I suggest using Micellar water or an oil-based makeup remover balm as your first cleanser followed by Purify as your second cleanser. I go into detail on how to double cleanse in my Youtube video, linked below!
• Moisturize - apply your moisturizer to damp skin. This will lock in any moisture already on the skin, adding extra hydration.
• Vitamin C- using your vitamin C in the mornings can protect your skin from free radicals and act as an anti-aging agent all while maintaining a hydrated glow for all your holiday events. 
• Don’t use primer alone before your foundation, use a hydrating serum like SkinTyte or creams like Restore right before you apply your foundation
• Be sure you are cleansing your makeup brushes weekly and your beauty blender after every use.

 2. Exfoliate once weekly 

Exfoliation has many important skin benefits. It renews our skin cells, prevents clogging, smooths texture for better makeup application, stimulates collagen/elastin, and allows our other skincare products to penetrate and work more effectively. But how do we exfoliate based on our skin types? 

• Glycolic Acid is a great exfoliant for combination or normal skin as it helps with pigmentation and overall gives a brightening effect to the skin. 
• Salicylic Acid is a great exfoliant for oily skin, clogged pores, and acne breakouts. Clarify Pads are so easy and convenient to sweep over the face 1-2 times a week and they are formulated with glycolic acid and salicylic acid.
• Those with Rosacea or sensitive skin benefit from Azelaic Acid like Azelaic10 serum or Mandelic Acid
• Those with dry skin can benefit from exfoliating with lactic acid 

Sugar can trigger glycation in your body. Glycation occurs when sugar binds to other molecules in the body, such as proteins and lipids. These sugar by-products do two things. First, they stop your cells from functioning properly, and second they create free radicals, which further damage your skin cells causing your collagen and elastin to break down. Collagen and Elastin keep your skin looking tight and toned, so consuming a lot of sugar can reverse those effects. It can also make you more prone to damage from UV light, pollution, smoking, etc.  So at your next holiday gathering try going for powerful antioxidants like berries to help protect your complexion from aging and environmental aggressors.

4. Hydrate in between alcoholic cocktails

You might recognize that after having a few drinks, you wake up the next morning with puffy eyes and a dull complexion.  And if you have Rosacea you may see your symptoms worsen with more redness and breakouts.  This is because alcohol breaks down to acetaldehyde in the blood, causing dehydration. Alcohol also generates free radicals that damage DNA leading to the breakdown of collagen fibers, causing skin inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and deeper wrinkles. 

Try alternating your wine or cocktail with a glass of sparkling water with lime. It slows down your alcohol intake and hydrates you. 

Dr. Azi’s Recommended Products:

•  Clarify Pads: 2% Salicylic Acid with Glycolic Acid exfoliating pads. Used to target clogged pores, uneven texture, dark spots, fine lines, acne, and breakouts 
• SkinTyte: Powerful copper complex formulated with multi-weight Hyaluronic Acid, and Niacinamide is clinically shown to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, reduce redness, boost elastin and collagen production, and brighten the skin.
• Restore: A restorative cream with Niacinamide, Green Tea Polyphenols, and Caffeine, that provides deep hydration with age-defying benefits to nourish dry skin back to healthy glowing skin.
• Glow-Getter Set: Includes Glow Serum, a 20% Vitamin C designed to brighten dullness, lighten hyperpigmentations, and support collagen production to improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles.