Better Skin in Just Five Minutes
The easiest ways to fix your skin. (Photo: Trunk Archive/Guy Aroche)
Popular resolutions have many Americans pumping our souls with affirmations and our bodies with exercise — though you wouldn’t know it by looking at us. Even if we are living more healthily in the new year, our skin is likely still showing signs of a holiday hangover, thanks to a holiday season that was light on sleep and loaded with alcohol, sugar and other forms of medicine. So while our skin catches up to all the good we’re doing on the inside, try these derm-approved skin fixes to help acne, puffiness, dark circles and other complexion woes brought on by the holiday season. Each can be done in just five minutes a day, making better skin in 2016, simple — because the last thing we need is another lifestyle-cramping resolution to uphold.
The issue: Acne
The 5-minute-a-day fix: Let’s presuming you’re already cleansing with a salicylic acid-spiked formula, which helps balance excess oil. To further takedown blemishes Melanie Palm, MD, a dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Diego, suggests adding a sulfur mask into the fold. “It will sooth skin and help with excess oil production,” she says. Try using the mask as a spot treatment to avoid over drying skin.
Try: Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Mask ($46)
The issue: Dark Circles
The 5-minute-a-day fix: Dark circles? Patch ‘em. Palm suggests using chilled cucumber slices or steeped and chilled green tea bags to hydrate and revitalize dark skin under the eyes. If going DIY isn’t your thing, Palm suggests looking for an eye treatment with peptides. “The proteins help brighten and build collagen,” she says. These triangular pads, soaked with a mix of peptides and plankton extract, offered an instant cooling effect and woke up the skin beneath our eyes in just five minutes time.
Try: Trish McEvoy Instant Solutions Triangle of Light Eye Mask ($68)
The issue: Dry, Flakey Skin
The five-minute-a-day fix: After using a gentle cleanser to wash the face, moisturize like the dickens with a double-duty serum that hydrates and calms irritation. “Adding hyaluronic acid will hydrate the skin, while niacinamide, a natural anti-inflammatory, can help calm irritation without having to use a steroid,” Palm says.
Try: Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Ferulic + Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Overnight Serum ($88)
The issue: Dull and Dehydrated Skin
The five-minutes-a-day fix: “Exfoliating with a gentle cleanser can help dry, dull skin,” says Jennifer Chwalek, MD, a New York-based dermatologist and clinical instructor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Look for a formula that’s softly textured, like True Nature Botanicals Pacific Exfoliating Cleanser. After, Dr. Joshua Zeichner, a dermatologist and director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City suggests using an overnight mask for a boost of hydration. This new mask, which launches in February, is saturated with the brand’s skin-quenching Advanced Night Repair treatment and employs foil to help the skin absorb every last drop.
Try: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrate Recovery PowerFoil Mask ($79)
The issue: Face Bloat
The five-minutes-a-day fix: Deflate puffy skin with exercise, suggests Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, a dermatologist and clinical professor of dermatology at the George Washington Medical Center. “Even five minutes of movement a day can help reduce bloat in the face,” she assures. Another solution? Try a blast of anti-inflammatory toner, like the alcohol-free Indie Lee CoQ-10 Toner, made with chamomile, cucumber and aloe, or this skin-calming lotion spiked with mushrooms used in Chinese medicine to reduce inflammation.
Try: Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Treatment Lotion ($32)
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