Autumn/Winter Skin Reset: What I Recommend to My Patients
As we move from summer into autumn, I often talk to my patients about using the colder months as an opportunity to reset their skin.
After months of holidays, increased UV exposure, heat and perhaps a slightly less consistent skincare routine, September is a good time to reassess what your skin actually needs.
It is also the time of year when we can start considering treatments that may have been less suitable during periods of significant sun exposure.
But a skin reset doesn't mean suddenly introducing ten new products and booking every treatment available.
My approach is usually much simpler.
Here is what I recommend to my patients.
1. Start with your skincare
Before considering treatments, I look at what someone is doing at home.
You don't need an enormous skincare routine to have good skin.
For most patients, the foundations are:
Morning
Cleanse as appropriate for your skin
Antioxidant protection, often vitamin C
Moisturiser if required
Broad-spectrum SPF
Evening
Cleanse
A targeted active ingredient where appropriate
Moisturiser
Autumn can also be a good opportunity to introduce or restart vitamin A/retinoid skincare if it is suitable for you.
Retinoids can help with fine lines, pigmentation, skin texture and acne, but they need to be introduced gradually. More is definitely not better, and irritation is not a sign that a product is working.
Retinoids are also not suitable during pregnancy.
2. Don't put your SPF away
This is probably the skincare mistake I see most frequently as summer ends.
SPF is not just for holidays.
UVA radiation, which contributes to premature skin ageing and pigmentation, is present throughout the year and can penetrate cloud and glass.
I recommend wearing a broad-spectrum SPF daily throughout autumn and winter, particularly if pigmentation or premature ageing is a concern.
Think of SPF as part of your long-term skin health rather than a summer skincare product.
3. Deal with the pigmentation summer has left behind
September and October are often when patients suddenly notice pigmentation that has accumulated over the summer.
This might include:
Freckles and sunspots
Uneven pigmentation
Redness
Broken capillaries
Areas of sun damage
The first step is identifying what type of pigmentation you actually have.
Not all pigmentation should be treated in the same way.
For appropriate patients, autumn and winter can be an excellent time to consider Lumecca IPL.
IPL uses intense pulsed light to target areas of pigmentation and vascular redness. Over the days following treatment, pigmentation can initially darken before gradually flaking away.
It can be particularly effective for the sunspots, redness and visible vessels that become more apparent after summer.
However, IPL isn't suitable for every pigmentation concern. Melasma, for example, requires a very considered approach and can sometimes be aggravated by inappropriate energy-based treatment.
This is why I always recommend having pigmentation properly assessed before treating it.
4. Work on skin quality
One of my favourite things to do during autumn and winter is shift the focus away from simply “adding volume” and towards improving the quality of the skin itself.
Depending on the patient, this might involve treatments such as:
SkinPen microneedling
Polynucleotides
Sculptra
Morpheus8
Lumecca IPL
These treatments all work differently, so I don't see them as interchangeable.
Microneedling can be brilliant for texture, pores, fine lines and acne scarring.
Polynucleotides are something I may consider when we want to focus on skin quality and regeneration, particularly in delicate areas such as around the eyes.
Sculptra is a collagen-stimulating injectable treatment that I often recommend when we are seeing more widespread changes associated with collagen loss.
Morpheus8 combines microneedling with radiofrequency and is particularly useful where skin laxity accompanies changes in skin texture.
The important thing is choosing the treatment according to the problem rather than choosing a treatment because it happens to be popular.
5. Think in courses, not quick fixes
Skin treatments generally work best when we give the skin time to respond.
Collagen production and remodelling don't happen overnight.
For this reason, autumn is a great time to start thinking about your skin goals for the following six months.
If you want your skin looking its best for Christmas, a wedding or an event next spring, don't wait until two weeks beforehand to start treating it.
Starting earlier allows us to create a sensible treatment plan, space treatments appropriately and allow biological processes such as collagen remodelling to take place.
6. Remember that winter skin often needs more hydration
As temperatures drop and central heating comes on, many patients notice that their skin becomes drier, tighter or more sensitive.
This isn't necessarily the time to keep adding stronger active ingredients.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is simplify.
I may recommend temporarily reducing the frequency of retinoids or exfoliating products and focusing on supporting the skin barrier with a good moisturiser.
Healthy skin shouldn't constantly feel tight, flaky or irritated.
What would my ideal autumn skin reset look like?
There isn't one protocol that I recommend to everyone.
But broadly, I would:
September: Review your skincare, reintroduce appropriate active ingredients and get consistent with SPF.
October: Assess any pigmentation, redness or sun damage that has become apparent after summer and consider treatments such as IPL where appropriate.
Autumn/Winter: Begin a course of treatments aimed at your main concern – whether that's pigmentation, skin texture, acne scarring, collagen loss or laxity.
Throughout winter: Keep the skin barrier healthy, stay consistent with your home skincare and give treatments time to work.
The aim isn't perfect skin.
It is healthier, stronger, more even skin that still looks like your skin.
At our doctor-led aesthetics clinic in Hale, Altrincham, our medical team creates individual treatment plans based on your skin rather than following a standard package.
If you're unsure where to start after summer, a consultation and skin assessment is often the most useful first step. We can look at your skincare, identify your main concerns and decide what, if anything, would genuinely benefit your skin over the autumn and winter months.
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