Back to office: the products to reintroduce to prepare your skin for the return from vacation The keyword? Rebalancing

Some people come back from their holidays in September with a souvenir in their suitcase and a strong desire to start over, while others return with a slightly different kind of baggage: a few more dark spots, dehydrated skin and a compromised skin barrier. After weeks spent under the sun, between salt water, chlorine, air conditioning, flights and a skincare routine often reduced to the bare essentials, it is normal for your skin to have different needs compared to a few months earlier. The keyword in this case is total recovery: rebuilding the skin barrier, restoring the hydration lost during summer and gradually reintroducing those active ingredients that, during months of greater sun exposure, we put on pause.

Back to office: the products to bring back into your routine to prepare your skin after the holidays

First of all: repair the skin barrier

Before even thinking about dark spots, more visible pores or the tan that is starting to fade, the first thing to do after summer is help the skin return to balance. Because while holidays are good for us, sun exposure, sea, sweat and traveling often leave our face looking quite stressed, as well as leaving the skin barrier slightly damaged. It is therefore normal to find yourself with skin that feels tight but at the same time becomes shiny, dry patches alternating with imperfections and greater sensitivity than usual. In short, a bit of chaos. This is why we should avoid immediately stressing the face even more with a marathon of scrubs, peels and aggressive treatments, and instead choose formulas with ingredients such as ceramides, squalane and panthenol, which help retain moisture and protect the skin. Another interesting ingredient to rediscover during this phase is snail mucin, rich in GAGs (glycosaminoglycans), glycolic acid, vitamins and peptides. A combination that helps the skin regenerate by hydrating, soothing and promoting cell renewal.

The return of active ingredients

Once the skin balance has been restored, you can bring back into your routine all those active ingredients that were paused during summer or used more carefully. Not because they are necessarily forbidden during warmer months, but because some ingredients can increase skin sensitivity or require more attention when sun exposure is more frequent. The first ones to return are definitely retinoids and exfoliating acids. The former, including retinol, stimulate cell renewal, improve skin texture and help reduce the appearance of fine lines, imperfections and discoloration. AHAs and BHAs, on the other hand, mainly work on the surface of the skin by removing dead cells: fruit acids such as glycolic, lactic and mandelic acid help make the complexion more even and radiant, while salicylic acid is particularly useful for skin prone to impurities and clogged pores. However, after months in which these products may have been sitting untouched on the bathroom shelf, you need to start again slowly. After a long break, the skin needs time to readjust, so begin with just a few applications per week, spaced out over time.

Hydrating and soothing masks

After the involuntary stress experienced during the holidays, it is time to pamper your skin with some hydrating and soothing masks. The formulas to look for are those rich in hydrating and calming ingredients such as centella asiatica, panthenol, ceramides and hyaluronic acid. Once or twice a week is more than enough to give your skin the recovery moment it needs and help it transition into the change of season.