The holidays are over for another year. (Is that cheering I hear?) While festive and exciting, the season can certainly take a toll on your skin! It’s depleted and dull. What’s a girl to do? Give your skin some TLC and help it revive from the late nights, over indulging in sweets (and alcohol?), and stress.  Hang up your party hat and get serious about your skin!  Make it your New Year’s Resolution to turn around bad skin care habits!  Start by helping it recover from all the damage you did over the holidays!

Steps to Reviving Stressed Out Skin:

  1. Chill Out! While the dudes are watching football games this month, sneak away to the bathroom for a soak in a warm tub.  Add lavender oil, light a candle, slather on your favorite facial mask and turn on your favorite relaxing music.  Your body is over worked and needs to settle down before it can begin to rejuvenate!
  2. Catch Up on the H2O! I can’t say it enough…your skin (entire body, in fact) thrives on water.  Drink it up and help it rehydrate after too much alcohol, coffee and sweets, not to mention the dry winter air!
  3. Ice, Ice Baby!  Did Santa Baby leave you with puffy eyes?  Apply ice and leave on for 5-7 minutes.  Your eyes will look bright and ready for your post holiday staff meeting!
  4. Scrub It Down! Use this trick that actress Jessica Biel loves: buy a bag of large-grain sugar and mix the sugar with your favorite cleanser.  This works for your face and body (just switch out the cleanser accordingly).  It’s an inexpensive way to keep your skin clean and luminous. (source)
  5. Be a Bronzed Goddess! While you nurse your skin back to health, fake it with a little bronzer for a healthy glow!  No one needs to know you weren’t in the tropics over the holidays!
  6. Cut Out Sugar! Other than the sugar being used as an exfoliator, that is!  This shouldn’t be problem since I know you are looking for improved health this new year!  If it helps motivate you, the reason you need to reduce sugar intake is that sugar attaches to collagen and results in stiff, inflexible skin that makes wrinkles deeper and more noticeable.  Depressing, I know.

It’s going to be a great 2011!  Make it a year that is dedicated to the care of your skin like never before.  Don’t become a New Year’s Resolution drop-out statistic!  Years down the road, and many good habits later, you’ll be happy you did!  Your friends will be so jealous when you look a decade younger than them at the next high school reunion!  Happy New Year!