I love the idea that spring is just around the corner, but early March is always a fashion disaster for me. Should I wear tights or go without them? White sneakers or boots? A cute coat or a useful puffer? When it’s 45 degrees and raining one minute and 65 degrees and sunny the next, I’ll never know how to get dressed.
But what do I know? How to take care of your skin when the weather is crazy and your face needs some extra love. As a beauty editor for a long time, I know exactly what to do to take care of my skin in the spring.
I’m going to explain the basics of a good spring skincare routine, which includes a cream-to-foam cleanser, an antioxidant serum lightweight moisturizer, and a face sunscreen that you should use every day. I’ll also explain why these products work so well this time of year. For all of my tips and suggestions, keep reading. And if you have any good fashion tips, I’m all ears.
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Best Face Washes for Spring, Best Face Serums for Spring, Best Face Moisturizers for Spring, and Best Sunscreens for Spring are all listed below.
The Extra Step in Your Skincare Routine That Will Make a Difference This Spring
The Best Face Washes for Spring
Spring is the best time to change textures in skincare. This means that the face wash should be a cream-to-foam formula that nourishes the skin while also making enough lather to get rid of sweat oil and buildup. Cream-to-foam cleansers are different because they won’t strip your skin or leave it feeling squeaky clean. However, they aren’t so mild that they can’t deep-clean your skin at the end of the day. I have all three of these in my shower and use them in different ways each week.
Pro-Collagen Hydrating Cleansing Mousse
Elemis Pro-Collagen Hydrating Cleansing Mousse
20% Off Now $60 at Nordstrom $60 at Ulta Beauty
Face wash that turns from cream to foam
First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Gentle Cream-to-Foam Cleanser for the Face
Cream-to-Foam Cleanser That Hydrates
CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser is $19 on Amazon, $17 at Dermstore, and $14 at Walmart.
Best Face Serums for the Spring
The focus is on keeping skin hydrated in December, January, and February. As the days get longer and sunnier and we spend more time outside, skin protection is the name of the game from March on. That’s where an antioxidant serum with vitamin C comes in. The ingredient is better at keeping skin safe from free radicals and inflammation (the causes of all skin problems) while also making skin tone and texture better by controlling pigment production and boosting collagen.
Vitamin C-based serums have gotten a bad rap in the past for being sticky and or smelly, but these three formulas are beautiful and also have great antioxidant benefits.
Renewal Serum with Vitamin Antioxidants
$250 for Doft Vitamin Antioxidant Renewal Serum at doftplasticsurgery.com
Serum with 15% Vitamin C to brighten and firm
Skinfix Brighten + Firm 15% Vitamin C Serum costs $69 at Amazon and $69 at Sephora.
Vitamin C Serum from Glow Maker
Vitamin C Serum from Maelove Glow Maker
The best face moisturizers for spring
If your skin is dry all year and loves a thick cream texture, keep using your winter moisturizer. If you have oily skin, combination skin, or live in a place where spring brings warmer more humid weather, a light lotion or gel cream will be your skin’s best friend. These three things are the best for plump dewy skin that isn’t greasy.
Recharge Gel Cream Moisturizer that Smooths and Plumps
Innbeauty Project Recharge Gel Cream Smoothing and Plumping Moisturizer costs $48 at Sephora.
M.E.C. Crème
Bloomingdale’s has Biologique Recherche Crème M.E.C for $225.
Cream with Hyalu B5 Suractivated
The Best Sunscreens for Spring
Most of us can get away with using a combined moisturizer with SPF or a tinted moisturizer with SPF in the winter. But when spring comes, you should really use a separate sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to protect yourself from UV rays. There are a lot of great formulas that blend in perfectly and have extra benefits, like brightening blurring and hydrating.
Broad Spectrum SPF 50 4-in-1 Skin Tint Mineral Sunscreen
At Ulta Beauty, you can get the PUR Minerals 4-in-1 Skin Tint Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 for $42.
SPF 40 UV Daily Broad-Spectrum
EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40
20% off now: $41 at Amazon, $33 at Walmart
Intelligent Defense Mineral Sunscreen with SPF 50 for all skin types
Ourself Intelligent Defense Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 is $55 at ourself.com.
The extra step in your skincare routine that you should take this spring
Putting on a pair of eye patches is the extra step I’ll take this time of year. Spring allergies are the worst season for my skin. The skin around my eyes always seems to get red swollen and irritated. These days, there are a lot of new (and good!) eye patch options to choose from. But when it comes to fighting the effects of spring allergies and too much pollen, I swear by 111Skin’s Cryo Eye Patches. The cooling effects feel great right away, and the mix of peptides, seaweed extract, and vitamin E makes the area under the eyes look less puffy and brighter in just 20 minutes.
Why should you trust Cosmopolitan?
Lauren Balsamo is Cosmopolitan’s beauty director. She has been researching, writing, and editing beauty stories for more than 13 years. These stories cover everything from the best skincare routine for your 30s to a full list of the best drugstore skincare brands. She works with the best experts in the field to look at new brands, trends, and technologies, and she regularly tests and analyzes new skincare products and treatments.
