Have exfoliants, sunscreens, and moisturizers ready

The autumn is here. Aside from a few Southern areas, the average temperature is dropping. As such, procuring great moisturizing products for your customers must be your top priority. In the regions with colder climate, you have longer winter and are exposed longer to dry air produced by heating system. Therefore, moisture retention for the skin is a critical element of skin care routine. Autumn skin care routine continues until the winter when the temperature further drops.

When season changes, exfoliating products are a must.

Paulas Choice–SKIN PERFECTING 2% BHA Liquid Salicylic Acid Exfoliant CeraVe Moisturizing Cream | Body and Face Moisturizer for Dry Skin ©Amazon

Most customers look for moisturizers, face and body oils, and other moisturizing products to protect their skin from the harsh wind and the dry air. While moisturizers are great, you should not overlook the accumulation of dead skin due to the lower moisture content in the skin. In the first week of October, Amazon’s top 10 beauty products included an exfoliating facial cleanser and a moisturizing cream.

A YouTuber is performing facial exfoliation using a peeling gel. @MissDarcei YouTube

As daily temperature difference grows, your skin reacts to adjust to the temperature drops in terms of blood circulation. This stimulates skin cell division, generating increased amount of dead skin. When it is combined with low humidity in the surrounding air, the natural shedding of dead skin is deterred. The result is a pile of dead cell on your skin. If you neglect exfoliating, the skin surface cannot be maintained smooth and clean, raising likelihood of makeup mishaps or skin troubles.

A YouTuber is reviewing Paula’s Choice exfoliating facial cleanser. ©Stephanie Voltaire YouTube

Among many types of exfoliating products, peeling gels, exfoliating face washes, scrubs are among the popular. You need to apply peeling gels and scrubs once or twice a week after washing your face but exfoliating facial washes can be used daily to cleanse and gently exfoliate at the same time, making them popular among who seeks convenience. Paula’s Choice brand exfoliating facial cleanser, an Amazon Best Seller, is popular among YouTubers as well.

A YouTuber applies mud mask. ©Dr. Michelle Daf YouTube

Another great exfoliant is mud or gel mask. After removing the dead cell, your skin can feel very tight, for which moisturizing creams containing ceramides, which facilitate the bond between skin cells, cholesterol, essential fatty acids, shea butter, almond oil, or beta glucan are beneficial.

Another important thing is that sunscreens should accompany skin care routine for seasonal transition. Often you forget to wear sunblocks when the summer’s scorching sun is no longer. However, autumn sun’s UVA radiation is basically same as the summers. Even worse, dry skin can reduce skin’s resistance to UV, so sunscreens are even more necessary.

Earlier in July issue of BNB Magazine, an article titled “Growing Interest in Sunscreen” discussed the importance of sunscreen. As beauty supplies typically serve African American population, they often do not carry sunblocks and sunscreens. Most businesses assume that customers with darker skin color have little interest in UV protection. However, UV protection is known not only to prevent skin cancer but also to improve skin complexion, for which African American women’s interest in sunscreen products is growing.

July 2022 “Growing Interest in Sunscreen”

When exposed to UV radiation, skin develops redness and overtime produces more melanin which darkens the area, which is called hyperpigmentation. This phenomenon occurs in all age and ethnicity. Hyperpigmentation in African Americans who have skin naturally rich in melanin tend to have lesser degree of visibility, but that does not mean they are immune to the dark spots.

Natural Beauty Movement has reached the skin care, and healthy, evenly textured, and good complexion of skin is becoming more popular than moist and glowing skin. For seasonal transition, you should recommend products rich in oil. They can moisturize the skin while protecting collagen against destruction caused upon exposure to the autumn sun. Wearing sunscreens properly can significantly reduce dark spots, freckles, and blemishes. White residues which often caused by sunscreens can be more visible on darker skin, so customers with darker skin tone prefer products with silky texture that covers skin tightly with a clean look.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater for All Skin Types ©amazon

Among many mist products, Mario Badescu Facial Spray is one Amazon’s best seller. With a $5.95 price tag, the product impresses with 56k Google reviews, many of which written by happy customers who praise its light feel and strong moisturizing effect. You can apply whenever your skin feels dry, or it can be used as a daily toner. This product is available in Herb/Rose, Cucumber/Green Tea, Chamomile/Lavender, and Sage/Orange Blossom. Many reviewers gave positive feedback about the subtle fragrance.

When a customer looks for a mist product for moisture supplement, you should teach them how to use. Mist can be absorbed better to the skin if you lightly pat the skin with finger tips after application. Mist content that is not absorbed will vaporize overtime, which can lead to loss of moisture that previously existed in the skin. Mist should be applied to cover the entire face evenly, and it can be very effective if applied right after a shower or facial wash to prevent the skin from drying up.

If your skin feels dry, it means the skin barrier has already been compromised. Attraction between dead skin cells and the natural moisturizing element, ceramides, decrease as the gap between them enlarges. When the skin loses moisture content, it can become more sensitive to external stimulants. Therefore, you should pay more attention to skin care routine when you are frequently exposed to dry-skin-prone environment in seasonal transition.

When skin is deprived of moisture, the skin loses elasticity, becomes vulnerable to fine lines, and loses regenerative power, resulting in bad complexion. Making skin moist in and out and creating a solid barrier against loss of nutrients are the key elements of moisturizing. Lotions, moisturizing creams, oils are commonly used for moisturizing effect. But facial mask and sleep mask (cream type mask that can be applied before going to bed and rinsed in the morning) are also popular.

We asked a few beauty supplies about popular products in seasonal transition, and the answers widely vary.

A retail store in Georgia—customers prefer lotions to oils. Many customers buy products with shea butter to prevent flaking. African Pride and Jergens are some of the most popular brands.

B retail store in Chicago—mist products perform well. Their scent is appealing, and probably also because of the ease of use. Essence products to add moisture to hair are popular as well.

C retail store in Arkansas—every customer has their own skin care routine and demands variety of products. Younger customers tend to look up online to see which product is good for their skin type in the season before they shop.

D retail store in Tennessee—products with aloe and Vitamin E are popular. They tend to be affordable while rich in nutrients.

E retail store in Georgia—as the quality of life among our customers improves, consumer demand for oil products are high throughout the year. Companies specialized in oil products have emerged, and many customers create their own blends of oils. So we have a whole section dedicated to oils.

If lotions and moisturizing creams are steady sellers, oil product sale is skyrocketing. According to the business owner who runs multiple stores, the more affluent the neighborhood, the more demand there is for oil products. We met CEO Ikchen Jun of By Natures, Inc. which introduced pure oil products with a dropper cap in 2018 when blended oils dominated the oil market. We asked him what kind of products are popular lately. His company also owns and distributes Bio7 and Growild brands in addition to By Natures.

Among many products, By Natures Bio7 Skin Oil is great for treating psoriasis and skin troubles with its sun flower oil base. Steady sellers are rosehip oil, jojoba oil, and coconut oil, and during the seasonal transition ginger oil rich in antioxidants and aloe vera oil known for calming effect are popular. Another popular product is rose water, which can be directly applied to skin. However, you can add oils to it and spray onto braids for fragrance and glow.

Don’t forget hair and body

Keeping your hair and body moisturized is as important as maintaining moist skin during dry season. A wide gap between the high and low of a day can evaporate the moisture in scalp and hair, increasing sebum secretion and leading to bacterial growth in scalp. When you have dead skin accumulated in scalp, it can cause dandruff, redness, and inflammation. When your scalp loses the balance between moisture and oil, you can experience hair thinning and hair loss. Conditioners, treatments, and hair oils can provide nutrients to hair and keep it moisturized for healthy and glowing hair.

Firstline’s Evolve Platinum Deep Conditioning Cap

Evolve Platinum Deep Conditioning Cap by Firstline boosts the effectiveness of your hair conditioner. It will keep your scalp warm and promote deeper penetration of conditioner into the scalp and hair. It also prevents hair damages to promote healthy hair growth. First, shampoo your hair and apply a dime-size blob of conditioner to the hair. Wear the Cap and leave it on for 15-20 minutes for an optimal outcome. Take off the Cap and rinse the hair.

Body care is also essential. While you tend to consistently monitor your facial skin, your body can be easily neglected which can accelerate aging of skin. If you keep scratching your dry skin, you skin can get damaged and develop hyper-pigmentation. After taking a shower, apply body lotions, body butters, or creams to replenish moisture and nourishment before your body completely dries.

As mentioned above, ideally, an exfoliating step should precede any moisturizing. When you exfoliate your facial skin at home, have a headband ready to keep your hair from falling.

The essence of healthy skin is moisture. You can use hot towels to open up the pores to promote better absorption of nutrients, remove residues, calm skin, and minimize stimulation.

4. Portable mist spray

Facial Mist Sprayer ©sally beauty

While ingredients can make difference among various mists, a portable sized and ready-to-use mist sprayer can come in handy when you need to provide moisture on the go. The portable mist sprayer is palm sized, and you can fill itsbuilt-in water tank with water before use.