Why January Is the Perfect Time to Revamp Your Skincare Routine

The year 2021 was a bit of a roller coaster, to say the least. And, while you might have spent months perfecting your skincare routine in lockdown, being freed from stay-at-home measures might mean that your social calendar has pushed all of that self-care time onto the backburner.

January marks the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with said self-care routine, which could include your skincare regime. The end of the year is always a blur of deadlines and festive parties, so use the quiet time in January to take stock of your skin and the products you’re currently using.

We’re calling it: January is the perfect time to revamp your skincare routine and this is why:

A Fresh Start

While setting unrealistic resolutions isn’t how we tend to start a new year, there’s no doubt that the energy in January is different to any other time of the year. Motivation can often feel higher and you might want to tick a few things off of your to-do list before the year gets into full swing.

Use this energy to revamp your skincare routine. Do an audit on the products you’ve been using, and consider the place of each product in your routine. Is there a skin concern that you have been targeting? Are the products you’re using working to solve this issue? Is each product working as hard as it possibly can be?

If you find that some products aren’t performing as well as you hoped, this is the time to swap them out for something else. That isn’t a case of throwing them away, but switching out products in favour of something new for a period of six to 12 weeks will help you discover what’s working and what’s not working.

If you happen to have a large beauty collection, January is also a great time to go through and organise it. Check the expiry dates on your products, or if you’re not sure, give them a smell (many products that are expired will have an unpleasant odour) or check the consistency. If the consistency has drastically changed from its original state, it’s most likely expired.

Make Seasonal Swaps

It’s recommended that you revamp your skincare routine with the seasons, as the weather often impacts how your skin feels and behaves. If the beginning of summer, and December in general, has proven to be too hectic for you to focus on skincare swaps, consider spending time in January switching out your routine for more weather-friendly products.

This is the time to swap out any heavy night creams you might be using in favour of something a little more light, as you need less oil in your products for summer. It will also help to swap your heavy, creamy cleanser to a lighter cleaning gel or foam, which helps to remove the oil that can develop on the skin when it’s hot.

Set Skin Goals

Skincare doesn’t have to serve any other function than keeping your skin healthy and if that’s your only goal, that’s great! If you have a number of skin-related goals you’d like to achieve, that’s also totally fine — both approaches are valid.

For those of you who are really invested in the whole process of skincare, January is a great time to think about what you’d like to do with your skincare this year. It might sound dramatic, but have you been thinking about starting your retinol journey? Or, are you wanting to seek support for breakouts and acne?

Make a mental note that you’ll start working on these goals in January by revamping the products in your skincare routine, or reaching out to professionals like a dermatologist for advice.

While there’s no hard and fast rules when it comes to changing your up skincare products, consider setting aside some time in January to do that. Your skin will thank you.