13 Fall Skincare Tips for Glowing Skin All Season Long

Rust-toned leaves, a chill in the air, and every menu screaming pumpkin spice can only mean one thing: Fall is upon us. While we’re sad to see the summer months go (we tried some seriously gorgeous makeup looks this season), we’re looking forward to all the sweet and cozy changes that come with fall. 

Every season, we prep for fall by switching out our warm-weather wear for comfy sweaters, boots, and light jackets. But what about our beauty routines? Our beauty products and skincare routines are in need of a swap too—those lightweight moisturizers and gel cleansers just won’t cut it in the colder months.

Your skin has certain needs in the summer (extra SPF for the summer sun, a face mist to cool you down, gel moisturizers to let your skin breathe), but fall weather calls for formulas that deliver what your skin craves after being exposed to dry air.

“Skin loses a lot of moisture into the environment when the air is less humid, such as during the transition from summer to fall,” says dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, MD. But, as we all know, choosing the right skincare products is easier said than done. So to take the guesswork out of your skincare routine for fall, we’ve rounded up the best fall skincare tips and products that we love to get your skin glowing and looking its healthiest yet.

1. Use a Gentle Cleanser

Light, foamy cleansers feel so refreshing in the summertime, but when there’s less humidity in the air, you need a balancing cleanser that can hydrate without stripping away moisture. “Switch to more humectant (water-based) products in the fall and winter vs emollient (oil-based) products in the spring and summer,” says esthetician Jessica Houston.

When looking for the perfect hydrating cleanser, you’ll find everything from cleansing milks and creams or even gels that keep your skin feeling hydrated with ingredients like vitamin E.

Our Picks:

• BANILA CO. Clean It Zero Pore Clarifying Cleansing Balm is a super satisfying formula that transforms from a sherbet-like balm to a soothing oil to remove makeup, dirt, and impurities without stripping away moisture.

• THE LYFESTYLE CO. Botanical Oil Cleanser is the perfect oil cleanser to have on hand for the cooler months. It’s enriched with superfood ingredients that nourish skin and give it the hydration it needs while breaking down product buildup to instantly dissolve makeup without stripping the skin of moisture, all as it helps with evening out your skin tone.

• THIS WORKS Evening Detox Cleansing Water is strong enough to effectively remove any dirt and impurities from your day but gentle enough for sensitive skin. Packed with sweet almond oil, organic aloe vera, and liquorice root, it leaves you with a clean canvas ready to conquer the world.

• REN CLEAN SKINCARE Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk is the definition of “soothing.” It helps calm redness, itchiness, irritation, and dryness with its vitamin E- and antioxidant-packed formula, and Ipsters love that it makes your face feel clean without stripping it of much-needed moisture.

2. Exfoliate Gently and Less Often

If you’re experiencing dullness and dryness, it may be tempting to scrub, scrub, scrub to brighten up your complexion. But exfoliating aggressively can lead to even more dryness and irritation. Your summer skin has more of a buffer—thanks in part to humidity that attracts moisture to your skin—to cushion irritation that exfoliants can bring on. Use exfoliants less often and make it one that’s easy on your skin.

Instead, if you must exfoliate, opt for a super-gentle physical exfoliant or a chemical exfoliant. “Fall is a great time to start using those stronger AHAs and BHAs, as they could sensitize the skin during the summer with a lot of sun exposure,” says Houston.

If you feel your skin needs it, you can use a gentle exfoliating toner two to three times a week. Just be sure you’re using plenty of hydrating products in conjunction.

Our Picks:

• REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask uses a gentle blend of glycolic, lactic, citric, and tartaric acids to help smooth skin texture and reduce the appearance of fine lines, pores, and dark spots. Hello, glow! 

• CLARITYRX Brighten It 10% Lactic Acid Solution takes care of skin texture, no problem! Although recommended for all skin types, this product is excellent for discolored, dull, or roughly textured skin. It gently removes dark spots and discoloration, evens skin tone, and helps regulate sebum production.

• GLOW RECIPE Watermelon Glow Pore-Tight Toner hydrates skin with antioxidant rich watermelon and cactus extracts, working to tighten pores and even skin tone overtime. It uses BHAs and PHAs to gently exfoliate and remove any sebum and grime from clogged pores.

• FENTY SKIN Cherry Dub Superfine Daily Cleansing Face Scrub delicately polishes your skin with a superfine sugar that buffs away dry, flaky skin to clear the way for hydration. We love the gentle exfoliation and that the formula includes Barbados cherry, fruit enzymes, and caffeine, which work together to help brighten, smooth, and refine pores. 

3. Use a Hydrating Toner or Serum

Did you know hyaluronic acid is a humectant that helps bring moisture to the skin? It’s like an all-powerful skin hydrating ingredient. And when it comes to vitamin C, not only does it provide the skin with antioxidants and protection against free radicals, it brightens your complexion by evening skin tone and fading dark marks.

Add both a vitamin C and hyaluronic acid serum into your routine to keep skin glowing, plump, and hydrated like it’s still summer!

Our Picks:

• KAT BURKI Retin-C Treatment Complex uses a powerful combo of retinol and vitamin C. With 2.5% rovisome retinol and 7% STAY C™ Vitamin C, this formula helps promote cellular turnover, fade hyperpigmentation, and leave you with plump, hydrated skin that glows from within. 

• ORIGINS DR. ANDREW WEIL FOR ORIGINS™ Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion is packed with both chaga and reishi mushrooms, along with licorice root and hyaluronic acid. It’s your ultimate first step to hydration, helping to soothe your skin and minimize the appearance of pesky pores. Not only does it create the perfect canvas for your other skincare products and makeup, but it also helps strengthen your skin barrier and reduce visible redness.

• HEY HONEY Good Morning Honey Silk Facial Serum is a two-in-one skincare serum and makeup primer. Formulated with sea buckthorn oil and honey, this serum deeply nourishes skin like a face oil. It’s best for mature skin, dry skin, and those who want to target fine lines.

4. Swap for a Richer Moisturizer

It may seem like a no-brainer, but one of the easiest ways to prep your skin for fall is by swapping your lightweight lotion for a richer formula, or layering them. “Dry skin requires both humectants and emollients that draw in moisture and lock in moisture, respectively,” says Dr. Nazarian. “A good humectant is hyaluronic acid which draws water into the skin, and skin barrier repairing creams such as CERAVE Daily Moisturizing Lotion that contains ceramides to be applied afterward. These help decrease the loss of moisture into the environment over time.”

Our Picks:

• YENSA Pink Lotus Peptide Renewal Face Cream uses antioxidant-rich pink lotus extract and firming peptides to help brighten, depuff, and smooth tired and dull skin.

• Layering on a hydrating face oil like CANNALOGICA Facial Hydration Oil is a great way to add and lock in moisture. It’s made with hemp seed oil to soothe stressed-out skin and calm blemishes and redness in acne-prone skin.

• TATCHA Indigo Overnight Repair Cream is a cushiony, water-based cream that is like a hug for your skin. It helps repair and hydrate skin overnight—perfect to recover if you spent all day in the cold weather. It’s fragrance-free, visibly calms irritation, strengthens your skin barrier, and balances the microbiome over time.

5. Don’t Skip the SPF!

Yup, that’s right—you need to protect your skin from sun damage all year long (even in cold weather). “SPFs are still very important because although the temperature drops, there’s still radiation year-round and even a small amount of radiation can add up to the cumulative damage that leads to skin cancer, wrinkles, pigmentary problems, and aging of skin,” says Dr. Nazarian. “I like sunscreens that have added hydration and are still lightweight and that protect skin from ultraviolet light while moisturizing all day long.”

Our Picks:

• SUGAR COSMETICS Goddess Of Flawless SPF30 Mattifying Sunscreen helps you perfect the no-makeup-makeup-look without even trying! This SPF 30 BB cream is lightweight and instantly sinks into skin. It’s easily blendable and covers blemishes and redness evenly.

• EVERYDAY HUMANS Resting Beach Face SPF 30 Sunscreen Serum has a serum-like texture that layers well over your skincare routine and under makeup. It’s fluid and feels light on skin thanks to hyaluronic acid, spinach, and green tea extract. Plus, it doesn’t leave a white cast.

6. Keep Your Showers Short

A long soak in a tub after a cold day sounds heavenly, right? We’re not saying to skip out on your bubble bath completely, but limiting your exposure to hot water can go a long way to keep your skin hydrated and happy.

Dr. Nazarian says, “Use less hot water (hot water removes natural oils more than lukewarm) and keep showers shorter during the dry fall season”.

7. Pick Up a New Body Cream

Moisturizing from top-to-toe is extremely important in the cold winter months. “Apply moisturizer immediately after the bath, and use an emollient (like VASELINE) after you moisturize to lock in moisture and prevent evaporation. People also often wash their skin too aggressively, which can strip skin’s natural moisture barrier and lead to drying,” says Dr. Nazarian.

By moisturizing your whole body, you’re protecting and actively rebuilding your skin barrier, which protects your skin from redness, flakiness, and even eczema due to cold weather.

8. Buy a Humidifier

We love coming into a cozy, heated home. But your heating system can seriously suck moisture from the air, leaving little for your skin. “You can minimize the potential for dry skin by using a humidifier to add moisturizer into the air during colder, drier months,” says Dr. Nazarian. So, when our heat goes on, we turn on our humidifier (especially when we’re sleeping) to help prevent moisture loss at night. Trust us, your skin will thank you for it.

Our Picks:

• If you don’t have a humidifier yet, keep a facial spray like GRACE & STELLA Hydrating Rose Facial Spray somewhere close like your coffee table or nightstand and mist your skin when you’re feeling dry.

• For an affordable and space-saving humidifier, try this one from Raycool. It’s small enough to fit close to you on your nightstand while you sleep.

9. Be Mindful of Sugar

This one isn’t so obvious to most skincare lovers as the weather turns colder. With the holiday season approaching in the colder months, it’s natural to be eating lots of yummy sweet treats. Our favorite fall treats are definitely apple cider donuts and pumpkin pie!

Keeping in mind, foods high in sugar and refined carbs can sometimes break out our skin due to hormone increases. Make sure to drink plenty of water and monitor your skin — it will tell you what it needs more of and what it needs less of!

10. Add More Omega 3s to Your Meal Plan

Now that you know to watch your sugar intake, here’s another diet-related change that your skin will love: incorporating more omega-3s. These fatty acids can be found in food like walnuts, fish, and some seeds, and they may help support your skin health and improve skin barrier function—both of which are welcome benefits as you try to counteract the effects of colder weather on your skin. 

So heap on the nut butters, upgrade your salad order with a side of fish, and add a serving of seeds to your smoothies. Your skin will thank you for it.

11. Don’t Forget Your Feet, Elbows, and Lips

You might find this tip funny—why do I need to pay attention to my feet, elbows, and lips? Well, the bottoms of our feet and our elbows are some of the thickest parts of our skin and they require a lot of moisture to keep hydrated. They’re also the parts that can lose water and hydration the quickest. So while you’re using your body cream pay extra attention to these areas to prevent them from getting rough and calloused.

As for your lips, they’re one of the most delicate parts of our skin. Although they have the ability to heal quickly, you’ll want to prevent them from cracking in the cold weather. Keep a thick lip balm (like Vaseline or Aquaphor) in your bag to reapply and treat them throughout the day.

12. Fine-Tune Your Nighttime Routine

Don’t sleep on this tip…or should you? As you’re switching up your fall skincare routine, pay special attention to your p.m. skincare habits, because the products you apply at night can actually help support the products you apply during the day. For example, if you’re layering on the hydration with toners, serums, and moisturizers in the morning, complement your skincare choices with an extra hydration step at night. 

Our Picks:

• BABOR SKINCARE Cleanformance Renewal Overnight Mask is packed with prebiotics and probiotics to help plump and nourish your skin overnight. We apply this as our final skincare step before catching those Zzzs, knowing we’ll wake up to a more radiant complexion. 

• LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask is a tried-and-true K-Beauty sleeping mask that’s designed to help strengthen your skin’s moisture barrier and protect it from external aggressors. It’s also infused with squalane to help you wake up to plump, bouncy-looking skin.

13. Remember to Keep Moisturizing

So you’ve applied all the creams, lotions, and moisturizers. You’ve done all you need to do—right? Wrong. Think of moisturizing less as a “set it and forget it” practice and more as a continuous investment in your skin’s overall health. Between blasts of cold wind, dry air, and frequent hand washing, your skin can become easily parched, and your role (as the knowledgeable skincare connoisseur you are!) is to keep it quenched throughout the day. 

Our Picks: 

• OLEHENRIKSEN Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer is packed with peptides and hydrating ingredients to help strengthen and firm your skin. The rich, luxurious consistency means that a little goes a long way, so you won’t have to slather on a thick layer. 

• LA CHATELAINE Hand Cream in Passion Fruit is a favorite of ours to take on the go. Not only does it smell delicious, but the formula sinks into your skin to make your hands feel hydrated for longer.

Ready to level up your beauty routines? Take our Beauty Quiz now to get started with your own IPSY beauty subscription. Already an IPSY member? Refer your friends to earn points, which you can use toward products. Either way, don’t forget to check us out on Instagram and TikTok @IPSY.

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