Find the Skin-Care Product You Should Try This Fall, Based on Your Skin’s Needs

When fall weather hits, it means cozy cups of tea, crunchy leaves, and crisp air filled with outdoor activities. But the change in season that ushers in apple picking and pumpkin-everything is also usually accompanied by big changes for your skin.

“With seasonal changes come changes in humidity, and in the cooler months this can leave our skin more prone to dryness,” says board-certified dermatologist and founder of Tone Dermatology, Caroline Robinson, MD FAAD. “Updating your skin care as the seasons change can be very important to keep your skin balanced.”

How do you determine which types of fall skin-care products you need, you ask? The key is looking at the signs your skin could use some support. For example, if you usually get acne during colder seasons, your skin might be telling you it’s dehydrated (more on the acne-dehydration connection below).

To help you identify your skin needs (and the products that can help) we asked Dr. Robinson to shed some light on three of the most common fall skin-care concerns she sees, along with the ingredients she usually leans on to help. On the product front, we curated five NOW® Solutions beauty products to correspond with each need, so you and your skin can seamlessly ease into your new fall routine—and get back to enjoying pumpkin-everything season.

Keep reading to find your skin’s need for the season, plus the fall skin-care products that can help.

Shop NOW® Solutions Skin Care

NOW® Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Facial Mist $13

NOW® Solutions Hydration Rescue Veg Capsules $30

NOW® Solutions Glutathione Skin Brightener™ Cream $17

NOW® Solutions Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid Serum $20

NOW® Solutions Bakuchiol Skin Renewal Serum $20

Skin Need: Dryness

“Dryness is one of the most common skin concerns I hear about in the fall and winter months,” Dr. Robinson says. A few factors can contribute to dryness, especially as the humidity levels in decrease, resulting in dryer air.

To keep skin feeling supple and balanced, Dr. Robinson recommends daily moisturizer, adding in an exfoliant rich in glycolic, lactic, or mandelic acid, and really amping up hydration by using hyaluronic acid once daily.

“Hyaluronic acid is an important hydrating compound made up of sugars, and is both naturally occurring and found in the human body,” she says. “In our skin, it powerfully attracts moisture throughout the deeper layers. In skin care, it’s helpful especially for those with drier skin because it moisturizes and attracts water to the skin at the same time.”

All it takes is a spritz or two to get your daily dose of hyaluronic acid with NOW® Solutions Hyaluronic Acid Hydration Facial Mist, which is packed with aloe vera and fruit extract to nourish skin. Or, take the inside-out route with NOW® Solutions Hydration Rescue Veg Capsules, which combines hyaluronic acid with collagen to support healthy skin moisture.

Skin Need: Acne

Though you might assume dryer weather might benefit oily, acne-prone skin, that’s not actually the case, Dr. Robinson explains.

“The vicious cycle of dryness and dehydration that often accompanies the change of season can cause our skin to compensate by over-producing oils, and this can lead to clogged pores and worsening of acne,” she says. “Two of my favorite over the counter ingredients to help with breakouts (before seeing your dermatologist) are benzoyl peroxide and retinol.”

If you prefer a plant-based version of retinol, try NOW® Solutions Bakuchiol Skin Renewal Serum to infuse moisture (and help combat that over-dehydration) while gently targeting complexion concerns like tight skin, fine lines, and clogged pores.

Skin Need: Uneven Skin

Sunscreen is basically synonymous with summer, but Dr. Robinson says SPF shouldn’t get packed away with your summer wardrobe—especially if the texture of your skin is a concern for you.

“After the summer months when we are outdoors more we can start to notice unevenness and brown spots on the skin,” Dr. Robinson says. “The biggest mistake I see here is that people discontinue their use of sunscreen at the end of summer because of the false perception that the sun is less intense in the cooler months. Utilizing products that help to improve skin tone are useless without daily sun protection.”

She suggests applying a sunscreen that is at least SPF 30, broad-spectrum, and water resistant daily as a part of your skin-care routine. Another ingredient that pairs well with SPF and can help with skin unevenness? Vitamin C.

“Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that helps to even skin for a natural glow,” Dr. Robinson says, and you can get it in NOW® Solutions Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid Serum, which is formulated to support brightening, tightening, and improving the appearance of uneven skin tone. And if you really want to take the brightening support to the next level, layer it with NOW® Solutions Glutathione Skin Brightener™ Cream morning and night. Who said glowy skin was only for summer?

Top photo: Getty Images/Prostock-Studio