Allergies Wreaking Havoc on Your Skin?

I’ve been sneezing, coughing, and rubbing my eyes for weeks. The pollen this year is off the charts and my skin is suffering as a result. Every morning I take an antihistamine and while it helps to a certain degree with the itching and sneezing, it has the undesired effect of drying out my skin.The skin at the corners of my mouth, around my nose, and at the apples of my cheeks were flaking from all the Kleenex I’ve been using. As a result, my foundation looked cake-y and mottled over the dry patches. Not a good look. So how do you deal with this dryness when you have to keep taking the antihistamine?The first thing you need to do is exfoliate the dry, dead skin. I generally prefer a chemical exfoliant like Dermalogica’s Gentle Cream Exfoliant. It’s super effective and I don’t have to rub my skin. However, I didn’t have any on hand so I tried Cane+Austin’s Face and Body Retexture Scrub.  Because it has 10 percent Glycolic Acid, I chose to spread it on dry skin and let it sit for a few minutes, then I gently rotated the scrub on those patches and rinsed. My skin was instantly smooth, and the dry, flaky parts were gone.I decided I needed a mega-dose of hydration to get things back on track. I layered on Fresh’s Black Tea Overnight Firming Mask. I wasn’t in it for the firming, but hey, I’d take that, too. I put it on about 15 minutes before bed so it had time to absorb. It doesn’t dry down completely and that was a little strange at first. When I woke up in the morning and rinsed it off, I couldn’t believe how soft and hydrated my skin felt. It felt a little firmer, too…so, bonus!I followed with my general routine and will continue to use the mask every other night through allergy season. We wait and wait and wait for the winter to be over and for spring to come and then it’s misery. So pamper yourself a little bit more…it’s almost over…cocktails on the patio are just a week or two away!