Having bright glowing skin has never been an issue for me until I reached my mid 40’s. Once perimenopause crept in, I noticed marked changes in my skin – one of them being an overall dullness that wasn’t there before. Bright skin is often associated with a healthy, even-toned complexion, but a number of factors can leave your skin looking dull and tired. Dull skin can affect how your skin looks, how makeup sits, and even how confident you feel. Improving your skin’s brightness is not about quick fixes, but about using the right combination of skincare and daily habits. Once I switched up my skincare and added in the right products, that healthy glow came back to my skin.
How To Get Brighter Skin
Dull skin is a common concern that can impact more than just your complexion. The skin can appear tired, uneven, and less healthy overall. Achieving brighter skin is not just about using one product. It involves consistent skincare, the right ingredients, and healthy lifestyle habits that support your skin from the inside out. Having the right approach can help restore a more radiant, healthy-looking complexion that enhances your overall appearance.
What Is Dull Skin?
Dull skin is not a skin type, but rather a temporary condition. It is skin that lacks radiance and glow. The great thing is it’s something that can be improved quite easily with the right skincare routine and habits.
What Does Dull Skin Look Like?
Dull skin often looks flat, lifeless with rough texture and an uneven skin tone. Dryness and dehydration often go hand in hand with dull skin which can emphasize things like fine lines and pore size.
What Causes Dull Skin?
Dead skin cell buildup
As we get older, cellular turnover slows down especially on our face. This can result in dull and lackluster skin.
Dehydration
When the skin lacks moisture, it will appear dull. Dehydration can be caused from not drinking enough water or not properly moisturizing the skin.
Sun damage
The sun can wreak havoc on the skin in so many ways. A tan may seem great in the moment, but often can cause dark spots and dehydration which will ultimately lead to dull skin.
Lack of exfoliation
Regular exfoliation is one of the best ways to achieve brighter skin. Just be sure you aren’t overdoing it and damaging the skin barrier.
Poor diet or sleep habits
Unfortunately lifestyle habits can be one of the biggest contributors to dull skin. Poor sleep, improper nutrition, underlying health concerns, etc – all of these can cause the skin to look dull and lackluster. This one can be hard to change so there are always great concealers and brighteners (this Rare Beauty Under Eye Brightener is good for no makeup makeup days) that can help with this.
How To Make Your Skin Brighter
Exfoliate regularly to remove dead skin cells
Exfoliation is one of the easiest ways to get rid of dead skin cells on the face. Between physical and chemical exfoliation, a chemical exfoliant is more effective at targeting skin dullness, uneven skin tone and texture.
Keep skin hydrated with moisturizers
One of the quickest ways to bring a glow back to the skin is to moisturize your skin. Hydrated skin will always look fresh, radiant and glowing.
Use sunscreen daily to prevent dullness
Many people associate the sun with looking glowy and tan. But often the sun can damage and dehydrate the skin leading to dullness, dark spots and hyperpigmentation so be sure you are wearing sunscreen daily.
Cleanse properly to remove buildup
Be sure you are washing your face thoroughly morning and night to remove all makeup, sunscreen, environmental buildup, etc from the skin. Choose a cleanser that is best for your skin type though I have a ton of great recommendations of the best face wash for aging skin in this post.
Incorporate brightening serums
If you are consistently doing all the above steps and still struggling with dullness, add a serum into your skincare routine that targets brightening.
What Ingredients Help Brighten Skin
Vitamin C for brightening and evening tone
Vitamin C is one of my favorite ingredients to brighten because it helps to inhibit melanin production and even out the skin tone.
Niacinamide for reducing dullness
In addition to dullness, niacinamide is great at helping reduce redness and inflammation.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids for exfoliation
Chemical exfoliation is one of the most effective ways to brighten the skin. There are a few different types of alpha hydroxy acids to choose from so it’s good to try various ones to see which suits your skin best. The most popular acids available are glycolic, lactic and mandelic.
Retinol for skin renewal
Retinol helps to stimulate cell turnover so it works wonders at helping your skin look brighter and more youthful. There are prescription strength retinoids that you can get from your doctor, but also a ton of over the counter options that deliver amazing results.
Tranexamic acid for dark spots
Much like vitamin C, tranexamic acid inhibits melanin production in the skin which can help fade dark spots, hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone.
Skincare Routine for Brighter Skin
Step 1: Cleanse
Removing all your makeup and properly cleansing your skin both morning and night is key to having healthy, bright skin. Start with a cleansing balm which will thoroughly take off all your makeup, then follow with a second cleanser designed for your skin type to really give the skin a deep cleanse.
Here are a few of my favorite cleansing balms: Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (code: MAREE20), Then I Met You Cleansing Balm (code: MAREE10) and Remedy Cleansing Balm.
Here are a few cleansers that are designed to help brighten: Oliviaumma Cloud Foam Brightening Cleanser, Hanyul Yuja Brightening Cleanser with Vitamin C + Niacinamide and Rose Ingleton SuperFruit Brightening Gentle Foaming Gel Cleanser.
Step 2: Use targeted skincare devices
A solid skincare routine is key for getting brighter skin. However, if you want to take it up a notch, invest in certain skincare devices that will help give additional brightening benefits.
Here are the two skincare devices I recommend investing in: my favorite LED mask does wonders for helping even out the skin tone (use code: ALITTLEBITCB to save) and this microcurrent device that can also aid in smoothing and brightening the skin (use code: MAREE to save).
Step 3: Tone/exfoliate
It’s important to exfoliate regularly so you can do that during your toning step. Choose an acid toner that will give you a gentle chemical exfoliation. Use 1-2x/week and build up to regular use if needed.
These are a few exfoliating toners that will really help to tackle dull skin: Paula’s Choice 6% Mandelic Acid Liquid Exfoliant for Dark Spots, INNBEAUTY Skin Prep Exfoliating Pads and YSE Beauty Facial Exfoliating Pads (code: MAREE15).
Step 3.5: Skin flood
I listed this as a half step because it’s not necessary BUT dehydrated skin is often the cause for dullness. Ensure you are properly hydrating the skin and it will appear brighter almost instantly. One of the ways you can do this is by skin flooding (layering multiple hydrating toners one after the other). For more information on how I skin flood in my routine, you can read my blog post which goes into more detail.
Step 4: Use brightening treatments/serums
This is the step where you can really see the most results by using targeted treatments and serums to help brighten, even out the skin tone and treat any discoloration. There are many different active ingredients that you can choose from so it may take some trial and error to determine exactly what works best for your skin.
Here are a few of my personal recommendations for serums that help to brighten the skin: Mother Science Molecular Hero Serum (code: MAREESYE), Clarins Double Serum and Educated Mess Golden Hour Serum (code: MAREE15).
Step 5: Moisturize
An additional step in your skincare routine where you can use a targeted brightening moisturizer or a nourishing formula to help hydrate. Either way, it’s important to keep the skin well moisturized in order to get bright, healthy glowing skin.
A few moisturizers that can help to brighten: Then I Met You Bong Bounce Cream (code: MAREE10), Dr. Idriss Major Fade Active Seal Dark Spot Moisturizer and Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Moisturizer.
My personal favorite moisturizers that are great for intensely moisturizing: Dieux Instant Angel, Experiment Beauty Molecular Mesh (code: MAREE15) and INNBEAUTY Extreme Cream.
Step 6: Sun protection
No matter what time of year it is or what the weather is outside, you should always have sun protection on the face. Especially if you are trying to brighten your skin. Sun damage even on cloudy days can occur. In order to protect all the hard work you are doing with your skincare routine, be sure to wear a sunscreen every single day.
Here are my favorite SPF formulas that I love to wear alone or under makeup: Versed Good Defense SPF, OneSkin OS-O1 Face SPF (code: MAREE15) and Naked Sundays Cabana Clear SPF 50.
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