The start of fall season marks the beginning of many changes in our beauty routines, including how we treat our skin. Autumn brings cooler weather and a drop in humidity, which means we need to nail down a routine that caters to these issues—and reverses the residual damage from summer. To help explain how to best navigate our fall skin-care routine, we reached out to Dr. Purvisha Patel, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Visha Skincare to break everything down.

Why do you need to switch out your products from summer to fall?

Your skin is the largest organ of the body, says Dr. Patel, and it’s exposed to all of the elements. When the temperature begins to drop outside, your skin is going to need some extra TLC, says Dr. Patel. “Cold air and wind constricts blood vessels which can result in decreased moisture to the surface of the skin,” she says. Your steamy, hot showers aren’t doing you any favors either, Dr. Patel adds. “Hot showers and heating inside evaporates water from the skin faster, resulting in drier skin that can crack and become inflamed.”

The changes that you choose to make in your skin-care routine, don’t have to be drastic. “It may entail small changes such as exfoliating less often and moisturizing more often,” says Dr. Patel. Those tiny tweaks make all the difference when it comes to keeping your skin barrier strong and healthy throughout the colder months.

What ingredients should you look for in the skincare products you use for fall? 

While you don’t want to take chemical exfoliants, like retinol and alpha hydroxy acid, out of your skin-care routine completely—they help to boost collagen production—you may want to consider decreasing your frequency or the strength of the products used. “Too much exfoliation can result in dry skin and inflammation since the cold weather is preventing your skin from repairing as quickly as it does in the summer,” adds Dr. Patel. When you do use a retinol, or another exfoliant, look for products with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, and layer a moisturizing cream on top to help the skin barrier.

Speaking of moisturizers, Dr. Patel recommends creams and balms over lotions: “They’re thicker and lost longer on your skin.” They’re able to trap water into your skin and prevent evaporation, decreasing irritation and dryness. This doesn’t only apply to the skin on your face—be sure to use a thick moisturizer on your body as well to keep the skin below your neck hydrated.

Also, no matter how diligent you were when it came to re-applying SPF this summer, there’s still a chance that you may be dealing with dark spots and an uneven skin tone because of that UV-ray exposure. Work a vitamin C serum into your routine. The antioxidant evens out your skin tone, smooths fine lines, and even protects your skin from environmental damage caused by free radicals.