Your post-summer skin reset, week by week

The plan, from Labor Day to Thanksgiving

1. 1Week 1: look closelyStand in daylight with a hand mirror. Note new brown spots, rough patches, marks left by summer breakouts and any mole that looks different. Anything new, changing, bleeding or rough goes to a dermatologist before any facial. The sun damage page explains why rough patches matter.
2. 2Weeks 1 to 2: calm and simplifyDrop the scrubs and anything that stings. The AAD says irritation can cause dark spots, so a reset starts gentle. Keep a mild cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen.
3. 3Week 2: patch-testBefore adding a new product, test it twice a day on a quarter-sized spot inside the elbow or under the arm for 7 to 10 days, as the AAD advises.
4. 4Weeks 3 to 4: add one activeFor lingering dark spots, the AAD lists azelaic acid, glycolic acid, kojic acid, a retinoid or vitamin C. Pick one, not five. If you plan an exfoliating facial soon, ask first: Cleveland Clinic advises stopping retinoids one to two weeks before a peel.
5. 5Late September to October: the facialBook it once you can keep your face out of hard sun for the days after. Cleveland Clinic asks people to avoid sunbathing and tanning for two weeks before microdermabrasion, so plan the last beach weekend accordingly.
6. 6November: judge the resultsThe AAD says most products take at least six weeks to work, sometimes three months. November is the earliest fair check on a September start.

Why start in September, not June?

Florida does not really cool down in September, but the sun does start to ease.

So the window opens in late September and widens through October, as the days get shorter and the beach weekends thin out.

What does summer leave on your skin?

Three kinds of marks are worth looking for in a fall mirror check. Flat brown spots on the face, hands and arms, from years of UV. Darker patches if you have melasma, which the AAD lists as a summer problem because sun makes it more noticeable. And marks left by sweaty-season breakouts, which the AAD says often fade within 6 to 12 months once the cause stops.

They do not all get the same reset. Breakout marks mostly need calm and time. Sun spots respond to a brightening active and exfoliation. Melasma needs a dermatologist's plan before any peel. The melasma vs hyperpigmentation guide helps tell them apart.

What changes if you have darker skin?

The reset is the same, with two extra cautions. First, go slower with exfoliation. Post-inflammatory dark marks can follow irritation, and the AAD notes that deeper discoloration in darker skin can take years to fade, so an aggressive fall routine can add marks instead of removing them.

Second, add a few minutes to the week 1 check. The AAD says that in darker skin tones, skin cancer may show up in places that get little sun: the palms, the soles of the feet, the nails and inside the mouth. Look there too. And keep using a tinted SPF 30 or higher with iron oxide after summer ends, since visible light also darkens spots.

A fall reset at Karisma Esthetics

An example built on the studio's menu. Kay Woodson adjusts it after seeing your skin.

Prices from Karisma's menu, October 2026. Every option is compared on facials in Melbourne, FL.