my skin is basically grieving summer right now

Right so it's that point where the heating's come on indoors but it's still not that cold outside and my skin is just... confused. I'm not a dermatologist but six years of obsessing over this stuff has taught me that this exact window — like late September into October — is when most people accidentally wreck their barrier without realising. What I see happen every year (including to me, multiple times) is that people switch to richer creams because it feels like the right thing to do for autumn, but they skip the actual hydration underneath. A thick cream on skin that's already dehydrated just sits there. It doesn't fix anything, it kind of seals the problem in. The thing that actually helped me was adding a proper humectant layer back in — something with hyaluronic acid or glycerin — before anything else. Boring advice I know but it genuinely makes a difference. Also and I feel like this doesn't get said enough — the SPF situation in autumn is not as different as people think. UV index drops yeah but it doesn't disappear, and after a summer of (hopefully) consistent SPF use your skin will notice if you just stop. I keep mine in the routine, lighter formula maybe, but it stays. The other thing I've been thinking about is collagen. I take mine every morning anyway but I do feel like consistency with it matters more when your skin is going through a transition period. Whether that's actual science or just me being attached to my routine I honestly couldn't tell you. But I'm keeping it.