Summer Skincare

Summer’s weather extremes can play havoc with our skin. As the largest and most exposed of our body’s organs, skin can easily be affected by the elements. Factors that play into altering our skin’s balance include weather, environment, travel, and even our diet.

While we can control our diet and usually our travel, we can control neither weather nor environment.  So when summer comes around, we need to take these conditions into consideration and alter our skincare routine accordingly.

Moisturizer

Generally, warmer weather means more oil, sweat and buildup of sebum, the fatty secretions of the sebaceous glands. While you may believe that you don’t need to moisturize as consistently in hotter weather because of excess oil already on your face, moisturizing is an essential step for preventing telltale signs of aging.

Use a gel moisturizer to maintain your skin’s freshness while balancing excessive oil.

SPF

Another important step in summer skincare is SPF. More exposure to sun is a fact of summertime life.  At the same time, since sunscreen use can cause makeup application to feel uncomfortable, we tend to minimize what we put on our skin.  Fortunately, there are plenty of facial SPFs, which provide protection without a heavy, greasy feeling.

If you’re wearing loose clothing, be sure to use an all-over sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 to protect your skin from harmful UV rays.

Exfoliating

Because of increased sweat and sebum, it’s important to clear out pores and rid your face and body of dead skin cells. Avoid exfoliators which contain microbeads, since these are harmful to the environment. Look for exfoliators containing natural ingredients such as salt, sugar, almond meal, oats, tea, etc.

On your face, be careful not to over-exfoliate since the process is hard on sensitive skin and can cause breakouts. Exfoliate your face once or twice weekly at most. Exfoliating three or four times a week is recommended for your body.

Cleansing

At this time of year we all feel the need to wash and shower more frequently.. Avoid over-cleansing your face and body, as this results in dryness. Washing strips skin of its natural oils and, once that happens, skin tends to produce excess oil to compensate for  dryness. Choose gentle cleansers and body washes and use oil-free lotions after washing.

Enjoy the summer with healthy, glowing skin!