Summer Skin Survival Tips

As the weather changes into the hot summer months, so should your skincare. Summer is hard on your skin. The sun, heat and increased pollution all take a toll on your skin’s glow. Sweat means increased oil production and speedier cell production resulting in summer breakouts. Dehydration is a big problem during these months, both on your body and on your skin. The following are my list of top skincare protocols for the hot summer months.

1.     Sunscreen, sunscreen and more sunscreen. I cannot express this enough. Protect your skin from the sun. Use at least 30 SPF. Use it everyday in your moisturizer, and then reapply before sun exposure and reapply often while in the sun. Use a big sun hat and also use try using special sun protective clothing like fishing shirt, neck gators, etc. Carry your sunscreen with you. I recommend buying small travel sizes to pack in your purse or in your pocket.

2.     Drink a lot of water and increase your fluid intake. Remember that fruits are an excellent source of hydration, like watermelon, peaches, oranges, etc. Dehydrated skin causes dull appearance. Increased hydration makes your skin appear much more supple.

3.     Use serums. Serums will help to hydrate your skin from the outside. Topical serums are a great way to add hydration to your skin. I am partial to my R2R Antioxidant Super-Charge Serum. A good serum can help your skin and also help you to reduce heavy moisturizer creams.

4.     Use a lighter moisturizer. I like using a tinted light moisturizer, like R2R Tinted Moisture Cream, SPF 31. We sell a few other options in the spa. I just like a lighter cream during the hot months to help reduce summer breakouts.

5.     Exfoliate your skin more often in the summer. As I have described, the heat brings sweat and increased oil production and increased cell production. Exfoliation will help to mitigate those issues and leave your skin healthier and with a nicer glow.

6.     Use a nice Face Mist. Keep a face mist in your cooler during a day at the beach or pool and give your face some relief from the heat with a quick spritz. I like using toner in a spritzer. Facial mists not only help to cool you and your skin, they also have nice skin benefits like strengthening the skin’s outer layer protecting against pollution.

7.     Lips sunburn easily. Highly reflective glosses can make the sun damage even worse. I recommend a clear or lightly tinted gloss with SPF.

8.     Treat your eyes. The delicate eye area commonly sunburns causing wrinkles and swelling.  Plus all that squinting from the heavy sun also contributes to Summer issues. I recommend a good pair of sunglasses (or 2 o 3 or more). Stay ahead of under eye lines and wrinkles with a targeted eye treatment and remember lighter is better in the Summer months.

9.     Feet have skin too. People tend to forget their hands and feet. So much of our focus is on taking care of our face, but do not overlook your hands and feet. Exfoliate the skin on your hands and feet regularly. Use a moisturizer and sunscreen on your hands and feet especially when swimming or enjoying the outdoors.

10. Use the services available at SkinSpaMED. Summer is a great time to get exfoliating facials like our Microdermabrasion or HydraFacial.