Check out these tips to learn how to keep your skin healthy, clarified, and vibrant all summer long.
- Don’t over-cleanse. Though you may be tempted to use aggressive cleansers through the summer when oil production increases and pores expand, there is no need to attack your skin with heavy hitting cleansers. Cleansing should be a gentle process. Eliminate excessive rubbing and scrubbing, and use only as much cleanser as you truly need to lift makeup and oil from the skin. When cleansing, always use “less cleanser, more water” – water creates slip and will enable you to cleanse thoroughly without wasting cleanser and stripping your skin. Cleansing properly will reduce surface debris while allowing the skin to stay hydrated and supple through the summer.
Favorite cleansers for warm months: Lira Bio Enzyme Cleanser is great for normal and dry types. Osmosis Skin Care’s Purify is an excellent choice for normal to mildly oily skin, and Osmosis Skin Care’s Deep Clean or Lira’s ICE Sal cleanser are fabulous for oily and breakout prone skin.
- Don’t over exfoliate! Your skin is a protective layer that keeps much-needed hydration in and toxins and pollutants out. Constantly trying to strip away that layer of protective cells will prematurely age your skin more quickly than sun exposure! Exfoliation at home should be limited to once or twice weekly depending on skin type. Go for enzyme based exfoliants instead of aggressive rubs and scrubs. Enzymes gently munch away at dead surface cells and provide a more optimal (and skin friendly) exfoliation than harsh scrubs.
Check out Osmosis Skin Care’s Polish exfoliator for a great at-home exfoliation treatment.
- Don’t skip professional treatments. We often think we don’t need as much care for our skin during the hot months, but regular professional treatments (of the right kind) are a huge help for maintaining great skin all summer long. Go for treatments that clarify and hydrate the skin without making your skin sun-sensitive. One of the best warm-weather skin care services is an UltraSonic facial. The ultrasonic technology does a beautiful job of deep cleansing and exfoliating the skin without disrupting the delicate lipid/water balance. Living cells are not disrupted, and nutrients can be pushed deeply into your skin creating maximum softness and plumpness. If you plan to have chemical peels or microdermabrasion during the summer, these should most always be extremely mild and light treatments. If you’re having more aggressive treatments in the summer, you should plan to stay indoors and not receive direct sunlight in the days following treatment. These services are best performed in the fall.
Ultrasonic facials are a fantastic choice for a professional service that will deeply clarify and ultra-hydrate your skin during the summer months.
- Solar protection is important, but you don’t need to bathe in SPF. Despite all the scary warnings that the sun is evil, mankind was not designed to live in a cave. The fact is, we all need some Vitamin D. Where it gets tricky is that we have a melting pot of skin types in the USA and while some of us need very little direct sunlight (fair skin), and others needs considerably more to produce Vita-D (darker types). If you’re walking from your car to the grocery, or the grocery to the car – chances are, you’re better off to have no SPF protection and catch a few rays for Vitamin D. If you’re going to be out all day in the sun at the beach, the pool, the park, etc. of course, SPF is needed. The safest choices in solar protection are physical blocks like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Steer clear of chemical sunscreens, although approved by the FDA, there is a lot of controversy surround chemical sunscreen agents that needs to be cleared up before I feel comfortable recommending them.
Summer is a great season to tweak your skin care regimen. Keeping your skin clarified while not stripping away precious lipids, choosing the right professional services, and making sun-wise decisions will all lead to a healthier, more vibrant complexion.