The first day of Summer is right around the corner ! My top 10 tips for The Best Summer Skin Care routine. Part 1 of 2: 1. Remove dull, winter skin First things first: Get rid of all traces of winter to help your clear, healthy skin shine through! I recommend Vita-Boost Vitamin Infusion Serum . Apply a thin layer to face and neck to revive her complexion and brighten dull patches left over from the winter. This serum contains 20 percent vitamin C, the highest concentration that’s found in skin care products on the market today. Don’t do this right before sun exposure, as exfoliation makes the skin more sensitive. 2. Get rid of oil and bacteria To remove oil and grime that might be on your skin. I recommend daily cleansing with Foaming Joy! Purifying Facial Cleanser, which contains hydrating and purifying ingredients to cleanse without stripping skin. If you have oily skin in the summer, opt for a foaming cleanser such as CeraVe Foaming Cleanser.
For a finishing touch to your makeup, I recommend Colorscience SPF powder. It’s amazing because it absorbs excess oil and goes on like a pressed powder, so it works beautifully over makeup and provides excellent sun protection.
3. Apply sunscreen before going outdoors. No summer skin care routine can skip SPF. I recommend using at least SPF 30, which blocks out 97 percent of the UVB (burning) rays. If you go in the water or exercise outdoors and work up a sweat, look for water-resistant sunscreens that won’t wash off. It’s also a good idea to reapply every 3 hours, since it wears off or rubs off, especially if you have oily skin or touch your face frequently. My pro tip: Keep trial/sample sizes of SPF everywhere—your bag, your desk, your car, and your pockets. 4. Don’t restrict sunscreen to your face. Sunscreen is for any part of your body that’s exposed to the sun, not just your face. Don’t forget the back of your neck, the top of your ears, and the backs of your hands. It’s especially important to use sunscreen if you’re using a retinoid or vitamin C product which can make your skin more sun sensitive. I prefer the thinner chemical sunscreens for daily use.
5. Go for multi-purpose skin protection If you don’t want to wear heavy makeup in Summer but still want enough cover, the best skin care products are multifunctional, like AlastinHydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 36. It’s an all-in-one product that combines sunscreen, environmental protection, moisturizer, and foundation in a beautiful formulation and convenient pump. It goes on easily, feels lightweight, looks great, and is easy to remove. I also recommend SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion Tinted SPF 50. It’s lightweight, blends easily, does not turn my skin yellow. 6. Go light on moisturizer Water has a tendency to evaporate from the skin into the environment, especially in dry cold air. For this reason, skin requires more help during the cold winter months. In general, moisturizers that are thicker, ointment based, provide a better barrier to water loss than thin lotions and creams. Therefore, the skin benefits from thicker, greasier ointments during the winter months, and more frequent application of moisturizers as well. During the Summer months, when the air is warm and humid, there is less of a tendency for water to evaporate and less moisturization is required. As a matter of fact, when ambient humidity is high enough, the skin can actually pull water out of the environment. 7. Apply topical antioxidants Sun exposure triggers premature aging and increases the risk of skin cancer, making topical antioxidants a must-have! Topical antioxidants are important for healthy, youthful-looking skin. They neutralize destructive free radicals (by donating an electron to the unstable free radical), which develop from things like car exhaust, daily pollution, UV rays from the sun, emotional and physical stress, and processed foods. Research has shown that topical use of antioxidants can provide additional protection from free radical damage; slow the visible signs of skin aging; be photo-protective, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-carcinogenic; and improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, facial redness, and hyperpigmentation or brown spots.
8. Up your water intake Before you even think about what you’re putting on your skin, you should be thinking about what you’re putting into it. When it comes to properly transitioning one’s skin care routine to adapt to the warmer months, first and most importantly, everyone should be drinking more water. Staying hydrated is essential for beautiful skin and good health. Being well-hydrated stabilizes the skin barrier, which moisturizes your skin and provides the proper medium for cell turnover and collagen production. 9. Wear sun-protective clothing There’s no bigger advocate of sun protective clothing and hats for the summer months than me! It’s easy, fast, and takes out the necessity of having to reapply sunscreen to the body. Coolibar is a great brand which sells fashionable sun protective clothing and hats for the entire family. A normal T-shirt provides the equivalent of an SPF 4-6, but most sun protective clothes are rated with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50+. For running errands, I will often throw on a UPF cardigan to cover my arms. 10. Don’t forget your lips Don’t neglect the sensitive skin on your lips. The bottom lip is a highly prone area. I recommend EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36, an all-in-one, long-lasting, and creamy lip treatment that moisturizes and protects with SPF 31 broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen. I also recommend a Colorescience product called Sunforgettable Lip Shine SPF 35, a lip gloss made with zinc for sun protection.