Large pores, small pimples or even breakouts – summer can wreak havoc on your skin. So, what’s the best way to care for your skin during the hotter months? And with what? We’ve compiled the ultimate summer beauty guide.
Warm temperatures can pose a whole host of challenges for the skin. Even if you don’t change your everyday skincare routine, everything can get out of balance; for some unknown reason, your day cream suddenly causes small pimples and no longer provides sufficient moisture. Or perhaps your pores have become larger due to sweating more?
It therefore makes sense to switch up your skincare regime in the summer. Just like you wouldn’t wear a winter coat in hotter temperatures, you shouldn’t expose your skin to unnecessary care. But which creams or lotions are the right ones? And do you always need sunscreen? Here’s seven simply beauty tricks to follow for beautiful summer skin.
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Apply A Light Texture During The Day
A common beauty myth: sweat automatically hydrates the skin, this replacing your daily moisturiser. Even if the weather is hot and humid outside, you have to provide your skin with hydrating products. Moisturising the skin regenerates the “stratum corneum”, the outer layer of skin which protects against pollutants and prevents irritation or dryness. A gel texture or a light fluid is perfect during the summer months, to avoid tackiness and a feeling of heaviness.
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Efficient Cleansing
In the event of heat and moisture, an oil-based cleanser should be exchanged for a gentle, foaming, water-based variant. Cleansing water with botanical ingredients has a particularly calming effect; grape extracts or products containing salicylic acid in particular provide anti-inflammatory properties. Experts recommend cleaning your face with water several times a day in the hotter months due to a number of factors including touching your face more and sweat; both of which can cause impurities.
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Decongestant And Cooling Products
If you tend to suffer with puffy eyes in the summer, keep a mask in the fridge and apply to your skin for a few minutes. Never use a frozen mask from the freezer, as this can cause damage to the skin. If you just want to give your skin a quick refresh, you can use a cooling facial spray. Try a “face mist” with mint extracts, cucumber or green tea give a quick cooling effect.
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Protect Your Skin From The Sun
In order to protect the skin during the summer, use a high quality suntan lotion every single day. Ideally you use an SFP of 30 or higher to apply sufficient protection for everyday life, but those who are on the beach sunbathing should use SPF 50.
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Vitamin C Serum Instead Of Anti-Wrinkle Cream
Vitamin C is an excellent supplement all year round but it’s even more important in summer. Vitamin C helps to prevent signs of hyperpigmentation, reduces fine lines and can also help with collagen production. In fact this powerful antioxidant is your second line of defence against harmful UVA rays while also helping to boost your skin’s natural defences. A Vitamin C Serum is great in summer as it has a lighter consistency than a cream which in turn doesn’t weight the skin down. It is sufficient to drizzle two to three drops on the skin, preferably between the cleansing step and your moisturiser.
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Don’t Spend Too Much Time In The Water
Between your weekly exercise class, days at the beach and everyday sweating, many shower more than once a day during the hotter months. However experts recommend that you should reduce the time you spend in the shower to a maximum of four to five minutes. This also applies to the swimming pool too. If you spend too much time in the water, you can promote excessive drying of the skin and even face inflammation or summer eczema, which can form more easily on irritated skin.
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Use “Non-Comedogenic” Make-Up
“Comedogenic” is derived from the technical term for blackheads, “Komedo”. “Comedogenic” cosmetics are suspected of promoting impurities, deposits, pimples and inflammation especially during the summer. Products that contain table salt (“Sodium Chlorida”), cocoa butter (“Theobroma Cacao Butter”), wool wax (“Acetylated Lanolin”) or paraffin oil (“Paraffinum Liquidum”) are particularly “comedogenic” so try to avoid to let the skin breathe.
How do you look after your skin in the summer months?
About The Author
Sarah Zimmer is the founder of NAYA. NAYA’s approach to skincare goes beyond their products. From the beginning, Sarah wanted to develop a performance-oriented skincare line with proven active ingredients in higher concentrations. In other words, products that you can feel good about because of their “botanical science”, their proven efficacy and about their sustainability.
Before her time in the beauty industry, Sarah worked in product development in the IT industry. When Sarah is not searching for new ingredients or visiting the lab in Germany, she is in South America working locally with the communities from which she sources her main ingredient, Cacay Oil. The products are developed in Germany and manufactured to the highest quality standards. Sarah lives in London.
I hope you find this helpful and as always, if you have any questions, please let us know and follow us on Instagram @nayaglow.