8 Easy Summer Skin Care Tips

With summer just around the corner, Tammi Young shares her tips on how to keep your skin beautiful and minimize sun damage. This post first appeared on Tammi’s personal blog. 

Our skin takes a lot of abuse from the elements.  During the winter, it suffers under the cold, causing it to become wind whipped, red, and raw.  Conversely, the summer sun dries the skin, burns, and cause breakouts.  After months of enduring the winter weather, spring and summer are welcomed with outside activities.  We garden, bbq, swim, and sit in the warmth of the sun in between our daily activities. These summer skin care tips will help you keep your skin healthy, glowing, and protected.

Protect, Repair, and Nourish Your Skin

Fortunately, tools are available to battle the effects of the sun and protect against further damage. As young women, we often ignored warnings about sun damage. We loved to sunbathe, tan, and soak up the summer rays. We didn’t wear hats or protective clothing let alone sunscreen. In fact, back then people slathered on baby, coconut, and bronzing oils in trying to deepen their tan.

With age comes wisdom and now we are more educated about protecting our skin. For older women our skin, coupled with aging, suffers from dryness, wrinkles, blotchy, and brown spots. Young women may experience excessive oil, breakouts, peeling from sunburns and sunspots. Fortunately, scientific advancements and education are producing some of the best anti-aging and sun protection products available. Retinol, SPF, cleansers, and other beauty products work to help skin look its best.

8 Skin Care Tips

Start with hydration. Water adds moisture to the cells fighting against dryness and making the skin look healthier. Added benefits include making you feel better and increased hydration throughout the body systems. Add a bit of lemon for added flavor without calories or preservatives.

Gently exfoliate. Exfoliate at night gently to remove the top skin dead cells. The result is a glowing complexion and lightening of discolorations. Look for an alpha or beta hydroxy cleanser that is gentle and non-stripping. The chest and neck areas also benefit from a gentle exfoliation.

Masks.  Use two to three times a week on the face, neck, and chest areas. They are perfect right after exfoliating and before moisturizing. Not essential for a weekly skin care regimen, they are luxurious and feel amazing.

Moisturizer. Apply a moisturizer in the mornings with a 40 SPF or higher. Don’t forget your chest, neck, and hands. If you can’t find a moisturizer for your skin type with a 40 SPF use a broad spectrum sunblock over your moisturizer and under your makeup.

Evening Moisturizer. During the evenings, after exfoliating and using a mask, apply a moisturizer to lock in hydration. Evenings are a perfect time to use something with a retinal or anti-wrinkle benefit.

Retinol. If you use retinol during the summer months, keep in mind it makes the skin more sensitive to sun damage. Counter the sensitive effects by using a strong SPF daily.

Lips. The lips are especially vulnerable to sun damage. Rather than using a lip gloss that offers little to no protection, opt for a balm or lip protectant with at least 15 SPF or higher. Remember to reapply throughout the day for the most protection. Apply lipstick or stain over the balm and reapply throughout the day.

Sunscreen. Don’t count on the low SPF in your makeup to give you all the protection you need throughout the day. Look for a sunscreen that offers UVA, UVB, and full-spectrum protection from all harmful rays. Apply the sunscreen every morning under your makeup. Protect the chest, neck, and hands too. It is best to apply sunblocks prior to going out into the sun. Don’t wait until you’re at the pool or beach.

Don’t forget to put sunscreen around the hairline. Consider using a shampoo with full-spectrum UVA & UVB protection (helps prevent color fade too).  Finally, add some protection to your scalp and part. There is nothing worse than a sunburned scalp!

Bonus Tip. Hats and head protection. Hats are the ultimate in protection married with fashion and style. Sun hats are fun and resort-wear like. They are perfect for more than working in the garden or laying at the pool. Wear a great hat to the Farmer’s Market, hiking, beach, weekend activities, and any other time you will be in the sun.  Pair with a pretty sundress and sandals – perfect!