Summer Skin Care Tips

8 Essential Summer Skin Care Tips

Up Your Exfoliation Game – I am a year-round exfoliant advocate, but I am especially adamant about it during the summer months. There are a number of reasons for this: it helps my moisturizing products absorb better, it keeps my skin looking and feeling fresh, it helps to stimulate cellular turnover [allowing my skin to heal], it preps my skin for a beautiful, even glow when I opt for a spray tan, and the list goes on. There are a variety of different chemical and physical exfoliants that will produce beautiful results. Do your research and ask your esthetician about which ones may be right for you!

Reapply Your Sunscreen – We all know we need to apply sunscreen all year round, not just during the summer, but so many people admit to being inconsistent about reapplying throughout the day. The truth is, you should be reapplying every two hours you spend in indirect sunlight, and every hour you spend in direct sunlight. Sounds like a lot, right? I find spray sunscreens to be incredibly useful for reapplying body sunscreen on the go. I love Coola’s Pina Colada Suncreen Spray SPF 30 and powdered mineral sunscreen brushes for easy reapplication on my face. You can’t go wrong with Colorescience’s sunforgettable Mineral Sunscreen Brush SPF 50.

Don’t Forget to Love Your Lips – If you aren’t already wearing a lip product with SPF, now is the perfect time to start! Many people have an unspoken idea that the lips are immune to sun damage, which is simply untrue. I am a total lip balm aficionado, be it on it’s own, or under my lipstick. My two favorites at the moment are Epicuren’s Anti-Aging Lip Balm Tube and June Jacobs’ Lip Renewal SPF 50.

Get a Double Dose of Antioxidants – The summer heat and sun can be especially harsh on the skin, which is why I recommend trying a high-antioxidant product that works for your skin type. I have been hooked on iSClinical’s Pro-Heal Serum Advance+. This product is an amazing formula that treats inflammation, acne, redness, and aging while infusing the skin with vitamins, oils, and antioxidants. I have seen this product featured in many different magazines and am always excited to share it with my clients.

Take Cool Showers – I have never been a fan of hot showers in the summertime, but if you are, you must know that it can cause excess dryness of your skin. Honestly, it would be best for your skin to take cooler showers year round (here’s looking at you, winter dryness). It can be a healthy and refreshing combo on summer skin that has already spent lots of time exposed to heat. If a cold shower isn’t for you, simply turn down the heat to a temperature you feel comfortable with!

Be Prepared to Battle Breakouts – I have many clients who enjoy perfectly clear skin during the cooler fall and winter months, but are no stranger to a face or body breakout in the summer. It is only natural for sweat and oil to increase the likelihood of pimples, so be prepared and take preliminary measures to prevent them. Be sure to shower daily, and don’t forget to wash your back! As for your face, be sure to cleanse both AM & PM. I recommend cleansing your face twice at night. If you are looking for a fabulous preventative wash, I highly recommend Vivant Skin Care’s Mandellic Acid 3-in-1 Wash. I love that this product was designed for face, body, and scalp use. This is a great daily cleanser for adult acne, can be used on the scalp for acne, dandruff and irritation, and makes an amazing shave gel for those who are prone to ingrown hairs.

Get a Clarisonic – Okay, so this is more of a product recommendation than a tip, but seriously, this is one of my favorite tools year round, but especially in the summer. Clarisonic makes many different models, all of which are fabulous. These brushes use sonic technology to gently remove impurities while improving the skin’s natural elasticity.

Keep Your Hair Safe from Chlorine – If you like to spend your summer in the pool, you have probably seen the ill effects chlorine can have on your hair. A fun trick I like to use to minimize the damage is running my hair under tap water before diving in. This allows my follicle to become full with water, meaning it will absorb less of the chlorine.