This summer, I’ve decided to ask YOU what you would like to know about the best ways to solve your summer skin concerns and issues
Summer Skin Concerns Q&A
This summer, I’ve decided to ask YOU what you would like to know about the best ways to solve your summer skin concerns and issues. As I always say, we are all unique and our skins are no different. Using a compilation of your questions posed to us through Instagram, in the clinic and online, I can now answer your questions directly and share this information with others who may also have the same interests!
Here we go!
Question 1: Dehydration
“My skin is superrrrr dehydrated, my skin gets really dehydrated (because of the air-conditioning, planes et cetera) in the summer. What can I do to keep it hydrated?
I love this question because it’s really straight forward! Skins in the summer are usually more hydrated than at any other time of year as it’s hot
and there is more humidity in the air. Yet, we feel that our skins are drier for some reason, but WHY?
Here’s the explanation:
Our skins become hydrated by sucking in the humidity in the air. Ergo, more humidity in the air, the more hydrated our skin is. Hyaluronic acid, for example, is a category of ingredients called “Humectants”, these act to simply allow your cells to absorb more humidity from the air.
So, it’s not the summer or the heat that is drying our skin out.
HOWEVER, factors such as flying in airplanes, and pumping up the Air Conditioning dry out the air and suck the humidity out of the air, allowing our skin to only absorb minimal hydration.
Here’s the solution:
Even if you don’t feel that your skin is drying out whilst you’re in the plane or sitting in an air-conditioned room, it really is!
Pop on a hydrating sheet mask on the plane if you’re brave enough to be stared out for a while, or if you’re like me and you’re quite aware of your surroundings,
simply apply a thicker cream or oil that morning to create a shield between your skin and the air, which will prevent your skin from losing hydration.
I love the Ayuna Cellular Oil.
CELLULAR OIL
Ayuna
Question 2: Breaking Out
"My skin gets really oily in the summer. How can I control my oil production and prevent my sweat from causing my skin to break out?"
Ahhhh, the perils of hot summer weather. Unfortunately, I can’t make your body sweat less …. If I had the solution to that, I would gladly share it!
What I can do is help you understand how to minimise your sebum secretionand clean out your pores, which would, in turn, prevent your skin from breaking out.
Here’s the explanation:
Firstly, it’s important to hydrate your skin and not strip it of its natural oils too much …. The more you hydrate your skin, the less oil it will produce.
I know it’s counter-intuitive, but if you keep using products that strip your skin of oils and give you that squeaky clean skin,
your skin will only compensate by reproducing what you’ve just taken from it …. OILS!! It’s like a catch 22, balance is EVERYTHING!
Here’s the solution:
GENTLE SEAWEED CLEANSER
Sapelo
CRÈME COLLAGENE
Biologique Recherche
Question 3: Peeling
"How can I prevent my skin from peeling? I really want to keep my beautiful tan, but it’s just peeling away, just like the memories of my holidays.."
I too hate this feeling, day by day, I look at myself in the mirror, and my tan is fading!! I’ve even shouted at myself in the mirror once to tell it to stop! I’ve figured out how to slow it down, but not stop it completely (as I’ve come to terms that the latter is impossible) unfortunately.
Here’s the explanation:
The sun does many good things for our skin, and many bad … the good is that it provides the skin with Vitamin D which is amazingly great for our skin in terms of plumpness, even skin tone, hydration, and the list goes on…. But it also has UVA and UVB rays which Age and Burn our skin respectively. I’ll be focusing on the UVB on this one! As much as UVB tans our skin, it also burns our skin. It can burn our skin to the point that we feel burnt (in which case, you haven’t been using SPF correctly), or you have and you’re tanned … YAY! But the reality is that your skin has still “burnt” a little, hence why it’s browner.
Here’s the solution:
Just like you add oil or butter to brown a ribeye, to make it juicier …. Add more hydration and cream or oil to your skincare routine. The more you keep your skin hydrated and nourished, the longer your tan will last. So the moment you feel that tightness, soften it up with some butter! I mean cream. A great one that I like to use on my face at night is the Crème Masque Vernix by Biologique Recherche. And for my body, the Emulsion Corps VIP02 works like a silky charm.
CRÈME MASQUE VERNIX
Biologique Recherche
EMULSION CORPS VIP02
Biologique Recherche
Question 4: Pigmentation
"I’m really worried about sun damage and pigmentation, but I love what I look like when I have a tan.
I know that the simple answer is “Don’t go in the sun or use high factor SPF”, but that usually makes me break out. Is there a middle way here????
I feel for you …. Deeply! This is another one, where if I had a magic wand, I would definitely use it. It is an absolute catch 22, the best way to avoid pigmentation is to avoid the sun.
There are no ifs, buts of hows about it. If there was no sun, we would have no pigmentation, it’s as simple as that!
Here’s the explanation:
To put it extremely simply, the sun stimulates melanin in our skin, which in turn causes tanned skin, but also pigmentation. (If you would like to read more about it in depth, please do click on this link.) So the answer then lies in how to find the right balance?
Here’s the solution: (kind of)
I put my face in the sun in the mornings and in the early evenings, when the sun is not as its peak. This means that the UVAs and UVBs are not at their strongest and most virulent, so I’m able to tan my face with much less risk of burning. At peak times, usually from 12:00 to 5:00, I put a cap on and look like a very cool American!
SPF is of course another huge factor, I too struggle with finding an SPF which I not only feel comfortable with, but that doesn’t break me out.
The best one I’ve found so far is VELO by Ayuna as it’s an SPF 50, so it’s powerful, and I don’t break out with it.
VELO
Ayuna
These tips will definitely make your summer more enjoyable! Please do let us know how you get on with trying them out!
Lots of love,
Natalie x
By Embassy of Beauty