As you will have read in our last Seasonal skincare review blog post, we talked about how to adapt your skin for winter changes and the challenges that we see within our skin during those cold months.
Just like in the winter, as the temperature rises in the summer, our lifestyle habits change and our skin can really suffer, this time with the opposite effects seen in the winter. Things like dehydration, lacklustre appearance, sun damage, increase in oil and accelerated ageing are all really common issues.
For our skin to stay happy during these warmer months we have to adapt what we use and switch up a few things. Usually, we tend to ditch the richer, heavy moisturisers and creamier cleansers and swap them out for products that will balance the PH and feel lighter on the skin.
What should you be changing within your skincare? – SUMMER EDITION
1. Make sure you’re always cleansing your face twice in the evening. The correct cleanser will not leave you feeling dry and tight and will prep your skin for the next products you use.
How to adapt seasonally? – Add in a more purifying cleanser on the second cleanse if you’re finding that you’re becoming more oily.
2. Use a Retinol wisely. This speeds up cell turnover and gives you a brighter appearance, ridding your skin of any dead cell build up.
How to adapt seasonally? – Retinol can still be used throughout the summer as long as an SPF is worn everyday. If you are planning a very hot holiday then I would stop retinol use a few days before, during and after your time away.
3. Protect yourself from the elements, especially the sun!
How to adapt seasonally? – Apply Vitamin C every morning! This is an essential protector against environmental particles and for our deeper skin cells. WEAR SUNSCREEN! If you want to slow down the ageing process, sunscreen is essential.
4. Keep your skin hydrated.
How to adapt seasonally? – Thicker cream isn’t always the answer. During the summer, heavier moisturisers can feel greasy on the skin as we tend to sweat more throughout the day. Swap this for a super hydrating serum which soaks right down into the deeper skin cells. This then makes your skin keep itself hydrated rather than having to rely on moisturiser.
5. Sunscreen. Yes, you heard us. Think of this more as an environmental shield as well as a sun protection.
How to adapt seasonally? – Continue to wear this everyday and reapply throughout. If you are finding that it’s too greasy, substituting for an oil free version will help to absorb any excess oil that builds up during the day. If you find that wearing sunscreen is too much with makeup on top, opt for a tinted sunscreen which gives you a bit of coverage.
*PRO TIP – Invest in a professional scrub and hydrating mask. This is amazing for giving radiant results all year round. During the summer, we can see a lot of build up on the skin, a gentle scrub is perfect for buffing away the dead skin once a week. After you have scrubbed, dowse your skin with hydration, doing this will give you 10x better results as the mask is able to penetrate deeper.
We change everything during the seasons. Our wardrobe, food choices and habits all change as the weather does. So why wouldn’t we do the same for our skincare? we want to ensure that we are providing our skin with everything it needs in order to cope with the heat and keep our skin looking as fresh and dewy as possible.
“With the skin already being under the day to day pressures of stress, lack of sleep, pollution, poor diet, alcohol and the sun; the changing temperature just adds to the stress our skin goes through everyday” – says our lead skin expert Rachel Huskinson. “It’s really simple to change. Once you have a few products within your ‘skincare toolkit’ it’ll be much easier to adapt with each season.”