Ahhhh, summertime, the warm sun on your face, and back, and arms, and legs, you get the picture. During the summer, we wear less clothing due to the heat, we wear our hair pulled back into ponytails to keep cool, and we wear sandals to keep our feet cooler. All of these ways that we help keep cool in the summer expose our skin to various weather conditions and environmental pollutants that our skin is fairly protected from in cooler months. If you have dry skin, it is probably happier in summer months because skin generally stays moister during this time. However, if your skin is oily, you probably don't enjoy the effects of heat and humidity because oil production may be increased.
Some summer skin care changes may be in order for you. For instance, did you know that exfoliating your delicate facial skin with rough scrubs, loofah sponges, man-made exfoliating puffs, and sea sponges can easily create tiny, microscopic tears in your skin. On many people, especially as your skin ages, these tears are optimal areas for hyperpigmentation (dark patches) to develop through sun exposure. A great, easy exfoliating treatment is to use a little organic honey and a little sugar mixed together. The honey will moisturize your face while the sugars natural acids gently exfoliate without creating microscopic tears in your delicate skin. Exfoliating arms and legs, knees and elbows is usually fine with the man made exfoliating puffs and such but on any of your more delicate skin, you should use an exfoliating mixture like the one mentioned above.
Whether you are using this on your face or body, massage it into the skin and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Rinse well with warm water (never use hot water on your skin). Do not cleanse after rinsing. Honey is a natural cleanser with anti bacterial agents, so you are already clean. Using this as a cleanser for your summer skin care, you will cleanse away debris and bacteria without stripping too many of the natural oils your skin produces.
These oils are very necessary; your skin uses these oils to keep it water proof and moist. If you strip them from your skin, your skin will begin to over produce these oils in an effort to replace depleted moisture. Even if you choose not to try organic honey as a cleanser, you do need to use a detergent free cleanser. Detergents in your cleanser tend to over strip the oils in your face and are often difficult to rinse completely.
By leaving a slight residue on the face, these cleansers add to a drying process which, again, pushes your skin to produce too much oil. Detergent free cleansers will clean well, but you will not see lather from them, so do not be surprised. It is the detergent in cleansers that creates lather. While I always recommend that you use facial moisturizer to keep your skin in optimal condition for good health and to help protect from various environmental conditions, you may find that using a water based (rather than oil based) facial moisturizer works better for you in the summer. No matter which you use, make sure you get one that has built in sun protection. Every time you add a bit of sun protection to your products, you are helping to save yourself from potentially harmful conditions later.
At the very least, you will be less apt to develop hyperpigmentation by using products with built in sun protection. Another thing that you need to keep in mind for summer months is that many cosmetic manufacturers now offer foundation that has built in sun protection. If you add this on top of using a moisturizer with sun protection, you will be better protected. Your body moisturizer, usually a lotion in the summer, should also have sun protection, but it will be necessary to use an added sunscreen if you are going to be in the sun for extended periods of time.
Remember, by choosing summer skin care products with sun protection, you are most likely saving yourself from trouble later.
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