Summer holiday skincare: stay safe and glow
We are officially at the start of summer. Not that the weather seems to agree, of course, but the moment we hit June your skincare routine needs to step up a notch. Why - because UVA and UVB rays from the sun, even on a cloudy day, have the power to cause problems.
At home, just going about your day to day life, you’re less likely to be exposing yourself to UVA and UVB for long periods of time, but every time you step out the house, please apply SPF30!
What I really want to talk about today is the skincare you need to consider putting in place on those two glorious weeks when we head to the sunny shores of France, Spain, Italy or wherever the clear blue skies and sunshine we all crave can be found.
Summer holiday skincare
You might only be away for 14 days, but the difference to the environment in which you are placing your skin is immense, so here is my quick and simple guide to looking after your skin on your summer holiday.
Hydrate
Drink LOTS of water. In the heat of the Mediterranean sun, your body will shed lots of water to help stay cool. You need to not only drink sufficient water to enable your body do what it is designed to do, but you also need to be able to provide your skin with hydration to fight the effects of the heat and the sun’s rays. Without decent hydration, even oily skins can start to feel dry and tight, you may experience flaking or discomfort, and it certainly will have less power to use natural processes to protect itself.
Morning skincare routine
Cleanse
Use my soothing and gentle Prep Cleanse, or your own preferred cleanser, to lift away the remnants of your night cream and prepare your skin for the day. An oil-based cleanser is best for this, as it’s more effective at lifting away other oil-based products.
Hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid is your best friend when it comes to topically hydrating your skin. Hyaluronic acid is brilliant at retaining water, helping ensure the water you drink also feeds your skin. It’s good for all skin types, from oily to dry and as it’s naturally produced by the body, is easily absorbed and gets straight to work.
SkinGoal’s Power HA is perfect for every day, and especially useful when presenting your skin with extreme conditions. It works to protect the skin barrier, which is key to skin’s natural protection abilities, and it both feeds the skin and helps prevent dehydration.
After cleansing, simply apply the serum to face and neck, and let it absorb for a minute before you move to stage two, Vitamin C.
Vitamin C
Vitamin is a magnificent antioxidant that actively defends against sun damage. You can learn all about it in my recent blog, What are the benefits of using a Vitamin C serum, but suffice to say, a good vitamin C serum will help prevent sun damage, reduce the look of existing sun damage, and increase collagen production. All these lovely things are even more important when you’re exposing your skin to UVA (ageing) and UVB (burning) rays.
Apply your Vitamin C serum after your hyaluronic acid serum, and let it absorb. Don’t go out in the sun for at least 30 minutes after application. Vitamin C is photosensitive, which means it breaks down when exposed to direct sunlight, rather negating its properties. By leaving it 30 minutes, you will ensure your skin will have absorbed the vitamin C before coming into contact with the sun, which helps to avoid it breaking down.
If you have very sensitive skin, I would recommend you don’t apply it in the morning, but instead apply it after your day in the sun is complete, so giving skin an antioxidant boost, but avoiding any risk of a reaction.
SkinGoal Power AOX vitamin C serum is a powerful super serum with an active formula of 20% Vitamin C, L-ascorbic acid, which will really give your skin a blast of the antioxidants you need to combat sun damage.
Moisturise
You will probably already have a favourite moisturiser, one that makes your skin feel soft and smooth and touchable all day. This is great, if you love it, stick with it. However, for those of use with dryer skin, we often choose a slightly heavier moisturiser to help act as the barrier to losing that all-important moisture from our skin. However, in very hot climates and especially when there’s a higher humidity, our skin often reacts by producing more oils, which can then make your normal moisturiser feel a bit heavy and clogging on the skin. If you already have oily skin, this can trigger breakouts and blocked pores, with the resulting unhappy blackheads. For the summer months, especially for your summer holiday, consider instead a lighter weight, non-oily moisturiser, such as my Cream Solar 20. It’s ultra light, and does everything you need a moisturiser to do.
SPF
Absolutely the most important part of your facial skincare routine every day, never mind on your summer holiday! Even in winter you should be wearing an SPF, whether it forms part of your moisturiser, or you apply separately. From May onwards anything less than SPF 30, over the top of your moisturiser, won’t give you the protection you need. My Cream Solar 20 offers an SPF of 20, which is great if you’re staying inside, but you HAVE to apply a separate SPF of minimum 30, preferably 50, if you’re heading outside.
You could use the one you have bought for your body, but then you wouldn’t apply body cream to your face, as you know that while it is a moisturiser, it’s not really designed for the extra care your face needs. Same with sun creams. Find a great one for your body and slather it on, then choose something a little more elevated, specifically designed for your face.
My Solar 50 is lightweight, doesn’t feel sticky and comes in an easy-action pump dispenser, so you don’t end up with excess cream on your hands. Judging by the feedback I get, and the repeat buys, it finds favour with everybody who experiences, but I really don’t mind if you choose any other brand, as long as you invest in an SPF that has been specifically created for your face. I get so many clients coming into my skin clinic unhappy about the skin pigmentation and fine lines caused by a lack of good suncare that I can get positively evangelical about SPF, whoever makes it!
Evening routine
After your day by the pool, on the beach or visiting local attractions, you need to cool off, rehydrate - and ash th3e day off.
Cleanse
Having piled so many protective layers on your skin, you now need to take them all off, with the double cleanse routine. Use a light, oil-based cleanser to remove the sunscreen and underlying moisturiser, plus any makeup you may have applied. After this, use a water-based cleanser to lift away sweat and grime and dead skin cells.
I recently launched Botanical Balance Tonic, which actually works perfectly as part of the double cleanse routine. As well as being packed with beautiful botanicals, each one chosen to nurture your skin’s health while promoting a glowing complexion, it has a healthy dose of hyaluronic acid, to hydrate and soothe skin. You don’t need to wash it off, either, simply apply to a cotton wool pad and wipe away the remains of your first cleanser. Bliss!
Hydrate
Yes, you guessed it - a hyaluronic acid serum is a necessity after a day in the sun.
Vitamin C
Again?! Yes! While it’s not necessary to use Vitamin C more than once a day when you’re at home, with most of your time spent indoors, when you spend a full day in the sun, feeding a lovely boost of antioxidants to the skin will really help it fight the free radicals caused by exposure to the sun.
Moisturise
As above!
Bedtime routine
Normally of course we only have two skincare routines in our day, but when on holiday the day is divided into three parts, with your evening routine popping up in the middle,
Cleanse
Remove your makeup and moisturiser with an oil-based cleanser, then use a toner or water-based cleanser to complete the double cleanse.
Moisturise
If you wish, you can pop some more Vitamin C on to your skin at this point, but it’s bedtime, so if all you can manage is your night cream, so be it. Avoid night creams with retinol - it’s not a good idea to mix these active ingredients with the sun and after a day filled with sunshine you need to soothe skin, not strip it.
Yes, your skincare routine may get a little more complicated when you’re on holiday, but remember all those clients I mentioned earlier? If they’d known in their youth what we know now… It’s an extra 10 minutes that will pay dividends long into the future.
