While most of us can’t wait for the summer weather, your anti-ageing wellness certainly can. Summer fries your hair and damages your skin, so how can you enjoy the sunshine without putting your wellbeing – not to mention all the effort you’ve made on your beauty regime – at risk? Let’s take a look at the best skin and hair care tips for battling the summer sun:
1. Uneven Skin Tone: Francesca Fusco, MD, a dermatologist in New York City, advises, ‘Add a retinol serum to your regimen. It will increase cell turnover and lighten any freckles and brown spots on your face, the backs of your hands, and your décolletage.’ She adds, ‘While you’re waiting for your spots to fade, conceal them with a tinted mineral powder.’
2. Clogged Pores: ‘Wearing sunscreen is the best way to protect your skin, but there is one drawback: Layering it on can result in blocked pores,’ warns anti-ageing wellness expert Heather Muir. ‘Scrub with an exfoliant twice a day to clear pores and slough dull skin. Look for a formula with synthetic round granules, like Olay Fresh Effects Bead Me Up! Exfoliating Cleanser which is gentle on sensitive skin.’
3. Dull, Parched Complexion: ‘Apply a moisturiser with hyaluronic acid,’ Muir advises. ‘Each molecule absorbs 10 times its weight in water and pulls the hydration into the skin’s deep layers… Or use face oil, which contains potent antioxidants, decreases inflammation, and passes through your skin’s bilipid layer to help seal in moisture and plump fine lines without leaving your face greasy or causing breakouts. In fact, face oil will actually make your skin less oily. (That’s because your sebaceous glands overproduce oil when your skin is dry and decrease production when the oil is replenished.) Massage two drops onto clean skin, wait one minute, then apply sunscreen and foundation as usual.’
4. Rough Feet: According to Donna Perillo, the owner of the Sweet Lily Natural Nail Spa & Boutique in New York City, ‘The rubber material some [flip-flops] are made of absorbs moisture and dries out your feet.’ Therefore, Muir recommends, ‘Soak your feet in a basin filled with orange juice for five minutes, then exfoliate using a foot paddle. The alpha hydroxy acids in the juice will soften your skin, and the buffer will whisk away dead cells. Before bed, rub an oil on your heels and sleep in cotton socks; you’ll wake up to baby-soft soles.’
5. Sunburned Scalp: ‘Use a hair mask once a week; it’s more concentrated than regular conditioner,’ Dr. Fusco suggests. ‘Apply it all over your scalp after you shampoo, using the balls of your fingers. Comb it through with a wide-tooth comb, put on a shower cap, then heat it up with a blow-dryer for a minute to help your hair absorb the moisturizing ingredients better.’
6. Dandruff and Brittle Texture: Hair and scalp expert Philip B instructs, ‘Before you shampoo, use a boar bristle brush to move oil off your scalp and loosen dead skin cells,’ and then apply a hair-oil treatment. ‘Your natural oils will combine with the treatment and heal your hair with intense moisture.’
7. Dead Ends: Philip B points out, ‘Chlorine bleaches your hair and salt water dries it out, so after a summer spent in the pool and the ocean, strands look fried.’ Get those dead-ends trimmed, then use an oil treatment once a week.
8. Brassy Colour: If your blonde highlights are going a bit orange, Celebrity colourist Marie Robinson suggests, ‘Wash with a violet-based shampoo to tone down brassiness.’