As our weather in the Pacific Northwest starts to heat up, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about summer skin care. We certainly want to look our best year round and taking care of our skin during the sunny summer months is a great place to start. By preparing your skin for the summer sun, you’ll avoid damage such as dark spots and sunburn.
Water
The easiest and least expensive thing that you can do for summer skin care is to STAY HYDRATED! Drink a lot of water—it’s great for your skin, not to mention every other cell in your body.
Sunshine
While we are fans of UV protection, we also recognize the benefits of sun exposure. UV rays in small or controlled amounts actually do us a lot of good. Being in the sun promotes bone health and is cardio-protective, anti-cancer, anti-depressant while also reducing flu and even diabetes.
We all know the negative consequences of too much sun damage. It’s common knowledge too much sun can increase the risk of skin cancer and premature aging. However, there are health benefits of sunning in small and frequent doses. These dose requirements vary by location, time of year, time of day, and atmospheric conditions. According to the World Health Organization sun protection is only required when the UV Index is 3 or greater.
There is evidence that suggests vitamin D levels play a role in cancer prevention by exerting antiproliferative effects. The higher the level of vitamin D the better protection. However, we need the sun’s rays to synthesize vitamin D. In Portland we suffer from low vitamin D levels because of our cloud cover. In fact, Oregon has some of the highest incidence of skin cancer, and this is likely due to the low levels of UV during most of our year
So how do you become a smart sun worshipper? Start as early as you can in the springtime to get yourself exposed. Expose large body parts for a brief 10-15 minutes at a time. During the summer months get your sunshine early in the day a couple times a week. Cover up or seek shade during the mid to late afternoon sun.
Don’t go out on the ocean, a lake or river without a broad spectrum sunblock! Don’t put yourself into a situation where you can’t get any shade or limit your sun exposure. The bottom line is don’t burn. There is an optimal balance between the sun’s benefits and risk of over exposure.
Aesthetic Treatments
We all want to look our best and continue with our anti-aging aesthetic practices, but not all of them are recommended during the sunny summer months. Between Memorial Day and Labor day it’s best to limit some therapies. Intense pulsed light treatments for skin tightening as well as sun spot or hair removal need to be done with caution. If you have a tan or intend to be out in the sun, avoid these treatments.
Chemical peels should also be avoided if you have any desire to be in the sun. Peels act as an exfoliator, removing the dead skin cells. Dead skin cells actually contain the protective element of melanin and, when dead skin cells are stripped off, the protection is as well.
Avoid having any major skin resurfacing done in the summer months. This includes energy-based treatments such as ablative or non-ablative radiofrequency, CO2 lasers, HALO, etc. This is because, similar to peels, the top skin layers are removed which takes away the protection those skin cells provided.
Microneedling or Collagen Induction Therapy does not damage or remove the epidermis. In fact, studies demonstrate that collagen induction with PRP not only revearses sun damage, but it serves to further protect the skin from photo-aging. This makes it is a safe summer aesthetic procedure. After treatment, you will need to stay cool and not overexert yourself during the first 24 hours.
Skin Care Regimen
Daily summer skin care products with powerful antioxidants will keep your skin protected and healthy throughout the season. Start early, incorporating ingredients such as vitamins C and E before the summer hits to allow your skin to get used to these ingredients. You’ll glide into summer with strong, healthy skin, preemptively preventing damage. Continued use of antioxidant products every morning throughout the summer — and the rest of the year! — will give your skin an extra boost of UV protection and prevent skin damage. Use a moisturizer to seal in hydration.
The bottom line here is that with a little common sense such as drinking plenty of water, using smart sun exposure techniques, a daily skin care routine along with sun-friendly aesthetic treatments, you’ll keep your skin glowing and improving even during the summer months.
SOURCES
- Skin Cancer Facts & Statistics, Skin Cancer Foundation, 27 Apr. 2019
- LD, Megan Ware RDN. “Vitamin D: Health Benefits, Facts, and Research” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 13 Nov. 2017
- Effects of autologous platelet-rich plasma injections on facial skin rejuvenation.
Du R1,2, Lei T1.Exp Ther Med. 2020 Apr;19(4):3024-3030. doi: 10.3892/etm.2020.8531. Epub 2020 Feb 17.
Photo Credits: Fernando Brasil and Azamat Zhanisov on Unsplash
