During the summer, your skin requires the same attention, if not more, than the rest of the year. While the skin is often under constant sun exposure due to more time spent outdoors, it's also more likely to become damaged and stripped of its healthy glow. Sunscreen is a given to prevent photodamage and skin cancer, but SPF isn't the only skincare product that deserves all the attention in a summer skincare routine. Hydration remains a top priority during the summer months. The skin can take on a dried-out and dull look without ample moisture. But it's also important to switch your daily skincare products from heavier winter-appropriate formulas to lightweight ones ideal for hotter weather. To make the most of a summer skincare routine and keep your skin glowing at its best, don't gloss over using serums, exfoliators, toners, and even moisturizing ingredients.
If you want to keep your skin glowing during the dead of summer, there are a handful of tips to follow.
Best Face Moisturizers for Dry Skin
Hydrated skin is necessary all year, but many of us think it's okay to skip using moisturizer in the summertime due to increased humidity in the air. While your skin may feel less dry naturally when it is hot outside, don't skimp on wearing moisturizer day and night since heat can dehydrate the skin. Finding the correct moisturizer for your skin's needs will help lock in moisture so that the skin does not become dehydrated from the sun or overexposure to chlorine and air conditioning, which can make skin thirsty and cause fine lines and wrinkles to become pronounced easily.
The best face moisturizers for dry skin to use during the summer are oil-free, non-comedogenic ones that incorporate tried-and-true hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, glycerin, and squalene. During the day, reach for gels and lightweight lotions; at night, you can wear something a little heavier on the skin, but it should be lighter than your wintertime moisturizer. And, for an extra cooling effect, store your moisturizer in a skincare fridge.
Best Overall Skin Care Products for Dry Skin
Retinol is one of the best anti-aging and glow-inducing ingredients for dry, dull skin. That's because the vitamin A-derived ingredient speeds up skin cell turnover and stimulates collagen production, creating plump, fresh skin that isn't bogged down by dead skin cells, which can dull the skin's ability to reflect light correctly.
Yes, retinol can leave the skin more sensitive to the sun, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be a staple in your skincare routine, especially if your skin is dry. As long as you pair retinol with sunscreen and moisturizer, dry skin should be able to handle retinol all year. However, if you
find that retinol leaves your skin a bit dry or flaky, try the skin cycling approach to using retinol, which consists of cutting down on other exfoliating acids and only applying retinol to the skin a few nights per week rather than nightly.
Best Sunscreen & SPF Skin Care to Use During the Summer
Not a day should go by that your skin isn't protected with sunscreen. Years ago, people thought that sunscreen was reserved just for wearing during the summer or days spent at the pool or beach when the sun is the strongest, but research shows that the skin is exposed to damaging sun rays every day of the year, regardless of the weather outside. Invest in a good sunscreen if you want to keep your skin healthy, plump and free of sun-induced discoloration and potential cancer while preserving the integrity of your skin's collagen and elastin levels.
While sunscreen use is imperative during the summer, choosing the right formula is equally as critical; otherwise, you'll be less inclined to wear it. That means looking for a daily broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays but doesn't burn or itch the skin, lead to breakouts, a white cast or a greasy finish. Oil-fee, lightweight formulas made for the face that are void of occlusive ingredients that can clog the pores are best, as are non-comedogenic sunscreens. There are even tinted versions to add a bit of color to the skin. Thicker sunscreen formulations are most compatible with the skin from the neck down. Key sunscreen ingredients to note include zinc and titanium dioxide, also known as mineral sunscreens.
Moisturizers with sunscreen are better than not using sun protection on the skin, but SPF-packed skincare shouldn't be the end all be all. That's because skincare products with sunscreen don't always contain enough sunscreen to protect the skin, so you'll want to layer on a separate sunscreen after using them.
Reapplication every two hours will ensure your skin is safeguarded from the sun. If makeup is on the skin, reapplying sunscreen with a powder formulation is easy. It is often considered the least messy reapplication method since it won't mess up existing makeup and give the skin a mattifying effect.
Best Lip Balms for Dry Summer Lips
Lip balm, especially those chock-full of SPF, is one of those year-round beauty products, especially during the summer when temperatures soar to an all-time high. Hotter weather can deplete the lips of much-needed moisture, rendering them dry and cracked. But wearing lip balm on the lips all summer months helps protect the thinner skin by coating the lips in a protective barrier that makes them resistant to the sun, chapping, splitting, and blistering. Plus, like the skin everywhere else, the lips are equally susceptible to burning, damage and pigmentation, so shielding them from the sun with lip balm can prevent that.
Most lip balms are hydrating—the more moisturizing, the better—which helps offset dryness. The goal of any lip balm is to bump up that moisture content, so opt for ones with ingredients such as shea butter, ceramides, petrolatum, and hyaluronic acid, which pull in and lock moisture into the lips, which also gives a mild plumping effect.
Best Face Serums for Summer Hydration
Serums are a skincare staple all summer long. That's because these lighter-weight formulations are more fluid yet still pack a hefty dose of skin-friendly ingredients and antioxidants that do just about everything under the sun, from moisturizing dry skin to smoothing fine lines and tackling acne. Most skin types are more responsive to serums than heavy creams and lotions during the summer because the skin doesn't need heavier moisturizers. Using something too rich on the skin can leave it feeling oily and greasy and clog your pores, causing pimples. But with a lightweight serum, the skin is left looking healthy and boasting a natural glow with a hint of dewiness that everyone chases.
One of the many reasons why serums are favored for hydrating the skin during the summer is that they feel good and light on the skin and pair well with other skincare products, namely sunscreen. And using sunscreen with vitamin C serums is a surefire way to keep free radical damage at bay since using the two together helps thwart collagen breakdown and limit inflammation.
Best Cleansers to Use During the Summer
Cleansing the skin properly and effectively is necessary to remove dirt, oil, makeup, grime, and anything else that takes up residence on your skin. Foaming and gel-based cleansers do a good job lifting away dirt and oil while hydrating milk and cream cleansers can comfort and hydrate dry skin. On average, washing the skin morning and night suffice for most people during the summer.
Double cleansing, which requires first cleansing with a balm or oil cleanser to break down makeup and sunscreen and then a more traditional cleanser to wash everything away, is also beneficial for thoroughly removing every last trace from your skin. Skincare products like sunscreen and oil-based makeup are more difficult to remove thoroughly from the skin, where double cleansing comes into play without drying or stripping the skin.
Exfoliating cleansers are also essential to incorporate into your summer skincare routine. During the summer, dirt, dead skin, product buildup, and oil are more likely to build up on the skin leading to dullness and even breakouts. Gentle exfoliating cleansers used a few times per week can help the skin maintain its healthy summer glow. Just be careful not to over-exfoliate the skin, which can lead to irritation and microtears and compromise its overall healthy.
Best Skin Care Products with Hyaluronic Acid
If there's one skincare ingredient that seriously benefits all skin types—dry skin included—it's hyaluronic acid. This naturally-occurring sugar helps hydrate the skin and give it a natural plumping effect, reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Of all the skin benefits hyaluronic acid is known for, its ability to keep the skin moist and alleviate common symptoms associated with dry skin is its biggest asset.
Hyaluronic acid draws moisture from the air and brings it into the skin to moisturize it. The acid, which doesn't function in the same capacity as other skincare acids, can hold 1,000 times its weight in water, which is why it is beloved for dry skin and anti-aging benefits. When the skin is dehydrated, fine lines and wrinkles are more evident, but plumping up the skin with moisture helps smooth them out, which is why so many skincare ingredients, and even professionally-administered aesthetic treatments, contain hyaluronic acid.
Unlike other moisturizing ingredients that can sit on the skin and take what seems like forever to 'dry down,' hyaluronic acid absorbs into the skin pretty fast, so you can continue with the rest of your skincare routine. It's also non-irritating and compatible with nearly all other skincare ingredients, so nothing is off-limits when using hyaluronic acid.
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