With the warm summer months approaching, it will soon be time to trade our scarves, sweaters, and Uggs for shorts, tanks, and swim suits. Keeping in mind that rejuvenating our skin from the harsh winter months can be costly, here are a few easy and affordable tips to get skin care ready before hitting the beach.
1. Women tend to feel like their make up feels more like a mask than a cover up during summer, and can easily get the dreaded “cakey and clumpy” look. For some, their foundation simply melts off their face during hot and humid weather, leaving their skin sticky and irritated. To avoid this look, try using mineral make up as opposed to liquid foundation. With the increasing popularity of mineral foundation, it is easy to find a variety of mineral products for affordable prices.
In addition, remember that with summer makeup, less is more. Melanee Roman, make up artist for Mac cosmetics, recommends trying to enhancing our natural look.
“For a summer look, I suggest using golden shadows on the eyes with a hint of green and brown mascara to compliment it,” said Roman. “Use a light shade of bronzer on the cheekbones and chin. It’ll give the face an illusion of a tan. As for lips, I would avoid using lip liner and stick with neutral shades. I don’t advise that women wear liquid, sticky lip gloss during those humid months.”
2. This next tip is for girls and guys alike. The key word that we must all remember this summer is sunscreen. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause premature aging, damage the quality of our skin and more seriously, lead to skin cancer.
Sure sunglasses shield our eyes from the sun, but what about the rest of our face? Often people find themselves with a reverse raccoon look with light tan rings around their eyes. To avoid this disaster, we must remember to generously rub sunscreen with at least SPF 30 over our entire faces every two hours.
Luckily for those who find wearing sunscreen uncomfortable, sunscreen is no longer a thick, sticky, smelly mess. Today’s array of products includes gels, lotions, sprays and even sticks. Some are offered scented and unscented. Therefore, there is no excuse for not protecting our skin from the sun this summer.
“I’ve seen a lot of foundations, such as those from Bare Escentuals, that actually include SPF in their foundation,” said Roman. “If not, I suggest women put a layer of sunscreen under their make up for extra precautions.”
3. Words of warning, avoid over tanning. Some feel that tanning salons are better alternatives to traditional sun tanning. However, it may surprise a few people to learn that tanning beds produce the same negative results, such as structure damage, for our skin as the sun does.
According to dermatologist, Shelley Petersen, harmful UV rays emitted by the tanning lamps and bulbs installed in tanning beds, are behind the development of dangerous melanoma or nonmelonoma skin cancers. Over exposure to the lights of these tanning lamps and tanning bulb lights reduces a person’s tendency to produce DNA.
A substitute to tanning is using faux tan products such as lotions. By using a sunless tanner, our skin will have a beautiful start to summer without the long term harm. Most facial tanners build color gradually. By alternating with our regular moisturizer, we will never get too dark. More importantly, it will create a healthy glow that will make it look as though we just spent the weekend on the beach.
4. For women, summer also means that we can no longer be lazy about shaving our legs. To be honest, most women neglect to shave their legs during the winter months because they are covered up by their pants. However during the summer, keeping our legs religiously shaved is a must. For this, it is recommended that a quality razor with moisturizing bars along the sides be used, as well as, shaving lotion that will hydrate our skin. If shaving lotion is not a top financial priority, use hair conditioner instead.
By following these simple steps, it will be easy to protect our skin and keep it glowing for many more summers to come.
