Summer Skin Care - by Carly Mazur

Everyone loves the summer. BBQ’s, lake days, vacation time but there are all sorts of skin issues that can arise when you are enjoying the great outdoors (attention allergy sufferers!). Sudden downpours to pollen clouds to the sun’s rays hitting skin that’s been covered up for months, summer carries the potential for skin turmoil. This is why summer self care should include proper skin care. Here are some common summer skin concerns and tips to handle them:

SUN PROTECTION

Reconnect with your skin that’s been hiding under layers of clothes. You have already been using sun protection on your face since that is a must year-round, but protecting your arms, neck, chest area and hands is key if you want to avoid visible signs of aging down the road and most importantly protect yourself from skin cancer. Sunscreen is hands down the one thing we overlook in the summer and a crucial part of your daily skincare routine. My go to are SPF 50 or higher that are lightweight, yet gives 80 minutes of water-resistant + sweatproof protection all over. It is important with sunscreen that you check ingredients, SPF value for UV protection, and reapply throughout the day.

HYDRATE AND WAKE UP TIRED EYES

Believe it or not your skin needs as much H2O as your body. There’s a certain enthusiasm that comes with summer time that can lead to outdoor happy hours, pool days, and late evenings leaving us depleted. Heavy work schedules, stress, being overzealous can lead to dehydration and dullness in the eye area. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water so you are hydrated from the inside out is important and adding in a hydrating face cream and eye serum twice a day to wake up tired eyes and brighten the eye area is a quick and easy tip to replenish and hydrate the thin area of skin around our eyes. Wearing sunglasses helps with protecting the eyes but doesn’t help repair that lipid barrier like a good face cream will.

DRY SKIN ON ELBOWS, KNEES AND OTHER TOUGH SPOTS

Your skin has been secretly giving away its moisture to the dry winter weather regardless where you live and if you are in the sun often you will need to exfoliate and moisturize even more. Why is exfoliating important? Exfoliating helps with cell turnover, the natural shedding of dead cells that slow down as we age.

If cells accumulate, skin can feel rough and look dull. It’s not uncommon to find that your elbows, knees and other body parts feel (and look) drier the second you ditch the long sleeves and pants. I personally love RF’s Active Hydration Body Replenish which contains a 3D3P Molecular Matrix to attract water from the atmosphere and lock it onto skin, hydrating and moisturizing instantly and over time. It’s a drink of water for thirsty, parched skin, which just so happens to be all over your body right now. We all need a little help smoothing out the appearance of our skin, even when you are properly hydrating, cleansing, and treating. Luckily, the there are solutions to deal with this season's skin hazards and we can just rejoice in the fact that summer really is right around the corner. Now let's get outside, enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and some good old fashion summer self-care.

Carly Mazur is a the CEO of Team Aspire for Rodan + Fields.

773.330.9984 | carlymazur@gmail.com cmazur.myrandf.com