It’s that time of year again! Sunshine, warm summer days, and blue skies! We all want to enjoy this wonderful season and soak in all those rays as much as we can. Living in Chicago with long winters has me looking forward to summer months even before it arrives.
Being an Esthetician though, I have seen lots of women who have spent too many years in the sun with little or no sun protection. Now their skin is paying the price with wrinkles, pigmentation, collagen breakdown and various types of skin cancers.
Let’s talk about ways we can protect our skin and have a great summer!
The good news for facial skin is that make-up and skin care products have come a long way! It’s very easy now to put on a moisturizer or foundation where SPF has already been added. No need to layer on multiple products and getting clogged skin in the process. Using a recommended SPF 30 protection on the face, even on cloudy days, is preventative for future damage.
One side note: For optimal Vitamin D levels it’s fine, and even recommended, that you get 10-15 minutes of sun exposure without protection for optimal health.
Driving does what to my skin?
Women forget that their neck and chest area is getting a lot of exposure daily. I always say those areas are an extension of the face. What happens, later on, is the skin on the face looks well cared for and the neck and chest seem to belong to someone else! It looks 10 years older than the face!
Have you ever been driving your car in the summer and later that day realized your chest area is red? Rays are coming right through your car windows and damaging your skin. Protect this area the same way you protect your face. We can prevent pigmentation and the weathered look on these areas by using a SPF daily.
Same thing with the hands. With all the driving we do in the car, the sun is beating down on our hands and over time there is a cumulative effect. Aging, pigmentation, and wrinkles start to show up on our hands, making them appear older than they are. Keep a tube of sunscreen in your purse and use it like hand cream.
Looking at clients’ skin under a magnifying lamp there is always a common factor that I’ve seen so many times. The left side of the face is usually more damaged than the right side. Why? Because when you’re driving the sun is more intense on that side of your face through the glass of your car. With running errands, picking up kids, etc we’re spending a lot of time in the car and could be damaging our skin at the same time. All those minutes in the car add up with sun exposure. Another reason to wear that SPF!
I’ve always told my clients, “The skin has a memory. It remembers the past damage, but it’s also forgiving and can repair.”
Here’s how to start with repairing:
- Protect your skin every day with a SPF ( I recommend a SPF 30 )
- Eat lots of fruits and veggies which are healing. Smoothies and juicing!
- Hydrate with water
- Take good quality supplements, which are repairing on a cellular level
- Use corrective skin care products with ingredients such as retinol at night.
- Use a good Vitamin C serum, which protects against free radical damage within the skin
Try some of these suggestions and watch your skin take on a healthy glow!
Enjoy the summer friends!
With sunshine on my face,
~pat
