Everyone knows, the secret to flawless beauty is great skin. This is especially true in the hot summer months when you naturally want to show a little more of it! But let's be real, summertime heat and humidity (not to mention chlorine) can have less-than-beautiful effects on our skin. Here are few summer tips that will help you get your glow on so you can breeze through summer beautifully!
Summer is all about baring skin and showing off that beautiful (fake) summer tan. But in order to have great looking skin to show off, you need to take care of it! Here are a few CLC beauty tips to keep you looking gorgeous all summer long!
1. Exfoliate... for clearer, smoother skin.
It is so important to exfoliate your skin. Think of it like taking out the trash—do it often to slough off dry skin and get rid of self-tanner from bronzing sessions past. This one skin care step is one of the keys to smooth, glowing skin. Your body sheds skin cells at an amazing rate every minute of every day. If you don't get rid of them, they'll just sit on the very top layer of your skin which makes your skin look dull and feel dry.
- For your face - The best time to exfoliate is in the morning. Our skin repairs itself at night, so morning is the perfect time to wake your skin up and polish away those dead skin cells. There are some great facial scrubs on the market- one of our favorites is ZO Exfoliating Polish, but in a pinch, you can always use a washcloth. Don't over-exfoliate or use a product with sharp granules that can tear at the skin. Rub the product in a circular motion for 30 seconds and then rinse off with lukewarm -- never hot -- water. You can also take your exfoliating one step further with CLC treatments like microdermabrasion or chemical peels.
- For your body - Forget those fluffy nylon bath things you get with a bottle of body wash. And throw out that bacteria-infested loofah, which is too abrasive on most of your skin anyway. Instead, consider the basic washcloth your best friend when it comes to exfoliating your body. A dry bath brush is another great tool. (You know, that long brush with the wooden handle hanging in the shower no one uses!) You simply give yourself a good dry-brushing from feet on up and then wash off in the shower. Then there is my favorite... the gloves. Nothing works better, in my opinion. There are body scrubs for exfoliating the body as well. For dryer skin, opt for a sugar scrub instead of a salt-based scrub; although salt detoxifies and draws out impurities, it can also be dehydrating.
- Don't forget your feet - It's sandal season ladies. It only takes two minutes every shower to keep feet in great shape for summer. At the end of every shower, exfoliate the bottoms of your feet with a pumice stone for about 1 minute per foot. Make sure to scrub around the toes and the the entire heel. Dry, cracked heels are even less attractive than a grown-out pedicure! Daily care will keep your feet soft and supple during sandal season.
2. Get that summer glow...from a bottle!
I always feel prettier (and skinnier) when I'm tan. And trust me, I know that nothing feels better than the sunshine on your face, but don't do it! You have so many choices when it comes to adding a little summer tint to your skin. Tanning outside, or using a tanning bed shouldn't be among those choices. Using a sunless tanner will give your skin a beautiful glow to start the summer without damaging your skin. (I wish someone had told me this when I was 20!)
3. Hydrate.. from the inside out.
Good skin starts on the inside. Keeping your body hydrated is essential to maintaining a healthy, glowing complexion. It is especially important during the summer. To ensure cells stay hydrated, you need to feed them. That means keeping up your water intake, especially in the sun when you lose more water through sweating. Having a hard time meeting your water intake requirements? Try infused water! It's the "fancy" way to stay hydrated.
4. Use Sunscreen... every day, every where.
If there was only one piece of advice I could go back and tell my younger self, it would be to WEAR SUNSCREEN. I can't stress this enough. Wear it. Every day, every where. And throw away last year’s sunscreen, go buy a new bottle. Sunscreens aren't meant to last forever, and seeing as most people don't use as much as they should you probably have a bottle or two stored away somewhere in your home. Be safe and buy a new sunscreen. Here are a few more sunscreen rules to remember:
- Keep your face protected from the sun - SPF should provide daily multi-defense protection from UVA, UVB and HEV light in order to help prevent skin cancer and sun damage. One of our favorite facial sunscreens is Sunscreen + Primer SPF 30 by ZO Skin Health. This hydrating sunscreen protects against the damaging effects of the sun, plus, it doubles as a makeup primer. One last thing...wear a hat when at the pool or in the garden!
- Protect your pout - The sun’s rays are drying on the delicate lip tissue. To keep your lips luscious, protect them with lip balm with an SPF 15 or higher and reapply regularly when outdoors.
- Don’t forget to protect your other parts - Studies show while most women know to put sunscreen on their faces, they skip their chests, hands and necks. The thin skin on your hands wrinkles and pigments easily, so be sure to use sunblock daily!
Summer is just getting started here in Texas darling... make it a gorgeous one!
