Over here at Peach and Lily, us New Yorkers are happy that summer seems to finally be here! We’re already noticing though that our springtime skincare regimen isn’t cutting it for us with the onset of humidity and heat.
Did you know that skin ages the most drastically in the summer? There are some lesser known culprits that cause, what I like to call, “summer speed-aging.” The top two are: 1) heat from UV rays and 2) oiliness.
I’ll keep the explanations around the causes brief. First, summer speed-aging is in part caused by skin being excessively heated for a prolonged period. When this happens, blood vessels expand causing stress on the skin around the blood vessels which can cause premature sagging. Second, oily skin attracts more sunlight (read: more damage) and more debris (read: more clogged pores). More sunlight equals higher melanin production which results in unsightly dark spots and uneven skin tone. More clogged pores result in less than optimal skin function and cell turnover as the skin’s ecosystem gets backed up.
So what should one do to prevent that really hard-to-reverse summer speed-aging?
1) Use skin brighteners: this goes a long, long way. Melanin production is suppressed helping tremendously with the prevention of dark spots forming.
2) Keep beauty products in the fridge: Cool your face as much as possible. Even fanning it helps. It sounds intuitive, but sometimes it’s the most obvious that helps. For beauty products that don’t indicate that they should be kept at room temperature (typically anything gel-like or more watery is OK in a fridge) can be stored in the fridge and applied to the face to nourish and cool down overheated skin.
3) Blot and say no to bar soaps: (ok that’s 2 tips in one, but both are important) Blotting papers are summer essentials in our books. Not only does it keep you looking matte but it will absorb the sebum that will help your skin ecosystem stay clear for healthy skin turnover. And of course, less oil means less UV rays being attracted to the face. Finally, try to avoid bar facial soaps in the summer. The binders that hold a bar of soap together usually is a very alkaline base (high pH) which will strip the skin of oils that cause the skin to go into excessive oil production. It’s a good idea to stick to gel or cleansing foams especially in the summer. Nourish the skin as you clean, don’t strip it.
If you need a blotting paper recommendation, this one’s awesome - it blots without leaving a chalky residue: https://www.peachandlily.com/collections/tatcha
On that note, stay cool and cheers to healthy skin this summer, ladies and gents!
-xo, Alicia
