8 Simple Summer Beauty Tips

Summer is Upon Us–Is Your Skin Ready?

Summer is here, and it's time to start going to the beach, the pool, the golf course, or just walks in the park. As good as it feels after a long, cold winter to have the sun on your skin, that sun can do a lot of damage.

So how do you take care of your skin? What are the best beauty tips for summer? Here are eight of our summer skincare tips.

#1. Sunscreen, Sunscreen, Sunscreen

If you forget all the other tips here but remember this one, it's that you want to get a good sunscreen with an SPF 30 to SPF 45. Your skin is sensitive, and even though you may be young with flawless beauty, your skin is precious. It won't always be perfect, especially if it gets sunburned or over-tanned.

Remember to get sunscreen everywhere. Ears, back of the neck (even under your hair), lips, toes, everywhere. Your skin can burn in as little as 15 to 20 minutes if you're not protected, and that painful, peeling sunburn won't just look bad, it does significant damage and can cause cancer. So apply liberally and apply every couple of hours.

#2. Double Dip with High-SPF Moisturizer

Yes, we'regoing to harp on getting sunscreen some more, but there's a good way to combine two steps of your skin care routine. Get a dual-purpose moisturizer that has SPF 30 or more. This can give you all the benefits of a moisturizer and all the benefits of a sunscreen.

Just remember: even though it's a moisturizer, if you're using it as a sunscreen substitute you must reapply every few hours. And this matters whether you've been in the pool or not. Your skin is too beautiful and delicate to leave to the elements!

Moisturizer is especially important as a summer skin care routine for oily skin. Even though you're outside and sweating in the sun, don't mistake that sweat for your body's natural moisturizer. If you have oily skin, you need a moisturizer.

#3. Wear a Sunshirt

Why yes, we'regiving you one more warning about the sun. Sunshirts–shirts that have an intrinsic SPF–are becoming more and more in vogue. Go to the pool or beach and you're sure to see more than one beautiful person wearing a sunshirt.

This means that you don't have to keep applying sunscreen to your arms, back and shoulders. But don't forget about everywhere else!

#4. Load Up On the Vitamin C

Vitamin C has more benefits than protecting your immune system from the common cold. Vitamin C has great properties that manifest in the summer. But don't take tablets orally–use a VItamin C hyaluronic acid serum and apply it directly to your skin. Vitamin C helps with hyperpigmentation and collagen production, which will prevent fine lines and wrinkles.

#5. Exfoliate Now More than Ever

While there are times when you need to remember the advice to not over-exfoliate, the summer skin care routine for combination skin types should include exfoliation. With all the sunscreens and moisturizers that you're applying to your face and body, your pores–especially if you have oily skin–can get clogged. Using alpha-hydroxy acid pads to clear up those pores and remove oils will prevent acne. And in the summer when you're showing so much skin, you don't want acne.

Ah, but there's a catch-22. Just as the more frequent use of sunscreen means your pores can get clogged more easily, the more frequent use of acid pads to clean your skin will make your skin photosensitive. This means that you need to exfoliate within reason (not every day, but more often than during the winter) and you need to use sunscreen every single day.

#6. Don't Get Addicted to Hot Showers

While you are spending so much time outdoors and working up a sweat, a sweat that needs to be washed away, getting too much hot water too often (summer or winter) can be bad for your skin. When you get out of the pool and want a shower, make it a quick one. When you come in from a jog and you're all sweaty, shower quickly and in cooler water.

Why? Hot water dries out your skin, which leads to inflammation and eczema.

#7. Use Self-Tanners. Yes, They Are Good!

Long gone are the days when self-tanners turned you orange. A self-tanner that you apply with a makeup sponge is SO much better for you and your skincare routine than going tanning by the pool, the park, or the backyard. Anytime you can keep the sun's rays off your skin, you're preventing the free radicals and all the other nasty things that cause lasting damage.

#8. If All Else Fails, Find a Spot in the Shade

You don't need to be working on that tan every minute of the day. Finding a cozy spot under a beach umbrella or under a tree in the park will do wonders for your skin. And we'renot just kidding. Staying in the shade prevents premature aging and keeps those nasty UV rays from wreaking havoc on your skin.

The shade can be just as fun in the sun, as long as you've got the right book, music, or people to accompany you.