Summer-Ready Your Skin + Tips To Beat The Heat

Now this topic (as a question) accidently popped on my screen on a popular question-answer site & thankfully gave me the idea for the next blog topic.

Firstly I’m sorry about the long break & you know why? Because I couldn’t find a topic. Its like the never ending cycle, & despite of all the encouragements from you wonderful people who read my blog, sometimes I really don’t find any topic to write about. So I’m openly asking for your help now.

If you need explanation in any topic related to beauty/skincare, please suggest it on the comments section below or simply mail me. It’d be a great help because I mostly feel blank now about writing a new post simply because I’ve covered most topics I’ve always been interested in. So its your turn now to suggest me topics & I know I’ll be hugely supported like I’ve always been, by you guys & I thank u all for that.

I also do have motivation issues; sometimes I’m damn lazy.

Anyways, so today we’re going to discuss summer skin care & seriously, I’ll share some great hacks.

The biggest problem in the summer is not with summery heat or harsh sun; but with our memory. Suddenly we all remember that there’s a thing called ‘sunscreen’. Haha, we don’t remember that anymore than we do at this time in the year. Suddenly the sun seems to be a huge issue because we sweat, I mean come on.

Sunscreen application is the best bet for the dream skin you’re spending a fortune in & this is not a suggestion that’s specific for summer. Seriously, if you want healthy skin, you need to apply sunscreen all year round, reapplying frequently, even indoors; because sun is always there (the principle source of energy), no matter you see it or not (cloudy/rainy day) , you feel it or not (as in winters), you remember it or not. If you’re not regular with a broad spectrum sunscreen or just apply it when you go out, refrain from having great expectations.

Summer is also the time when we get heat rashes & sweat clogging pores, leading to massive breakouts. We’ll discuss these one by one.

But as I said before, reversing sun damage becomes our no. 1 priority in summer & I’ve a few hacks that can help.

In India, we tend to get all kinds of fruits in the summer & it includes my personal favourite, Mango, the king.

Did you know that this fruit is equally effective in reversing sun damage? Probably you do, if you’re from Uttar Pradesh. Raw mango is boiled & the pulp is taken out to apply topically (on your skin) to treat heat stroke. This not only reverses internal sun damage (as in heat stroke) but I’ve found this to also heal the sun damaged skin. The acidity in raw mango is excellent in removing tan, infact, more effective than lemon juice (personal experience).

However, with anything DIY, you need to be regular. Also if you have dry skin, unadulterated boiled raw mango may create issues like exaggerated dryness; so if you want to give it a try, do mix it with other ingredients such as a few drops of olive oil (comedogenicity won’t harm here) &/or a bit of milk powder. Mix them together to make mask & apply this on sun damaged areas & keep it so until dry. Then wash off & immediately apply a moisturizer & also a sunscreen if necessary.

This works equally well as a body scrub (I use it so). You can soak pink lentils (masoor dal) overnight, & the next morning, grind them & add this to the boiled raw mango paste. Also add 1 tsp of honey & apply this all over the body & keep it on for 10 minutes. Gently rub it before you cleanse it off with water. It’ll help slough off all the dead skin cells accumulated on much thicker body skin. This is a great body scrub for summers. However, apply a body lotion/oil immediately after you cleanse it off.

Regular application of such a pack/scrub can help you greatly in reversing sun damage. But again, anything acidic can actually make your skin even more sensitive to sun; so application of a broad spectrum sunscreen on exposed areas becomes a must, even if you’re indoors.

Just like above, the following can help similarly:

·         Yogurt

·         Vinegar

·         Lime juice

·         Tamarind paste

Substitute boiled raw mango pulp with any of the above ingredients & you’d expect the same results. Just follow it up with a moisturizer.

If you’d want professional recommendations for sun damaged/tanned/hyperpigmented skin; I’d suggest you the following:

·         Cream/ointment based on Azelaic Acid. or,

·         Retinol based cream. or,

·         Serum/ointment based on low percentage of glycolic acid.

You can use any of the above as spot treatment or simply lower percentage of any of them as a night cream & follow strict sun protection regimen for a few months afterwards.

Essential Oils that Help in Reversing Sun Damage:

My go to favourites are;

·         Lime oil

·         Lemon oil

·         Balsam of Peru oil

·         Benzoin oil

Add a few drops of one or two of the mentioned above in a suitable carrier oil (I prefer Moroccan Argan Oil) & apply as an after-sun treatment or as a face oil before bed, at night. Benzoin oil additionally helps in smoothing fine lines & wrinkles upon regular usage.

For Heat Rashes:

Aloe vera gel has cooling properties & can greatly help reduce inflammation. Also that boiled raw mango mask can greatly help if you’re dealing with heat related issues.

For those suffering from massive acne/breakouts on face & body, I can offer some easy tips. However please realize that apart from hormonal ones, acne during the summers may be a result of sweat clogging pores.

So, technically the first step should be cleansing. For face, I recommend an AHA/BHA (alpha & beta hydroxy acid) like glycolic (AHA) or salicylic acid (BHA) based face washes for combination to oily skin. For sensitive skin, I prefer good old Cetaphil cleanser. It even suits those with dry skin. Those blessed with normal skin can use almost anything they prefer as long as its not too drying.

Just because its summer & you’re sweating like shit, doesn’t make a good excuse to use those foaming facewashes. I hate them because they over-stimulate the sebaceous glands & make them produce even more sebum/oil. So even though it temporarily feels good, it strips the skin off of its natural moisture called NMF/Natural Moisturizing Factor & do more damage than any good.

For body, the same rule applies, don’t use anything that’s too drying.

For acne; I recommend any of the following:

·         Azelaic Acid cream 10-20%. or,

·         Adapalene 0.1% or Tretinoin 0.025-0.05%. or,

·         Glycolic Acid 6% or,

·         Mandelic Acid 10% (for sensitive but acne prone skin).

However use it before bed at night & a patch test is recommended before you begin. These are generalized acne medications but are equally effective in this case.

So that’s all I know & if you think I missed something, please write that on the comments section below & do not forget to subscribe my blog by pressing the BLUE follow button on the collapsible sidebar at the left (ß)  & follow me on social media to stay updated (all buttons on the sidebar).

Jai Hind,

Koyel M.