I would say this blog equally applies to anyone living in 35 C+ climate throughout the year.
I’ll start with what you should be eating/drinking and then move on to actual skincare routine.
This blog is so important: I cannot emphasize this enough, but its absolutely essential to good skin health to be hydrated during the summer. Many of your bodily functions are optimal when you are properly hydrated. Things as basic as enzyme functions (e.g.) enzymes responsible for cellular turnover, require proper hydration.
Tip One: things to do to stay hydrated
Yes, most of this is common sense, BUT here is a short reminder:
- Drink a minimum of 2 to 3 litres of water if the temperature outside is 35 C+ (The outside temperature where I am is 41C (see photo above) and honestly, anything less than 2 litres a day, and my mouth is as dry as sand paper.
- Watery fruits and vegetables are a great way to keep hydrated. Therefore, include copious amounts of:
- Melons (especially watermelon),
- Citrus fruits,
- Cucumbers and tomatoes in your diet.
- Limit consumption of anything that dehydrates you including:
- Alcohol
- Diuretics (e.g.) coffee, black tea
- Fizzy drinks
- Any food with excessive salt (e.g.) feta cheese, pretzels, processed food, snacks such as chips, McDonalds etc and excess sugar (candy, excessive sugary ice-creams)
Tip Two: look at your sunscreen carefully. Is it suitable for purpose?
Sunscreens are divided into mineral and chemical sunscreens. Mineral sunscreens basically have Zinc oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide as there filters that protect against UV radiation.
Most mineral sunscreens contain nano-Zinc Oxide and nano-Titanium Dioxide. These wash away quite easily.
BUT
My gripe is with non-nano mineral sunscreens, such as these from Inkey List and REN.
One application of these sunscreens, and I am fine with them. BUT constant reapplication has just caused build-up of the sunscreen on top of my skin.
In a heatwave, the last thing you want to do is double and triple cleanse your face, but unfortunately, you may have no option with mineral sunscreens.
See my blog: Do you need to double cleanse if you use a sunscreen?
Tip Three: use an industrial strength sunscreen and I cannot emphasize this enough, but please over-apply sunscreen
Guidance varies by country, but honestly you cannot go wrong if you over apply sunscreen. Secondly, reapply sunscreen every 2 hours. It is very likely that you will sweat out the sunscreen, and it is going to become useless.
If you have the option, go with European sunscreens – they are the best and really, avoid American sunscreens.
Sunscreens I would use are:
- French pharmacy brands
- Avene
- Bioderma
- La Roche (I 100% acknowledge the greatness of La Roche as a sunscreen, it is simply too drying for me…)
- Ultrasun (Swiss brand)
- Altruist (budget friendly)
Click here for my top sunscreen suggestions
Tip Four: look at your actives and facewash with a hawk’s eye
You are looking for anything that can/will contribute to dryness of the skin. There are 3 things that will dry the skin
Facewash
If your facewash is normally a bit drying, then think about switching to a more hydrating face wash. You don’t want your facewash to contribute to already dry skin.
Good options are Tata Harper and Cera Ve (if you are on a budget)
Exfoliating acids
The nature of an exfoliating acid is to encourage or accelerate epidermal turnover.
When your skin is dry, you don’t need this. You can seriously damage your skin barrier. Be mindful of using both retinol and exfoliating acids during extreme weather.
Also if you are Asian, then the Eumelanin in your skin offers some measure of protection against UV radiation by inhibiting UVA and UVB radiation from penetrating the skin. Continually stripping your skin of this protection at a quicker rate than your skin can replace it is not such a great idea in the summer. It can cause increased pigmentation.
Exfoliating acids are:
- Glycolic acid
- Lactic Acid
- Salicylic Acid
- Mandelic Acid
- Gluconolactone and so on
Retinol
Exactly the same is true for retinols- yes, retinols facilitate collagen production BUT it also strips out Eumelanin in the skin (by a similar mechanism described above)….
Think of reducing the frequency of retinol use in your routine.
Tip Five: add a barrier repair element to your night routine
Good barrier repair creams for dry skin are absolutely essential for this weather. Click on this link for more suggestions, but my absolute favourites are Cicaplast Barrier repair from La Roche and Bioderma’s Cicabio cream
See also