5 tips for healthy summer skin
You’ve probably heard me say this already, and I’ve even had an extensive talk about this topic with Clinique on Facebook, but I can’t emphasis this enough: Sun protection is the key for healthy skin.
In the past, I’ve never experienced pigment spots, but during the past year I discovered some dark spots on my face which have not been there before. I got curious and really interested in the effects sun has on our skin and was eager to learn more about it. To get to know all the details from a medical point of view as well, I scheduled an appointment with skin doctor Nora Eiler, who is practicing at Dr. Fiebinger’s doctors office in Salzburg.
Our skin is the largest organ of our body. But unfortunately, its importance is often forgotten. During my annual skin check-up I had the chance to ask Dr. Eiler all the questions I’ve been dying to know about the impact of sun on our skin, and I thought since it’s such an important topic, I share my insights with you.
Here are five tips for a healthier skin in summer:
1) Take extra good care of your skin in the sun when you have impurities.
Even if you want to work on that nice tan on the beach and by the pool, make sure your skin is healthy before you do. The reason is that pimples and impurities are super sensitive to the sun, and your skin might end up getting worse. I myself have some red spots from healing skin that are prone to turn very dark when you go into the sun. This means your red spots will turn into dark brown spots that will last a very long time. So make sure you apply some extra protection to your face, and maybe even consider staying in the shade with your face.
2) Book a skin doctor appointment once a year.
No matter if you have fair or dark skin, a lot of moles or none, love sun bathing or are an indoorsy person – get a check up once a year. Your skin doctor will check everything from beauty marks to dark moles and make sure your skin is healthy and you don’t have to be afraid of melanoma. In the case of Dr. Eiler, she did my check up with a super macro photography machine that scans your skin perfectly. Any mole that might need special attention is saved, and will be reevaluated during your next check up.
3) If you suffer from acne or are prone to oily skin, make sure your skin protection is oil-free.
You should be looking for skin care products that are completely oil-free or in medical terms: noncomedogenic.
Those sun lotions can be found in pharmacies and your skin doctor can direct you to the best skin protection that meets your needs.
There is a thing called Mallorca acne which appears when you use oily sun screen in combination with the application by dirty hands. You’re on the beach all day, your hands might be dirty, your skin is sweaty, and the little sand grains are almost like a peeling. The combination of these factors can cause horrible pimples and leave serious marks and scars on your face and body. Dr. Eiler’s advice is to prepare your body with sunscreen before you leave the house, and not just when you arrive at the beach.
Also, you should book an appointment at your cosmetician every 4-6 weeks when you have acne or suffer from impurities.
4) More is more: Use enough sun screen.
When putting on sun screen you should make sure to use a minimum of 30 milliliters for your entire body. In summer I use sun screen as part of my daily routine in the morning, even if I know I’ll just be at the office all day. Even when the sun doesn’t appear to be shining brightly, its rays are there, working their damage. Hence, applying sun screen (especially on your face) is a must for every day. Always make sure to apply physical sun screen – not chemical. Physical sunscreens contain active mineral ingredients, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which work by sitting on top of the skin to deflect and scatter damaging UV rays away from the skin. They are often referred to as physical blockers. Long story short: A physical sun screen will work like a barrier for those harmful rays – and that is what we’re aiming for!
5) Know what SPF really means.
SPF or Sun Protection Factor is an indicator of the amount of time you can spend in the sun. Usually, your skin can take around 10 minutes of sunlight before it reacts. Of course, it is different from person to person but those 10 minutes are a good rule of thumb. The SPF of the sun screen you use multiples those 10 minutes by it’s factor. So a SPF 15 means you have (15 x 10 min = 150 minutes) 2,5 hours of protection, SPF 50 means you get (50 x 10 minutes = 500 minutes) a good 8 hours you can spend in the sun.
What I didn’t know is if the time of your SPF is over, you have to get out of the sun. It doesn’t help to re-apply the sunscreen. So if you know you’re having a whole day of fun in the sun ahead of you, it’s the best option to pick a sunscreen with SPF 50 and you’ll be good to go for eight hours.
6) Make sun screen part of your make up routine.
As a matter of fact, sun screen is the key to healthy and glowing skin – and by glowing I mean glowing because it’s healthy, and not because you’ve been in the sun for too long. (pun intended).
By adding the application of sun screen to your bathroom routine in the morning, you’ll be safe the whole day and your future self with thank you for taking such good care of your skin when you were young.
Of course I also asked Dr. Eiler what I could do to get rid of the annoying dark pigment spots on my skin. Despite taking care that they don’t increase by using sun protection every day, she recommended to treat my skin to a fruit acid peeling. However, since the skin is even more sensitive to sunlight after such a peeling, it’s crucial to wait for this treatment until fall.
I’ll definitely try out a chemical peeling with fruit acid in fall, and will of course share my experience here with you guys.
In case you have any further questions about this topic, feel free to ask anything in the comment section.
Dr. Fiebiger
dermatologist & cosmetic institute
Linzer Gasse 4
5020 Salzburg
+43 662 876960
*in friendly collaboration with Dr. Fiebiger
My husband and I both have really sensitive skin and now that summer is here we thought that we should find some tips and talk to a dermatologist to get our skin checked. You mentioned a great tip for us to use which was to sun screen apart of your get ready routine since it is so important even if you are outside for five minutes at a time. That is going to be put to use once I talk to my husband and find a doctor to talk to.
Hey, thanks for providing such wonderful tips. I have a sensitive skin and during summer it becomes very oily so can you suggest me some tips to remove that oiliness as you have mentioned that fruit acid peel-off is not much suitable during this season?
I want to add one more thing that In Summer you can Rejuvenate Your Face with Ice cubes. Rubbing ice over your face makes your skin radiant and fresh looking. Thanks For Sharing These beauty tips. Keep updating with such more posts.
Thanks for talking about the significance of using sunscreen to help rejuvenate your skin. The sun tends to damage the elastic part of our skin making it look wrinkly and older without us realizing it. I told my wife who likes to sunbathe almost weekly, in the future, there’s only so much sunscreen to go by before we’ll have to seek professional help in getting our skin rejuvenated and looking young again.
I had no idea that there was such a thing as Mallorca acne which appears when oil sunscreen is applied with dirty hands. I’ve noticed that I tend to get much more acne in the summer, so it’s good to know what may be causing it. Thank you so much for sharing all these helpful skin care tips.
Thank you for sharing this. Personally i believe sunscreen should be compulsory in your daily routine. Applying it isn’t just good enough certain precautions must be taken. i’ve learnt something new here, thank you once again!
Wow, this so wonderfully written. My skin has been suffering from many problems lately as I have acne-prone skin type and I was looking for something like this. The way it has been explained, It was really helpful and Informative. Didn’t know that sunscreen plays such an important role in the skincare routine. Thank you so much for this. Keeping sharing such post. 🙂
The sun is powerful, Staying moisturized is definitely key to avoid that dry and tight feeling face! Great tips to follow for the summer time! Thank you for the article
Sun screen sun screen!!!! The benefits can never be over emphasized. I’ve learnt from this, thank you for sharing.
Happy to hear!
I and my mummy have hypersensitive skin, It becomes red in summer. SPF really needed in summer. Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful article. It will help me a lot to take care of my skin.
Must say very helpful tips. Thanks for sharing this info in a combined way. Great work.
Thanks for such a great post
Thanks for explaining that we should have a skin doctor check our skin every year regardless of the type of skin we have or how much sun exposure we get. I’ve been wanting to take better care of myself and have been thinking about buying some organic skin care products to use. I’m glad I read your article because your info should be helpful as I start my journey towards healthy skin!
I really like your skincare routine. I would like to use these products in my skincare routine. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Such a wonderful blog i had never seen before and thanks for this quality post. Thumbs up!!
Wow, I hadn’t realized that I needed to get a skin checkup at least once a year. I guess I should be looking for a dermatologist, then. The last thing I want is for a skin condition to creep up on me without my noticing.
Skin needs some extra loving care in summer so there need of following such beauty tips. I will keep these all tips in mind. Thanks and keep sharing.