How To Update Your Skincare For Summer
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As we make our way through spring and look ahead to summer. it’s time for us to shift our skincare routine to align with the seasons.
What do I mean by this? Well, the products we use in the fall and winter are (and should be) different from the ones we use during the summer. For example, in the colder months, we tend to use products meant for combating dryness and dullness, whereas in the summer, our skin concerns change. Our goals become minimizing oiliness and sebum, preventing breakouts, and avoiding sunburn—though you should be wearing sunscreen all year around!
Anyway, you get my gist… let’s switch it up for summer! To help us out, I asked our resident skincare expert and master esthetician Cynthia Rivas for her best advice on summer skincare.
How is summer skincare different from other seasons, like fall and winter? What should your summer skincare routine accomplish? What should change?
The only product that can always remain constant throughout the seasons is SPF. Other than that, cleanser, moisturizers, serums, and even eye creams can change with the seasons. Here’s what I tell my clients:
Use a lighter moisturizer in the summer. This helps reduce a buildup of dead skin cells that make the skin look dull. It will also help in reducing the feeling of oiliness or having too many products on the skin. You can also try a more mattifying moisturizer. For a true oily to combination skin type, I sometimes recommend that you use sunscreen as their moisturizer.
Exfoliate 1 to 2 times a week. Using sunscreen and being out in the heat will make you produce more oil and sweat more during warmer months. Using an exfoliator a bit more often like 2 times a week can help to remove the buildup of dead skin cells. My go-to exfoliating mask is the iS clinical tri active exfoliating masque.
Avoid using products with AHAs and BHAs during the day if you will be out in the sun. Instead, save them for night time use. These ingredients can make you more sensitive to the sun, so it’s best to use them at night.
Remember to use sunscreen every day! Aim for at least 30 SPF.
What products should every woman have in their skincare routine for spring and summer (especially women over 50)?
In the warmer months, there’s usually more humidity in the air and our faces sweat more and feel oilier. Also in warmer months, the sun is actually closer to the earth, which means stronger UV rays and more exposure to your skin. We need to protect our skin from greater UV radiation now more than ever. Sun exposure can cause hyperpigmentation and a breakdown of collagen and elastin… So you need to make sure you are using a broad spectrum sunscreen and use it every single day.
Aside from using sunscreen every day, I recommend wearing a hat outdoors. It’s also crucial to reapply your SPF at least once during the day if you’re going to be spending time outdoors. So that’s every morning, again at midday, and reapply SPF immediately after swimming or excessive sweating. My favorite waterproof sunscreen is the Elta MD UV Sport. For someone who has hyperpigmentation or melasma, I recommend adding a powder SPF on top of regular SPF for extra protection, and always wearing a hat outside. SuperGoop makes a wonderful powder sunscreen that my clients love.
At which point in your skincare routine should you apply SPF?
Sunscreen should ALWAYS be the last step in skincare, and applied before makeup. If you use a powder SPF, it’s great to reapply that over makeup throughout the day.
What products should you use in the warmer months if you have oily or acne-prone skin?
Tons of my clients are acne-prone, so these are the products I tend to recommend:
Use a lighter moisturizer at night, like the Sanitas Vitamin C Moisturizer
Skip a daytime moisturizer and use your sunscreen as a moisturizer. Less is more here! I love the Elta MD UV Clear.
Never skimp on SPF because the sun can cause hyperpigmentation and also make any acne scars darker.
All skin types should do this, but make sure to always double cleanse at night. This will help make sure sunscreen, oil, and buildup from the day is completely removed from your skin. A cleanser I love is the iS clinical cleansing complex.
What products should you use during the warmer months if you have dry skin?
Drier skin types should also switch to a lighter moisturizer for summer. Use a hydrating cleanser in the morning—like the iS clinical warming honey cleanser—and always double cleanse at night. You can use a micellar water as your fist step cleanse—I love Bioderma Sensibio micellar water—or even an oil cleanser, if you prefer those.
The second step to your double cleanse can be a milk cleanser or non foaming gel wash. This keeps the cleansing gentle so it won’t strip the skin of its natural oils, but it’s still effective.
What are the top qualities you look for in a skincare brand or even a single product? What makes a product high-quality in your eyes?
When researching new skin care brands, I always look at the ingredients in the product and the science behind the product. Especially if it’s a new technology, I look to see what the scientific results have been from using it. I also look at who the leading experts in the industry are that use them.
Any brands that you recommend or love? Or holy grail products?
I believe everyone should use an antioxidant product every day—my go-to is the iS clinical antioxidant products such as the super serum. They are high quality products that are proven to be effective. In general, iS clinical is an effective and trustworthy brand. One of my favorite eye creams is the MBR Cytoline Eye Cream. MBR does a great job on many products, but their eye products are standouts in my opinion!
A HUGE shoutout to Cynthia Rivas for being our featured expert in this blog post, and for helping us all learn about how to take care of our skincare for summer. You can find Cynthia, and more of her skincare expertise, over on instagram Cynthia Rivas! Plus, I’m sure she’ll be back on the PJW blog soon—she is the real deal and a total sweetheart to boot!
Want more skincare recs and a community of women who are here to support you? How about a safe space where you can express yourself? Well, we’ve got you covered. Make sure to check out the Pure Joy Squad—our private community for women over 50!
Until next time… don’t forget your sunscreen. ;)
Xo,
Renata