Here’s How to Save Your Skin This Summer

Originally published on Annmarie Gianni All Natural Skincare Blog.

Summer’s here and that means sunburns, salt, sweat and so much more. We love spending a day out in the sun, but we hate what it can do to our skin. Between the pool chlorine, the thick sunscreen and the inevitable sunburns (remember your belly hasn’t seen the sun in months, ease into it!) summer fun can wreak havoc on our skin.

Not only do byproducts of summer damage your skin, increasing signs of aging, but they also will leave you with dehydrated, irritated skin. We want you looking bright and glowy all summer with your fresh tan and new, strappy sundress, so we’re bringing you some pro tips on how to save your skin this summer.

Here are some little-known remedies for keeping your skin hydrated and healthy despite all your fun in the sun.

Soothing and healing sunburned skin

The sun if your skins worst enemy during the hot summer months. It’s virtually unavoidable and incredibly strong. Unfortunately, you’ll probably experience at least one sunburn when the weather turns warm, so caring for it to repair your skin is key.

Cool it down

There are a couple of ways to cool down a sunburn. The most classic go-to is by applying aloe vera gel directly to the sunburn. If you want to kick it up a notch you can blend up cucumbers and add aloe vera gel, making a naturally cooling blend to apply and save your skin.

Another cool down method is wetting your sunburn with freshly brewed, then cooled tea. The tannic acids in the tea are thought to extract the warmth from the skin to help it cool down. You can add mint tea to your brew to give it a soothing menthol tingle as well.

Stop the burn

When the burning sensation gets really bad, turn to vitamin E oil. You can apply the oil directly to a sunburn, even if the skin is peeling. This will also help with nourishing the new skin.

Hydrate

Sunburns naturally dehydrate the skin, so following up the cooling process with a hydrating lotion, body oil, or moisturizer is recommended. Coconut oil is often used for its thick nourishing texture.

Pool safety to save your skin

If the sun is your worst enemy this summer, chlorine is the right-hand man. Chlorinated pools cause dry, flaky skin, irritations and rashes, and a worsening of any skin conditions one may already suffer from, like eczema.

But they’re pretty unavoidable for most people who live in warm weather. And let’s be honest, we seek them out because they’re perfect for relaxing or entertaining the kids. There’s no reason to give up pool lounging, but there are measures we can take to prevent chlorine damage to our skin.

Rinse off before and after the pool

When your skin comes in contact with water it naturally absorbs some of it. Jumping in the shower before a dip in the pool allows your skin to absorb clean water, giving it less of an opportunity to absorb chlorinated pool water while swimming.

Rinsing off after the pool will help wash away chlorine left on the skin.

Apply a thin layer of oil to your skin before

Since oil is water resistant, you can create a shield and save your skin by applying a very thin layer of your favorite body oil to your skin before swimming. If you choose this method, you need to be sure you are not exposed to too much sun. Oils do not protect you from the sun, and can actually attract more UV rays.

Use vitamin C to equalize chlorine

Vitamin C is a natural chlorine equalizers. An easy way to apply vitamin C to your skin after a swim is by bringing packets of sodium ascorbate powder with you to the pool and mix it with clean water to create an on-the-go spray.

Lotion up

No matter how much you prep for chlorine exposure, it will still most likely dry out your skin. Follow up your swim by lathering up with a natural lotion, body oil, or moisturizer.

Sunscreen—a necessary evil

You will never meet a dermatologist, or healthcare professional for that matter, who doesn’t recommend wearing sunscreen. However, lots of people avoid it because it clogs their pores. And big, nasty zits are a lot more immediate and obvious than years of sun damage.

The best tip we have for clearing your skin of sunscreen when you’re safely inside away from UV rays is to first wash your face with a cleanser while it’s dry. Because most sunscreens are water-resistant wetting your face before applying your cleanser will actually create a barrier between your sunscreened skin and the face wash.

First, massage the cleanser onto your face dry, then add water and continue massaging. From there rinse off all the cleanser, residue, and sunscreen with clean water.

Sweat—need it, but hate it

Sweating actually does good things for your skin. It promotes blood circulation to the face which helps with a lot of skin conditions, as well as it clears any build up out of your pores.

However, sweat can also cause a lot of problems if not removed pronto. As soon as you’re done sweating its crucial that you rinse the sweat off your face. Otherwise, all of the gunk you just sweated out of your pores will end up sitting on your face and clogging other pores.

We recommend carrying with you a facial mist or spray that you can freshen up with at any point in the day.

The summer sun and fun can be harsh on our skin, but if we stay proactive we can all enjoy beautiful, healthy skin all summer long.