Get your skin summer ready!
As the weather warms up and our layers of warm clothing gets replaced by flowing cottons and precious shorts, we need to stop and ask ourselves, “Is our skin ready for summers?”
As summers start to set in, the average meterage of clothing on our body tends to decrease.
The skin on our arms, legs, shoulders, all need to shine bright to combat the heat and make us look good..
And what does it take to achieve this?
Not much.. Just a little love and care and 5 minutes of your time everyday..
Here, let me tell you how to give that little bit of ‘Tender Love & Care’ to you skin this summer:
1
Lets start with the face.
Wash your face with a mild face wash at least twice or thrice a day.
Dab your face dry always.
Always follow up with moisturiser that you massage gently into the skin.
You need to use face scrub, but not more than thrice a week and just once a day. Scrub will remove all the dead cells and bring freshness to the skin. Try doing this before you sleep and follow up with a moisturiser. The moisturiser will seep into your skin better cause all the dead skin is gone.
Personally, I like to use fresh aloe vera paste after I have been out in the ‘Sun’ as it has a cooling effect and hydrates my skin. I even use it as a mask a few times a week. When fresh aloevera is not available, I use one of the organic aloevera masks available in the market.
Apply a sunscreen that suits you. It can be used before you apply makeup or use a foundation that has SPF. Sun does your skin a lot of harm.
Before using any product, please be very sure it suits your skin and does not react to it.
Talk to you dermatologist.
2
Summer means temperature soaring and the Sun God being a little extra generous, and this means a lot of sweat and dirt. This mixed with dead skin means bacterial growth, blocked pores and eventually pimples, rashes and dull skin.
Use a body soap with ‘Salicylic acid’. This will get rid of bacteria and open up the pores. Your skin will be able to breath and glow.
Ask your dermatologist to recommend a good body wash/soap with salicylic acid. If you have any sort of allergies, ask him to recommend a product with similar results that would suit you.
3
Do not ignore the rest of your body.
Exfoliating them and moisturising them is very important.
It brings back the lustre and warmth and makes the skin look younger.
At night, after a shower, I usually use olive oil or any light oil to moistures my body. I get up to a soft and supple skin.
Daytime, I use sun screen to protect myself from the sun and my sun screen has higher moisturiser level- mainly as I have dry skin.
Always use sunscreen on your body, but use according to your skin type.
4
Pretty hands and feet, they are so important to complete the beautiful you..
Through out winters we wear socks and boots and heavy clothing and we tend to skip a few manicures and pedicure and at times, even daily moisturising them. Come summers, and we have not so pretty looking feet or hands.
Go for regular manicure and pedicures- once a month at least.
In the mean time, soak them in luke warm water(temperature you can tolerate comfortably) for a few minutes. Then use a scrub to remove the dryness. After washing away the scrub, dab it dry and apply lots of moisturiser and massage till all of it is soaked in..
As a daily night routine, use hand and foot cream before you go to bed. All are easily available at your friendly neighbourhood store.
What I do is, I have a little basket with lovely smelling hand and foot cream next to my beside. This makes it so easy for me to use them before I call it a day. My favourite is mint moisturiser. I love the way it makes my feet smell.
Now its just not me using them every night, its my whole family..
5
Your elbows and knees don’t need to look dark. Use a body scrub on them, to remove all flaky and dry skin, wash it well and moisturise it.
I, on alternate days, use potato juice on them and that has really helped in lightning the skin in those areas. I apply the juice and let it rest for 15 minutes. I wash it off with water, dab it dry and moistures it. I don’t do it continuously, maybe for a week each month or every alternate month. It works very well for me.
Please check for any allergies before using it.
6
Hairy arms and legs are certainly not attractive.
But hair removal has to be done with care.
If shaving, use warm water and a shaving gel.
If waxing, the temperature of the wax has to be comfortable.
A thorough wash and applying moisturiser is a must.
Your bikini line is very sensitive, so please take help of a professional and get it waxed. This would prevent in-growth and hair that grows back will be softer..
Consult your doctor and your dermatologist about using hair removal creams.
7
Underarms- A stubble monster..
We all want totally clean underarms, but what we forget is that its a really delicate part of our body.
We cannot over wax it or overshave it, yet it has to be absolutely hairless, especially in summers..
While shaving, make sure the blades are new, as a blunt razor will make you use more force and you will damage the skin there. Change your razor/blades every week.
At times we feel that the armpit tends to get a little dark.
Visit your dermatologist. He will give you something for it.
What I use is lemon juice( 2-3 drops) and rub it in that area. Leave it to rest for 15 mins and then rinse. At times, I also cut a potato into half and rub in on the dark skin, and rinse it after 15 mins. I also exfoliate my armpits thrice a week.
It works very well for me.
Please consult your doctor before doing the same .
An absolute must for healthy skin and a healthy body-
“Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.”
“Nothing will make up for drinking adequate water. Please keep yourself well hydrated at all times!!”
So, you see being summer ready is not very difficult. Just a few things we need to add to our daily routine and we are all sorted.
This summer, stay beautiful and stay look gorgeous!