Summer has finally arrived! As the days get longer and warmer, you start to prepare for the country’s favorite season.
This includes opening the pool, bringing up your summer clothes, and planning trips with family and friends. You are fully prepared to enjoy summer with an endless list of outdoor activities. However, remember that being outdoors also means being in the sun.
Many people, the rush to soak up as much summer as possible, forget to take the proper precautions when it comes to taking care of their skin.
A bad sunburn is only one negative outcome. If you are not careful, your skin could get dehydrated, cracked, scaly, and damaged. This is due to UV Rays, hot showers, increased alcoholic beverages, and a host of other summer-related factors. This is why you need to make sure you have these five products before heading out for a summer of fun.
#1 - Proper Sunscreen
Applying sunscreen may seem like an obvious tip. Odds are you already have an old bottle or two lying around the house. However, sticking to a proper sunscreen regime is harder than you think.
First, you need to check the strength or SPF of the lotion or spray you are using. It is recommended that at the minimum, you apply 30 SPF or higher depending on how long you will be outside. Ideally, you want to use an SPF 50 backed product like Revitol. Second, if you are going in and out of the water, then make sure your lotion is water-resistant. Lastly, remember to re-apply every two hours for full protection.
Visit your closest convenience store and pick up a regular size and travel size version of your preferred sunscreen. The regular size can be used before going out or when sunbathing in your own backyard.
Throw the travel-sized version in your bag for easy transport to the beach or pool. For those who forget to re-apply, set a timer on your phone for two hours. After each application, reset the timer to avoid forgetting. Lastly, be sure to place the lotion next to your towel so you will remember to re-apply after exiting the water.
#2 - Setting Spray
When attending an outdoor event like a BBQ, party, or wedding, you want to make sure the heat and humidity don’t ruin the makeup you spent so long putting on. The last thing you want is your eye makeup smudging up, making you look like a raccoon. Increased humidity will quite literally melt your makeup off your face. Setting spray has been proven to keep makeup in place under the harshest summer conditions.
Having a bottle of setting spray is essential, whether you sweat a little or a lot. Be sure to purchase several travel size bottles the next time you find yourself at the store. The key is to place them in each of your summer bags. This way, it is one less thing to worry about when getting ready to go out. When it comes to preserving your makeup, you would definitely rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
#3 - Cloud Cream
Please tell me if this sounds familiar. You spend the entire day at the beach, including laying in the sun and walking around the boardwalk. Then, you come home and take a nice hot shower to rinse off. Sounds like the ideal beach day to me. However, this practice is doing a number on your skin, and if you are not careful, your skin will become severely dehydrated.
Cloud cream was created to prevent this from happening. It is a cooling moisturizer that you can apply as soon as you get out of the shower or at the end of a long sweaty day outside. It goes right to work rehydrating and protecting your skin.
The best part is it can be put on before sunscreen if you plan on going back outside. The key is working this new product into your routine by placing it out in the open on your bathroom sink or nightstand.
#4 - Spray Deodorant
For most of us, applying deodorant is not something we think about. We have been applying it each morning for so long that it just becomes second nature. However, the summer heat tends to push that deodorant to the test. What once lasted all day now may only last until the afternoon. That is terrible timing for anyone attending an after-work happy hour or weekend BBQ.
We suggest spraying deodorant over regular for a few reasons. First, it won’t clump up or leave embarrassing wet patches on your shirt underneath the arm. Second, it’s easy to apply not only to your underarms but to the rest of your body as well.
Once again, this is an item that should have a permanent home in your beach bag. Just remember to keep it out of the sunlight to avoid exploding due to overheating.
#5 - Facial Mist
We all remember growing up with those spray bottles that would shoot water onto your face on a hot day. We also have all experienced days where we wish we had one of those bottles handy.
The only issue is that they leave you soaked and dripping after use. Unfortunately, these can also threaten to ruin our makeup as well. But, facial mist supplies the cooling relief you are looking for but is much easier on the skin and makeup.
As we mentioned before, summer activities are a formula for severe skin dehydration. Even if you drink a lot of water and apply the cream at the end of the day, your skin can still be at risk. Keeping a bottle of facial mist with you at all times ensures you can continually replenish and rehydrate your face throughout the day.
Go Forth and Summer On
Summer is meant to be the best season of them all. You deserve to enjoy going to the beach, eating at BBQs, and creating memories that will last forever.
You shouldn’t have to worry about what the sun is doing to your skin. By purchasing these products and keeping them handy, you can enjoy the summer and take care of your skin at the same time.
Do you have any summer tips for clear skin? Do you have a favorite sunscreen people need to know about? Let us know your thoughts and advice below!