We are entering the late-summer season here in Virginia, and this can be a complicated time for skincare! On one hand, your skin requires more moisture from being dried out due to heat factors, which might also be making you sweat more, which oils up your skin. Throw sun exposure in there and you have a recipe for confusion and potential skin damage.
Don’t let the humidity fool you, even if you live in the tropics, air humidity cannot completely protect your skin from the drying effects of the sun (and the AC). Whatever your skin type, these sun protection and summer skincare protocols will help keep your skin in tip-top shape for the long haul.
Sun Protection From the Inside
Don’t Forget to Drink Water. Skin health starts with deep hydration.
- Aim to drink about 2 cups of water an hour. I recommend adding Trace Minerals, electrolytes, or one of these hydrating herbs to your water. These products changed the hydration game for me.
- Add a little Aloe Vera juice in the morning to your smoothie or drinking water for more cooling and hydration.
- Avoiding diuretics like coffee will also help keep you hydrated. If it’s hot outside and the days are long, you might not even need coffee for that morning boost. Experiment with skipping it when the weather is warm. Instead, try drinking an energizing juice with vitamin C to give you a refreshing alkalizing boost in the morning.
Eat for the Sun. Make sure you’re getting Zinc and D3 in your diet. I recommend a liquid D3 supplement under the tongue for maximum absorption. Now you might be thinking: won’t I get vitamin D from the sun? Nope. What we get from the sun are the building blocks so that our body can produce vitamin D. And those special rays that help your body make vitamin D are only out when the sun is at a 30+ degree angle from where you are on Earth. You can use the app DMinder to find out when that vitamin D window is where you are in the world.
What’s also important to keep in mind is that vitamin D3 offers skin protection and most people are low in Vitamin D3. It’s one of the only vitamins I recommend supplementing with regularly.
Some foods that also provide sun protection from oxidative damage are: polypodium leucotomos (a fern native to South America that you can find in some oral sun supplements), blueberries, carrots, watermelon, aloe, coconut oil, grapes, olive oil, avocados, sweet red peppers, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, guava, pomegranate.
Practice. Ayurveda teaches us that when the element of Fire is elevated, like during summer, we not only get physically hot and burnt out, but we’re also prone to heat-based emotions that are intense and sharp, like anger. Sitali breathing is a cooling breath exercise that's perfect for taking it down a notch. Sitala reduces Pitta dosha. I like doing this after a workout while I’m stretching, or when I’m lying down enjoying a face mask.
How to do Sitali Breathing
- Close your eyes, breathe with awareness in your diaphragm for several minutes, then open the mouth and pucker your lips into an O shape.
- Curl your tongue lengthwise and project it out of the mouth about 3/4 of an inch.
- Inhale deeply across the tongue and into the mouth as if drinking through a straw. Notice how your breath feels cooler? Focus on that cool sensation on the tongue.
- Withdraw the tongue and close the mouth, exhaling completely through the nostrils.
On your Skin
Exfoliate. Powdered coconut milk is a great exfoliant. If your skin is oiler, you can also try chickpea flour, almond flour or powdered honey.
Less is more. Avoid foundation and heavy blush and bronzer if you can, especially if you live in an area that’s already heavy (humid), in addition to being hot. Instead, reach for beautifying serums that have hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and polyphenols. Let your serum dry and then add a lightweight cream or oil. This summer I’ve been using Hanacure’s Nano Emulsion Cream. It’s lightweight enough that it doesn’t clog my pores or cause oiliness, but nourishing enough that it doesn’t leave my skin feeling exposed either. I like layering this under a nice face oil at night.
Cleanse. My skin dries out too easily for me to do mud masks year-round, but when I’m hot, humid and sweaty, my skin actually likes that drying effect that a mud mask provides. Here’s how to do one: Once a week, mix bentonite clay and a little activated charcoal with apple cider vinegar until you get a nice muddy consistency and slather on your face. You can even bring it down your neck and décolleté to your breasts and underarms for a detoxing lymphatic mask. Let it completely dry and then rinse it off in the shower. Follow with a hydrating serum, lightweight cream or nourishing oil.
You can also try our Amalaki summer face mask recipe.
Nourish. My favorite summer oils are Rosehip seed oil and Carrot seed oil because they are light. Carrot seed oil also has the benefit of providing a little sun protection.
Protect. 1) Wear a hat & 2) Find a natural mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Be mindful not to over use sunscreen because it does reduce your body’s ability to make vitamin D3, which ironically you need for skin sun protection. I only wear sunscreen on places that have the most potential for damage: face, décollete, shoulders, upper arms, back of hands, around armpit and behind knees and elbows. I like using Life Extension Shade Factor Mineral Sunscreen in SPF 30.
Mist. This, hands down, is my favorite thing. Misting your face three to six times a day helps keep your skin moisturized (and is the most overlooked but important skincare routine!) and cools you off. Any natural face mister will work, it just requires purified water. Some have floral essence, aloe vera, essential oils and vitamin E; but unless my skin is burnt, I prefer the plain ones best, like the Evian Facial Spray (the fine mist this one emits is perfect). It’ll make you feel like a bougie old French woman (bonjour!), but a little goes a long way and your skin will show the difference. One bottle of Evian spray lasts me 6 months and I’m never found without one.
We hope you love these skincare and sun protection tips! For more practices, techniques and simple recipes for feeling both beautiful inside and out, check out our virtual Ayurvedic spa day workshop here.