Summer Skin Care Tips
Summer Skin Care Tips
Dermatologists spend summers underneath the same sun as the rest of us, but somehow their skin manages to stay clear and glowing all season long. Sure, it’s part of the job description, but even the professionals have to work a bit harder to prevent breakouts and minimize sun damage during the summer months. Warm weather brings a whole slew of skin-care challenges and questions like, “Do I really have to moisturize even if it’s 100 degrees out and my face feels oily?”
1. SPF, SPF, SPF.
It’s the most important, fundamental, don’t-leave-home-without-it tip: Wear sunscreen. Each of our experts recommends a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30or higher on all exposed skin.
Apply sunscreen often
If you do nothing else for your skin this summer, wear sunscreen.
Look for sunscreens that offer:
- at least SPF 30
- broad spectrum protection
- lip protection
“The most important thing is that you need to protect your skin from the sun,” says Elizabeth Mullans, MD, a board certified dermatologist. If you don’t do that, “your skin will age faster and increase your risk of skin cancer.”
It’s essential to apply sunscreen any time you are in the sun, including during the winter months. We tend to spend more time outside when it’s warmer out, typically from June through September in the United States.
The Skin Cancer Foundation says that daily use of SPF 15 can reduce a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 50 percent and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by about 40 percent. It also protects your skin against premature aging.
Mullans tells her patients to go a bit higher in the summer and use sunscreen with SPF 30.
“There’s a huge jump in terms of the rays blocked between a 15 and a 30, but above 30, there’s not much of a difference,” she says.
Another phrase you’ll want to look for on the bottle is “broad-spectrum,” which means the sunscreen protects skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Barry Goldman MD, an NYC-based board certified dermatologist, says both types of UV rays contribute to skin cancer development.
Try the Elta MD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 SPF Facial Sunscreen or Neutrogena Ultra Ultra Sheer Dry- touch Broad Spectrum SPF 100.
After that, the type of sunscreen you use mainly comes down to personal preference.
