5 Ways to Prepare Your Skin for Summer
It’s not hard to see that people are getting their beach bodies ready. The cardio machines at the gym have a little waiting line, and on a half-dozen different devices, many are still trying to crack the code on how to work the elusive abs. But what about your skin? The body’s largest body part often goes unnoticed just because it’s always there, and it’s everywhere. On the one hand, it seems synonymous with our self. Yet, on the other hand, our skin gets taken for granted all too often.
Our skin is not really very demanding, especially when you consider all it does for us. So, let’s give it at least a portion of the attention it deserves. Getting our skin ready for summer involves changing our habits a bit, and maybe changing our minds a little, too. Here, then, are five ways to prep your skin.
#1 Hydrate
First, remember to hydrate. Water makes everything work better, and outdoor exercise and recreation in summertime evaporates it much faster than when we were indoors for wintertime’s long, social nights and short, covered-up days. When we hear “skin hydration” many of us think of skin cream commercials, but really, there’s no moisturizer like the water we take inside. A study of athletes suggests that the water we drink is available in muscles and skin within the hour, but that’s no reason to wait. The steady availability of water to the skin not only helps keep the surface supple, but also helps some metabolic functions that begin in deep skin layers. Didn’t know skin was at work on metabolism? That’s just one of its un-sung heroisms.
#2 Nutrition
Nutrition is next on our mind for summer skin prep. You know, your skin is the last organ in line for the nutrients you take in. Doesn’t it make sense to include the foods your skin is waiting for? Especially in the stresses of summer use, let’s remember to add some of skin’s favorites. Blueberries, with their famous anti-oxidants, belong with your breakfast cereal, and spinach has a special place in your summer salads, offering potassium, iron and magnesium, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. And speaking of omega-3, make salmon one of your summer seafood selections, and your skin will thank you for it.
#3 Cover Up
Would you believe it? Your skin is not only interested in what you eat and drink, but also in what you wear. Let’s take a lesson from those generations who spent their lives outdoors and make a hat part of our style statement. That’s suggestion No. 3. And right after it comes sleeves. A shirt doesn’t have to be short to be summer. The comfort of chambray was invented for sailors who work in the hot sun, so it’s capable of keeping you cool and covered at the same time.
#4 Sunscreen
Sun screen. You knew we were going to bring it up, right? Well, have you made it a habit yet? It’s time. SPF 30 is good; 50 is better. Let’s get with it. It’s about staying alive to enjoy the outdoors longer in years, not in hours. To make it even easier, you can shop for your favorite brand of sunscreen in our online store.
#5 Skin Check
And last, but not least, get a professional skin scan. Your board-certified dermatologist has an eye for signs of skin cancer that is much trustier than your own. It’s surprising how often the things we notice are of no interest to the expert, but how they sometime swoop right in on spots we thought were routine. Self-inspection is good, but it’s not the “always” answer. Get a full-body skin cancer screening before your summer starts, and you’ll be glad you did.
Just give us a call at Dermatology Consultants, and let’s get that skin ready to enjoy this summer to the fullest.