DRINK MORE WATER
One of the largest skin concerns during the warmer months is skin hydration.
My clients often come to me voicing their concerns about the suns harsh rays drying out their skin and taking the soft, supple glowy base we have spent all winter creating away.
With a little knowledge and product though this need not be the case!
The harsh Australian sun means sunscreen is a must, however add to this the increase of city pollution, dust and perspiration ( heat traps all of this bad stuff) and it can become a bit of a minefield to navigate what products we actually need to keep the skin hydrated and balanced and our bathroom cabinets as streamlined as possible.
Warmer weather can bring with it either dry heat or humidity, and this is where you can be super savvy with skincare application to make sure you keep that healthy glow.
When most people think of an active for skin hydration, Hylauronic acid tends to be the first ingredient that springs into peoples heads. It works by holding 1000 times its molecular weight in water and then binding to our collagen giving that firm plump and smooth skin we all desire.
It does this by drawing water from our environment and our own deeper dermis layer.
This means in humid weather applying your hyaluronic serum straight to your face will work just fine, but on those dryer than the Sahara days, this will in-fact do the complete opposite and draw the water from your skin into the environment causing it to look dehydrated and flakey.
This is where you can get clever and be skin savvy. You don’t need 1000 different products for opposing weather conditions you just need a few products and the knowledge of intelligent application!
A great all rounder for summer is Universkin serum P.
It contains this wonder ingredient we are discussing, hyaluronic acid, but also a matrix of biometric peptides and camellia oil providing balance and creating a vector for incredible actives to be absorbed directly into your skin , sounds fun right, well it is! And heres why. In clinic I can take this base serum and then tailor it to your own personal skin type by prescribing a cocktail of actives for your individual skin needs that in turn provide more hydration, repair and relief than an ice cold San Pellegrino on a hot summers day.
On those humid days of summer this can be applied directly to your skin followed by a layer of sunscreen. I personally love aspect suns envirostat for face cc cream , it is water resistant for up to 4 hours and sinks in beautifully with a high UVA and UVB protection factor and has a tint ( who wants to wear foundation in summer, not me) and you’re good to go, after all sunscreen is one of the best anti ageing creams out there!
But what to do on those moisture sucking dry days we get here too in the city?
The best way to counteract this is to simply apply your individually mixed universkin serum P, to your face when slightly damp, leave for five minutes to sink in a little then apply a top coat of moisturiser such as IS clinical reparative moisture emulsion to form an occlusive barrier thus providing the hyaluronic acid with another form of moisture other than the environment (which has none) to pull its hydration from. Again you are doubling up here for summer in the city problems as the IS clinical reparative moisturiser contains superoxide dismutase which protects skin from photo damage ( take that sun) and extremozymes which are clinically proven to protect the skin from environmental aggressors ( and that city pollution!) top it all off with a factor 50 cc cream and be confident you wont return home looking like a wrinkled prune.
Of course skin health and hydration starts from within.
People forget that the skin is our largest organ and so we really must take care of it.
Drinking water throughout the day ( 8-10 glasses at least) is really some of the best advice ( bar sunscreen) I can give you.
Internal hydration is key and if you want to maximise the potential of the hyaluronic acid provided in your skin care, you can always add 2 teaspoons of Vitasol collagen boost to one of your glasses of water or a smoothie. By increasing the collagen availability in your skin you are increasing the binding potential for your hylauronic acid. KERCHING!
My final recommendation is to make sure over the holidays and the summer you take time to relax, again you can use this time to come into clinic for some TLC in the form of a hydrafacial. Before a Christmas party or special event you may want to plump and firm the skin even more to ensure you look your absolute best.
This treatment involves no down time whatsoever but can help to remove any environmental debris from pores and intensely moisturise your skin to provide the perfect base for applying that party glitter!
For any long term or deeper forming lines, its worth knowing that the Dermal fillers we use in clinic are hyaluronic acid themselves and again in my hands provide a natural, healthy, plump and even canvas for your make up with results being seen immediately and long lasting.
Happy hydration everyone!
LISA RECOMMENDS
Univer Serum P CLICK HERE TO BUY
iS Clinical Reparative Moisture eEmulsion CLICK HERE TO BUY
Hydrafacial Elite MD CLICK HERE TO BOOK
Dermal Fillers CLICK HERE TO BOOK