Summer Skin Hydration: A Medical Professional's Complete Guide
It’s summer at last and lots of us will have preparations in full swing for holidays, events, meet-ups and general fun. Looking our best in the summer often involves ditching heavy makeup looks in favour of a paired down, dewy and glowy routine. For me, this means creamy, lightweight textures with a beautiful pop of colour for cheeks and eyes.
But most of us know that when our heavier makeup ‘camouflage’ is no longer there, the skin has a lot more to answer for and needs to be in tip-top condition to pull off the summer makeup look – hydrated skin is absolutely key to this.
Summer brings with it different skin challenges to the winter. Hot weather, sun exposure, salty or chlorinated water and sweat can all have detrimental effects on the skin and if our skin barrier is not intact (a hang-over from winter skin) the effects will be multiplied. Our skin barrier is exactly what it says in the name – a barrier that stops ‘bad things’ from entering our skin and also ‘good things’ escaping. One of the ‘good’ things is water. A damaged barrier will let water escape leading to dehydrated skin.
At Noaem Skin, the majority of people that undergo a Skin Scan in the clinic will show signs of dehydration. The most common response we hear to this is ‘But I drink tonnes of water!’. It’s always great to hear this but unfortunately the path to hydrated skin is not as simple as just drinking water and lots of it.
What Does ‘Dehydrated Skin’ Actually Mean?
Dehydrated skin is a term used to describe skin that is lacking in water and cannot maintain a good level of water within it. It can for some people feel very tight, dry, textured and irritated and for others will present as dull skin with pronounced lines. Think the opposite of radiant, glowing skin.
Dehydrated Skin vs Dry Skin
While dehydrated skin is lacking in water, dry skin is lacking in oils and other important nutrients. Our skin can produce natural oils but it cannot make water appear in our skin. Ideally, we use a hydrating skin routine alongside moisturisers to maintain our skin barrier.
To learn more about how our skin loses hydration, read our other blog post: Why Does Our Skin Lose Hydration? And How to Fix it.
Our Top Tips To Inject (not necessarily literally!) Some Hydration Into Your Skin
Let’s get to the good bit – here is our advice for keeping your skin well hydrated over the summer. Choose the points that work for you and be consistent.
~ DRINK WATER
It’s not rocket science that this is super important. Jazz your glass up with some lime, cucumber, mint or basil to keep it interesting
~ EAT YOUR WAY TO GOOD SKIN
It’s so easy to do this in the summer. Think of an abundance for fruit, salads and vegetables to increase your water intake. Also, the more colours on your plate, the larger the variety of vitamins you are ingesting. Don’t forget that essential dietary fats will also support our skin barrier so don’t be shy when drizzling with olive oil or sprinkling nuts and seeds. Alternatively, supplement with a good Omega 3.
~ SWAP OUT ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS FOR KOMBUCHA OR 0%!
A quick win for helping skin hydration is reducing alcohol intake, which many of us are already doing. There are so many excellent options of 0% drinks and gut loving drinks such as Kombucha. As I write this blog, I am sitting here with a chilled glass of Aqua de Madre’s Lemon and Ginger Water Kefir – it is so refreshing and 100% good for me!
~ FIND A BALANCED CLEANSING ROUTINE
With the excess oil, sweat and sunscreen associated with summer, cleansing is an essential step. However, using too harsh a cleanser can add to dehydration by stripping away natural oils and allowing the movement of water through the upper layer of our skin. So, we recommend melting away all of the above mentioned impurities with an oil cleanser or a balm. Remove this with water, then use a gentle cleanser to cleanse the skin.
~ START & END THE SUMMER WITH AN EXFOLIATING FACIAL
Exfoliated skin absorbs skincare better- period. Without the physical barrier of dead skin cells, your products will be far more effective as they try to reach the layers of the skin they are specifically formulated to reach. Look no further than the Noaem Oxygenation Facial for this – powered by Geneo, it is the perfect preparation for the summer with its powerful exfoliating pods that cater for any skin type. At the end of the summer, it erases the dullness that we see after UV exposure and feeds the skin with hydration and nourishment.
Did you know that Paris Hilton has a Geneo device in her home? Not jealous at all! 😉
~ INCORPORATE A HYDRATING SKIN ROUTINE
As always, what you do at home can make a huge difference to the condition of your skin. Changing up your skin routine to incorporate hydrating products.
The first ingredient to spring to the top of everybody’s minds is Hyaluronic Acid and with good reason!
We are big fans of SkinCeuticals HA Intensifier (my dry skin clients cannot live without this one). They also have a newer product on the block, HA Intensifier Multi-Glycan – their next-generation hydration serum.
We also need to consider ingredients such as glycerin and natural humectants such as urea, amino acids and allantoin. The Restore Cream from AllSkin Med is another great option as it protects the skin against environmental aggressors, restores the skin barrier and also introduces ALL of the hydration boosting ingredients mentioned above.
Also from AllSkin Med, the Radiance Gel not only provides Hyaluronic acid but also Vitamin C and those all important growth factors, in a summer friendly lightweight formulation.
Lastly, we would advise swapping out your usual makeup base for a dewy tinted sunscreen such as Heliocare Water Gel in either Beige or Bronze. If you feel a little more coverage is necessary for an event, just apply some concealer on top.
~ SKIN BOOSTERS
Injectable Skin Boosters are like a drink for the skin.
Skincare products, especially the brands we keep at Noaem Skin, are formulated like pharmaceuticals in order to help them penetrate the skin to the level at which the particular ingredients are required.
Skin Boosters do not have this problem as they deliver hydration (in the form of Hyaluronic Acid) and nutrients directly into the skin where they are needed. They plump the skin, restore radiance and reduce the appearance of lines.
Small micro-injections are made all over the face and neck (if required) and the treatment is fairly quick. We use numbing cream to make the experience as comfortable as possible. It is very well tolerated and the downtime is minimal with little bumps visible on the skin for 24-48 hours.
This is a quick-fix (we all love those!) and the results can be maintained by following the steps above and incorporating a good retinoid in the autumn.
~ DON’T FORGET THE EYES!
As the skin around the eyes is so thin, it is one of the first places to show dehydration. You have probably noticed after a night out drinking alcohol, the skin around the eyes can look grey, dull and full of fine lines.
As we get older, these concerns can become more permanent. Remember, your eyes are the first thing that you or anyone else looks at – they may or may not be the windows to your soul but they are definitely a good insight to the condition of your skin!
Great options to hydrate the skin around the eye include:
Noaem Meso Eye Rejuvenation Treatment
- Utilising a beautiful French mesotherapy solution jam packed with nutrients and Hyaluronic Acid. Think how natural French women look – this is their secret!
- Our specific eye area Polynucleotide product – Plinest Eye – has caused a storm and for good reason. Not only does it regenerate the skin in the eye area but it encourages it to create its own hyaluronic acid. Super clever, our regular clients are hooked!
Hopefully these tips are helpful to keep your skin looking its hydrated, glowing best this summer! If you would like any further advice, just get in touch. We stock all of the skincare products mentioned in this blog so if you would like to try any, just let us know. Enjoy the summer!