facial care in summer

As the seasons change, your skin's needs also change. Therefore, seasonally adapted facial and skin care is sensible and necessary. In this blog post, you will learn which particular stress factors affect your skin in summer and in hot weather and how you can best protect and care for your face.

How does the skin change in summer?

When temperatures are high in summer, our blood vessels expand (vasodilation), so that the skin is better supplied with blood. The sebaceous glands also produce more oil than at low temperatures. The increased production of sweat in hot weather also increases the moisture content of the skin. These weather-related changes lead to a generally improved skin appearance in summer: the complexion usually appears rosier, smoother and healthier, slightly tanned by the sun's rays.

The increased vitamin D content in the blood caused by sun exposure stimulates the body's own production of collagen fibers, which keep the connective tissue elastic and firm the skin contours.

Even though we find sweating in hot weather annoying and unpleasant, it not only acts as our body's ingenious natural air conditioning system to reduce the temperature, but sweating is also essential for detoxifying our skin from environmental pollutants and harmful microorganisms.

Harmful effects of the sun on the skin

Urban air pollution affects our skin in every season. In summer, most inner cities are stuffy, humid and heated by concrete, asphalt and glass surfaces that store additional heat. The fine dust clogs the pores and promotes blemishes such as pimples or blackheads.

The summer months with their long days invite us all the more to spend as much time as possible in nature, to replenish our vitamin D stores and to enjoy the sun - at the lake, on a hike, on the beach or by the sea.

However, you should not overdo it. Long sunbathing sessions or outdoor sporting activities at midday when there is increased UV radiation, heat and high ozone levels are an enormous burden on the organism and harmful to our skin. Possible consequences can be:

• sunburn
  A sunburn with 1st to 2nd degree skin burns can cause redness, swelling and inflammation. Remember: even the strongest sun protection for the skin with SPF 50+ cannot prevent all damage from UV and IR radiation.
• Oxidative stress
  Too much sun, UV radiation or heat means oxidative stress for our cells. This causes the balance between free radicals (prooxidants) and radical scavengers (antioxidants) to become out of balance. Oxidative stress damages cells and can lead to mutations and genetic changes.
• Premature skin aging
  The sun draws moisture from your skin. Excessive UV radiation damages the collagen fibers of the connective tissue, causing the skin to lose its elasticity, age prematurely, become wrinkled and saggy.
• pigment spots
  UV radiation stimulates the melanocytes of the skin to produce more melanin. Melanin promotes the protective tanning of the skin, the so-called "light callus". However, it also promotes the tendency to hyperpigmentation such as dark pigment spots. These round, elongated or oval skin changes are, like freckles, completely harmless. However, an unevenly colored, asymmetrical shape can indicate a harmful skin change.
• skin tumors
  If you expose yourself to strong UV rays of the sun unprotected for a long period of time and risk repeated sunburn, the risk of skin cancer increases.

5 skin care tips for beautiful summer skin

Tip 1: More moisture & a lighter day cream

Rich moisturizing creams are only used overnight in the warm months or for very dry skin. In summer, our skin prefers facial serums with light textures that are quickly absorbed. In high temperatures, hydrating facial serums with a fat content of less than 20% are also recommended instead of a day cream. The most suitable moisturizing ingredients for your summer skin are hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, ectoin and betaine. Products with vitamin C, niacinamide, bakuchiol or magnolia bark in particular have a brightening effect that evens out the complexion.

Tip 2: Sensible sun protection

To protect yourself and your skin from the sun, avoid the blazing midday sun between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Also protect yourself with a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and covering clothing made of natural fibers. If you can't avoid the midday sun, remember to reapply your sunscreen at least every 2 hours.

With the Sunshine Day Oil we recommend a purely plant-based sunscreen based on karanja oil and powerful antioxidants. It prevents premature skin aging, cell damage and strengthens the protective skin barrier. If necessary, apply a mineral sunscreen based on nanoparticle-free zinc oxide with SPF 30 to 50+ on top.

Tip 3: Soothing face mask without emulsifiers

If your skin is dry, irritated or red after being in the sun, treat it to a soothing cream face mask. The emulsifier-free Regenerate Soothing Mask is ideal for this. It contains skin-tightening grape seed oil, beta-glucan to strengthen the skin barrier and powerful antioxidants from acai berry and sea buckthorn to stimulate cell renewal.

Tip 4: Facial toner for a refreshed summer complexion

The Bio Magnolia Toner Sensitive based on aloe vera gel provides instant freshness, soothes sun-stressed skin and provides plenty of moisture. You can achieve an additional cooling effect by keeping the toner in the fridge during the hot summer months and applying it several times during the day to refresh.

Tip 5: Regenerating facial oils

The high-quality myrto organic facial oils have an antioxidant, cell-renewing, smoothing effect and strengthen the skin's protective barrier - in summer, ideally over your facial serum instead of a day cream.