Friday, June 19, 2015

Summer Skin Care Guide for Your Best Body & Face Ever!

Summer Skin Care Guide for Your Best Body

Ah Summertime! Gotta love it! Vacation! Kids and grandkids home from school! Trips to the beach! Daylight Savings Time brings precious extra hours of sun to play in and increased levels of vitamin D to nourish our bodies. 
Did you know that rising temperatures outside can cause your body's internal temperature to increase? When your skin is warm, your blood vessels send extra blood to the skin's surface to help cool it off. This causes a number of physiological changes, including making your face turn red and causing the skin to retain extra fluid. When your body sweats, dirt, oil and environmental chemicals can get trapped inside the pores and cause blemishes, regardless of your age. Here are several easy things you can do to look your best during the summer months, and help prevent the premature aging that follows sun damage just as sure as night follows day. 
1. Keep skin clean but avoid harsh soaps. Keep facial skin away from soaps and cleansers that contain deodorant, sulfates and potentially toxic ingredients. These can be drying, irritating and stress the natural acid mantle of your skin. If you are looking for something new, La Isha's Gentle Aromatherapy Face Wash does an excellent job of removing makeup, sweat, sunscreen, excess oil and environmental impurities without stripping the skin of the critical natural moisture it needs. It is exceptionally soothing, especially to skin that has absorbed a little too much sun.  

2. Exfoliate to minimize fine lines and wrinkles!  If you've never used a facial exfoliant you are in for a real treat! Use a gentle moisturizing exfoliant on your face and neck, and leave the loofahs (natural sea sponges available in health food stores) to remove dry, dead skin from other parts of the body like arms and legs. Most general exfoliants work well on calloused feet, elbows and knees but are way too harsh to use on your tender complexion, so make sure to choose a product that is designed specifically for the face and neck. If the product doesn't say it is, then it's not. We recommend La Isha's Orange Coconut Face Polish because it is extremely effective yet gentle enough to use under the eyes and on those pesky lines that develop around your mouth and absorb your migrating lipgloss. It also smells good enough to eat!

3. Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize! 
Applying a good moisturizer is critical to maintaining younger-looking, well-hydrated skin. Summer heat and extra perspiration can be irritating and disrupt normal moisture levels. Soothe your skin after sun exposure by applying a natural moisturizer that contains a light non-comedogenic (does not clog pores) oil to seal in moisture so it is less likely to evaporate. Try our Nutrient Rich Face Creme - it is extremely concentrated so a little dab'll do ya!  Plus it smells like a day at the spa! Ahh!

4. Hydration is key! Drink water - it's a great thirst quencher and a beauty essential! Not only does it hydrate your skin better than any other liquid on the planet, but it is the best beverage by far for your body and your health. Stay away from sugary juices, carbonated soda and energy drinks that can add extra calories and introduce synthetic ingredients that are detrimental to your health. Research shows that even natural sugars like fructose can be harmful to the body in large doses, so do yourself a favor: go ahead and enjoy your fruit separately, but when you need to hydrate - skip the juice and drink water instead. Add a sliver of lemon or lime for an extra refreshing summer drink without empty, synthetic calories. 

5. Protect your skin from the sun! Did you know that your skin can burn in as little as 10 to 15 minutes? Sorry girlfriends - there is no such thing as a healthy suntan! Research has conclusively shown that UVA and UVB rays not only cause premature aging but a deadly form of cancer (melanoma) as well. Sunburn is an equal opportunity menace and affects people of all colors and races, so don't think that just because your skin is dark you will be impervious to sustaining damage.

Be sure to wear a wide-brimmed hat when you are outdoors and apply a sunscreen with an SPF of 40 or 50 approximately twenty to thirty minutes before exposure to the sun in order to give it time to work. There is no such thing as a completely waterproof sunscreen - no matter what the marketing hype on the label claims, so be sure to reapply it after swimming and sweating/physical exertion. If you are not thrilled with the idea of using sunscreen, there are companies that make clothing with an SPF built right into the fabric that are definitely worth looking into. I have used them myself and bought them for my children when they were young and still amenable to my dressing them. Coolibar to this day remains one of my favorites. Check them out at www.coolibar.com.

By the way - for those Caucasian would-be sun goddesses who just don't feel attractive unless they are sporting a suntan, there are many cosmetic bronzers on the market these days that can give skin the kind of natural, sun-kissed look first made popular by Coco Chanel and her infamous sun-bathing in the south of France. These cosmetics do so without subjecting the skin to the harmful rays of the sun, but be aware that they are full of synthetic chemicals, some safer than others. Manufacturers are concerned about their bottom line and do not always have your best interests at heart...they often use cheap synthetic ingredients in their products that come with their own list of health warnings.  

We do not live in a protective bubble and it is impossible to eliminate exposure to everything that may not be good for us, but we can certainly try to reduce the toxic overload on our bodies by picking and choosing our poisons very carefully. I strongly encourage you to read product labels before you make a purchase, and weigh the pros and cons of the ingredients found in all the beautification products you use, from bronzers to faux-tanning preparations. Many contain toxic chemicals that can irritate the skin, cause allergic reactions and even compromise your short and long term health. That beautiful summer glow you worked so hard to create can be ruined in seconds by splotchy hives and itchy skin that is being scratched to the point of bleeding.
Ultimately the choice is yours. Maybe the time has come to embrace your natural color and concentrate on protecting your skin and your health? Just saying. Think about it...
Have a safe and happy summer!

Sharon Gnatt Epel

CEO/Founder
La Ishá Natural & Organic Skincare

   
Copyright June 2015 Sharon Gnatt Epel for La Ishá

#dry skin #summer skin care #exfoliation #moisturizer #hydration #sun damage #sunscreen #summerbeautytips #over40beauty

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