Summer skin care needs a choice of lightweight and gentle products that let the skin breathe without making it look greasy. This will enable layering your skin effectively, even with high humidity, making your skin ever-glowy and radiant.
During the hot and humid summers, skin needs extra caution as the skin is more prone to breakouts, dehydration, and irritation. The main causes attributed to these changes are heat, humid weather, and exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays. Additionally, layering your skin with too many products or using rich creams can clog the skin pores, leading to greasy-looking skin with acne. But this doesn’t mean that skin doesn’t need hydration in summer. The key is smart layering with summer-friendly formulations, as per Dr Ameesha Mahajan, Cosmetic Dermatologist & Founder, Eden Skin Clinic.
Choose a gentle and lightweight cleanser: Begin your routine with a gentle, non-stripping cleanser that removes sweat, sunscreen, and excess oil without disrupting your skin barrier. Gel- or foam-based cleansers work well for most skin types in hot weather.
Layer with a hydrating toner or mist: After gentle face cleansing, spray a hydrating toner or facial mist on your face that is enriched with ingredients such as rose water, glycerin, aloe vera, etc. They immediately hydrate the skin without making the skin look heavy or greasy with the pressure of products.
Serum that is water-based: Rather than being thick and oily, serums should be water-based or gel-based and contain active ingredients that offer targeted treatments. For example, niacinamide-enriched serum helps in oil control and skin brightening too, hyaluronic acid hydrates dry skin, vitamin C brightens skin or provides antioxidant protection, etc. These sink into the skin quickly and don’t leave a sticky residue.
Opt for a lightweight and non-comedogenic moisturiser: A greasy summer face doesn’t mean that you omit moisturiser. You should opt for a lightweight, non-comedogenic, and gel-based or water-based cream/lotion and prefer the ones with hydrating ingredients such as green tea, aloe vera, squalene, etc. If you have oily skin, consider using a hydrating serum and skipping moisturiser altogether if your sunscreen also offers hydration.
Top it up with matte-based broad-spectrum sunscreen: The final step should always be sunscreen. Pick a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher with a matte or gel finish. Look for non-greasy formulas that offer oil control or contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which also soothe the skin.
Avoid hoarding products on your skin: Resist the urge to layer multiple actives in the same routine. Overdoing it in summer can lead to irritation or clogged pores. Rotate products—use vitamin C in the morning and niacinamide or AHA at night.
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