If you asked anyone what they would like their skin to look like in one word, most would say “glowing”. With summer just around the corner, here are some of my top tips to get your skin prepped and protected so that you can step out in confidence with a healthy, beautiful glow all summer long!
Stay hydrated
Achieving a healthy glow from within is top priority! Skin that lacks moisture may look dull, dry and flaky – the opposite of a lit-from-within glow. Dehydrated skin may be caused by external elements (weather changes or heating/cooling) and lifestyle choices (consuming alcohol/caffeine or an unhealthy diet).
By ensuring you drink enough water daily, eat fresh produce and enlist the help of some hydrating skin products (PCA Hyaluronic Boosting Serum is my favourite), you will be well on your way to re-balancing your skin’s water content and rediscovering your natural radiance!
Wash the day away
Three easy steps for clean skin – cleanse, tone, exfoliate.
A cleanser will wash off all of the oil, dirt and makeup that has been sitting on your face all day. A double cleanse at night time will ensure that there is nothing left on your skin, but beware of any cleansers that leave your skin feeling squeaky clean as this means it has cleansed too much stripped your skin of its natural oils.
A toner will re-balance and re-calibrate the skin, boosting its protective barrier. It provides a soothing effect and prepares your skin for the following skincare products in your routine.
Add a good quality exfoliator once or twice a week to help remove layers of dead skin, get rid of deep skin build-up and improve skin tone and texture.
Do your ABCs
For a skincare routine that delivers results, it is important to incorporate active ingredients into your products. An active ingredient is basically the chemical in a product that makes the product work and the most common and effective active ingredients come in the form of vitamins A, B and C.
Use a vitamin A serum each night to increase cellular turnover so younger oils replace old skin cells. The younger, plumper cells absorb more moisture and decrease pigmentation and brown spots. My recommendation: Cosmedix X-Cell+.
Vitamin B is a wonder vitamin because it is so versatile! As it is easily absorbed by the skin, it gets to work fast by reducing redness, yellowing, refines pore size, reduces fine lines and wrinkles and improves overall skin texture. And if these benefits aren’t enough, it also helps to boost the efficacy of other products. My recommendation: Aspect Dr Multi B plus.
Vitamin C is considered the Holy Grail ingredient by skincare experts because of its anti-aging, damage-repairing and UV-protecting powers. Many people have incorporated Vitamin C into their daily routine to give their lacklustre complexion a much healthier, brighter glow and this is one I suggest you do not overlook. My recommendation: Societe Triple C.
Regular skin love
The skincare industry can get so overwhelming to try and navigate on your own, so I recommend enlisting the help of a qualified dermal clinician to keep you on track. Book a skin consultation at a reputable skin clinic where they will be able to assess your skin and come up with a customised treatment plan.
Regular skin treatments such as peels, skin needling or even laser treatments (such as Laser Genesis or Pico FX) are worth looking into. In Geelong, I recommend the girls at Vitality Skin & Laser Clinic, or if you’re travelling down the highway my favourite skin clinic is Clinica Lase.
Slip slop slap
And I don’t mean just your regular Banana Boat sunscreen! Add a good quality SPF based skincare product at the end of your morning skincare routine to give you the best possible protection from damaging UVA and UVB rays from the sun.
Exposure to the sun’s harmful rays is the biggest cause of premature anti-aging as well as sunspots, skin sagging, wrinkles and even skin cancer, so wearing an SPF on your face daily is the most important part of your skincare routine.
I’m currently using Aspect Hydra Shield which is a light moisturiser containing Zinc Oxide, a naturally occurring SPF.
