Intense heat, dry air, sunscreen, junk food, late nights, early mornings, chlorine, popsicles, bug repellent, periods, airplane travel, road trips, and s’ mores…these are a few of my favorite things!
Truthfully, how many of you just tried to sing that to the tune of My Favorite Things from Sound of Music? Haha – I totally did!
That list above? Not ALL of them are favorite things but they are a byproduct of my favorite season: Summer. And so I deal with it like any other normal person.
…and so does my skin – by freaking out.
Any time there is the slightest change in temperature or humidity my skin likes to let me know that she is actually the boss and doesn’t appreciate all the ways I can’t control the weather or environment. Listen, some skin types thrive in summer, and others can be triggered – everyone’s different. For one, excess heat and humidity can increase the amount that we sweat, and that means more oil, which can lead to clogged pores (hello acne!). I also recently learned from my esthetician that bacteria and fungus thrive in heat and humidity and can lead to breakouts and skin irritations. Yay…
But over the years, my skin and I have come to a non-hostile truce. I promise to take care of her and she promises not to lose her you-know-what every time I flip on the air conditioning (yep, that dries out your skin, too).
But summer is rough. Not just for moms with kids. Summer is rough on us all and it’s our skin that truly takes a beating! But as I said, we’ve (my skin and I) found a happy coexistence and it’s all due to the 5 things I do to combat summer!
COOLING & BRIGHTENING HYDROGEL MASK
My Top 5 Tips For Radiant Summer Skin
Wear Sunscreen
Believe it or not, plenty of people are still uneducated about the health hazards that can come from tanning or going outside without proper sun protection. Good skin care starts with owning sunscreen with a minimum of 30+ SPF and I always make sure to pack more sunscreen than I plan to use. It’s way better to be overprepared than underprepared. I also stash it everywhere: the car, my purse, the house. I’m prepared. If you’ve ever been sunburned or had a sunburned kiddo, you know.
And you know how the sunscreen bottle reads “Reapply every two hours”? Seriously, reapply your sunscreen every two hours. Set a timer. And when it goes off, reapply not just your sunscreen on your body, but apply a powder sunscreen to your nose. I use Colorscience SPF 50 powder, but powder is not a great all-day solution. You should always apply a base layer of SPF and then touch-up with powder SPF throughout the day.
It’s also good to remember that heat and humidity can accelerate the breakdown of sunscreen so make sure that your bottles live in a cool and dry place (like your garage).
Or, if you’re really wanting to protect yourself, get yourself some UPF clothes. UPF clothing is made with special fabric that offers the same type of UV-fighting protection as a sunscreen. Athleta carries some super cute UPF 50+ options!
Plus now you have an excuse to get a self-tanner spray machine! Just call it your skin-cancer-prevention gun.
SHOP MY FAVORITE SUNSCREENS
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exfoliating probiotic sugar scrub
Exfoliate
Pores look more obvious in hot, humid weather and that’s why I, at the advice of my esthetician, add one extra exfoliation session per week. And I’ve recently switched to TULA’s NEW exfoliating scrub! This scrub is gentle (it’s why my skin can handle the extra session each week) and is packed with natural ingredients. And, it smells like vacation!
It’s got superfoods like pineapple + papaya extract to chemically exfoliate the skin, while sugar physically exfoliates leaving your skin looking smoother and more radiant. Plus, it’s got TULA’s signature probiotics to help lock in hydration and maintain balance.
purifying cleanser
Wash Your Skin At Night & Rinse Your Skin In The Morning
Feel free to ask your local dermatologist or esthetician, but there’s really no reason to wash your face in the morning, especially if you thoroughly cleansed the night before. Over-washing can lead to irritation and a lack of moisture. And the real rule is to use common sense: Always wash your face after a workout to prevent breakouts, and wash excessively oily skin morning and night. But for dry skin or average skin, skip the soap in the morning.
My favorite tool for washing my face is the Clarisonic brush. The technology provides a deep cleanse that you can’t get with your hands. It’s a must for home use if you want that ‘fresh-from-my-esthetician’ glow. I like to put a nickel-size amount of my favorite cleanser on my brush and go to town!
And even if you take my advice and skip the cleanser in the morning, you still need to rinse – especially before applying a moisturizer. Moisturizers are like Saran wrap for your skin—they lock in dampness to keep you hydrated and glowing. My favorite is TULA’s Hydrating Day & Night Cream.
SHOP MY SKINCARE FAVORITES
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face filter blurring & moisturizing primer | exfoliating probiotic sugar scrub
Keep It Light
Walking around in 100-degree heat and sticky, stuffy humidity can do a number on a full face of makeup. Think: Smudges, smears, and all the sweat (yuck). Even if you’re in the desert like me, dry air does a number on makeup as well. The heat just kills everything nice.
THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS!
Just kidding, you can totally have nice skin. You just gotta give it what it wants. And when it comes to makeup in summer, less is more. To avoid the weather-worn mess, use only what you need, like a concealer to help with undereye circles and stubborn acne spots that take longer to fade.
So how do you skip the full-face stuff and go naked? Start with moisturizer and a good primer. Put simply, primer is exactly what its name implies: It’s a preparatory product that’s applied after your skincare to create an ideal canvas to hold onto whatever makeup comes afterward — like foundation, tinted moisturizer, or concealer.
And I think I’ve found the holy grail of holy grail primers! TULA just released (today!) their new Face Filter Blurring & Moisturizing Primer! I got mine a few weeks ago and have been using it and I’m a HUGE fan!
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This primer is packed with probiotics, prebiotics, turmeric, chia seeds, and other skin-loving ingredients that instantly smooth the look of uneven tone and redness. It’s also a buildable formula, that releases “glow particles” to create a warm-toned, radiant base for makeup (see the pic above) and you could totally skip the foundation altogether!
And last but not least…
Book An Appointment With An Esthetician
A chemical peel once or twice a month will do wonders for your skin. A spotless, lineless, flawless complexion is lying just beneath the surface of your skin – and a chemical peel is your key to unlocking it! They clear up dulling, dead skin cells, which not only helps even out any discoloration but also clears out the pores, kills bacteria inside, slows oil production, and it tightens the look of pores. Plus, a chemical peel can help clear up acne, reduce the residual scarring and discoloration of acne, and leave your skin fresh and radiant! They’ll also help boost your cell turnover rate and your natural collagen!
Peels can make your skin—and skin-care products—work better. In minutes, acids lift away dead cells and trigger a lovely chain reaction: after the topmost layer is shed, signals are sent to the living cells below to multiply and move up, to increase collagen production, to make more hyaluronic acid—to act younger, basically. Chemical peels literally help you stave off the signs of old age!
discovery kit
It’s these 5 tips that keep my skin glowing and hydrated all summer long so I can go bare-faced without embarrassment! And I’m challenging you to try it out for yourself!
One of the reasons I share my love of TULA so much is because
1. This stuff is freaking amazing.
2. Every single one of their products is 100% Free From alcohol, fragrance, parabens, phalates, mineral oil, silicone, sodium lauryl sulfate. I know exactly what’s in my skincare and what’s going on my face at all times! If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to try out TULA!
If you want details on my full skincare routine click HERE! And you can always save 20% off your first-time purchase of TULA when you use the code ‘TARA’ at checkout!
So enjoy this summer sun and don’t forget to apply sunscreen! 😘
Xx Tara