Sometimes it’s quite easy to neglect our skin, which is not good but ok once in a while. But during the hot summer months, neglecting your skin is a complete no. This is because prolonged exposure to the sun rays can bring with it a fair share of skin related problems, including damaging your skin several different ways. This can easily lead to wrinkles, marks, pigmentations, dry skin, and even skin cancer over time. The hottest time of the year needs a cautious skincare routine if you really want to enjoy yourself to the maximum. Dr Mohamed Moukhtar, Medical and Scientific Affairs Manager at LEO Pharma GCC, has been kind enough to share with us some summer skincare tips that will guarantee you get through summer with minimal damage to your skin.

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Summer Skincare Tips

Protect Yourself From The Sun

One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. It’s actually the most important of the summer skincare tips. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause premature wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems — as well as increase the risk of skin cancer. For the most complete sun protection, you should use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 that is able to filter out about 93% of UVB rays, seek shade when the sun’s rays are the strongest, wear sunglasses that block UV rays and wear protective clothing that covers your skin.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles. It also narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of your skin, which decreases blood flow. This drains the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health. Smoking also damages collagen and elastin — the fibres that give your skin strength and elasticity. In addition, the repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can contribute to wrinkles.

Treat Your Skin Gently

Daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on your skin. To keep it gentle, you should limit bath time and use warm water rather than hot, avoid strong soaps because these can strip oil from your skin, apply shaving cream and shave carefully in the direction of the hair. Lastly, after washing or bathing you should gently pat your skin dry with a towel and not by rubbing it.

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Eat a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The association between diet and acne isn’t clear, but some research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fats and processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger looking skin.

Manage Stress

Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and/ or other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin and a healthy state of mind, take steps to manage your stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy. The results might be more dramatic than you expect.

Moisturizing Skincare Routine

Not to be forgotten as one of the summer skincare tips, moisturizing your skin is the most important skincare routine that everyone should always follow regardless of their skin type. And this includes drinking plenty of water.

Now that we are starting the summer season, it is important to try and follow these summer skincare tips from the good doctor if you want your skin to live a long and beautiful life. Also, it is highly recommended to use sun protection all the time, when under the sun or in a shaded place.

xoxo