Summer is finally here: time to dust off your lighter clothes and sunglasses! As the season changes, it is also very important to take care of our skin in a different way than in previous months, keeping in mind some precautions, and learning to use the right products for a correct summer beauty routine.

The skin is the largest organ of our body and is of enormous importance because it performs the relevant barrier function offering effective protection from external physical, chemical and thermal agents.

The skin is also a sense organ and let's not forget the importance it also has in everyone's social life, through the skin we transmit information, sensations and emotions.

That said, contrary to what we hear in commercials on TV and in newspapers, the skin does not get used to cosmetic products, but needs change based on seasonality, hormonal situation and psycho-physical conditions.

Especially in the hot seasons it is important to maintain a correct summer beauty routine by carefully monitoring the state of hydration, redness, sebaceous secretions and the appearance of pimples.

How to change your beauty routine from winter to summer and take care of your skin? Here are our tips for your summer beauty routine:

1. The importance of hydration
2. Protecting the skin and hair from the sun
3. Nourishing and preserving your tan
4. Regenerating the skin
5. The importance of vitamins A, C, and E for your skin in summer
6. The summer beauty routine for beach days

1. The importance of hydration

In summer, due to the high temperatures and the greater exposure to the sun's rays, our body (remember that it is made up of over 60% water) is subjected to a greater and constant loss of liquids. In addition to these typically summer factors, a fair amount of body water is eliminated daily through the skin. This phenomenon is called insensitive perspiration or perspiratio insensibilis, insensitive because we are not aware of it.

This is why, especially in the summer season, it is important to drink at least 2 liters of water a day to prevent dehydration and dry skin.

Skin hydration comes from within but also from the outside, thanks to the use of suitable cosmetics.

Summer and skin: the perfect hydration

For a good summer beauty routine it is advisable to use a more fluid and fresh moisturizer than those used during the winter. Light creams or gels that do not contain oils or that contain them in low percentages are particularly suitable.

During the hot season, for oilier skins, the cream can be completely replaced with a face serum, a type of product that is lighter and easier to absorb than creams, serums are in fact a concentrate of active ingredients and bring specific properties to the skin without weighing it down with excessive amounts of oils.

To give hydration and radiance to the skin, hydrolates and constitutional spray waters are also very useful, which can be vaporized on the face at any time of the day. For a super refreshing effect try leaving them in the fridge for a few hours before using them, your skin will be grateful and thank you!

For cleansing the face it is useful to prefer delicate products during the summer (but also at other times of the year!), perfect in this regard are cleansing mousses or make-up remover milks (preferably delicate ones, which do not contain surfactants).

An additional tip: avoid using alcoholic perfumes during the hot season, especially when you are exposed to the sun, they could be irritating and lead to the appearance of brown spots. If you like to perfume, try instead to self-produce a solid perfume with this very simple recipe, or use a neutral carrier oil such as almond oil and then apply a few drops of essential oil or essences!

A perfect product for skin hydration in the summer is Coconut oil: light and fragrant, it is ideal not only as a nourishing and super moisturizing body oil, but also as a hair oil, with which to make a strengthening pack.

2. Protecting the skin and hair from the sun

To follow a good summer routine it is important to protect yourself from the sun's rays. Carefully choose the sunscreen to use and avoid redness or worse burns. In fact, there are creams that contain protective filters and can be classified according to their SPF (solar protection factor).

Sunscreen is important for everyone, but especially for those with fair and sensitive skin (phototype I and II) and for those with acne-prone skin. Although the usefulness of phototherapy in some dermatological conditions (psoriasis, vitiligo) has been confirmed, there is medical evidence that sunlight aggravates acne and it often happens that acne sufferers who have not protected their skin adequately during the summer experience a worsening during the autumn season. This happens because, although UVA rays have a momentarily beneficial action on acneic imperfections, thanks to their bactericidal power, vice versa UVB rays cause a series of negative effects: increase in sebaceous secretion, thickening of the stratum corneum, inflammatory activity.

We must know that it is also essential to protect already tanned skin, in fact ultraviolet rays can act deep into the skin, for example UVA rays reach the dermis where they destroy the collagen and elastin fibers that support the epidermis.

Always choose products rich in vitamin E, with an antioxidant action, and soothing substances, such as chamomile and mallow extracts. Pay particular attention to the eye contour, neck and perilabial area which are perpetually exposed to external agents and to protect moles and blemishes. Let us also remember that in the event of pregnancy, the skin is much more sensitive and is particularly prone to the formation of spots. It is good to prefer, in this delicate state of a woman's life, sunscreens that contain only physical filters with spf 50.

Before sun exposure, avoid creams that contain fruit or citrus acids because with sun exposure they could create dark spots or irritations. The problem does not arise if rinsing products such as shower gel or shampoo are used.

On the face, before sunscreen (preferably anti-aging to counteract premature cellular ageing) it is advisable to apply a serum based on pure hyaluronic acid, it will help the skin maintain proper hydration and counteract damage from UV rays.

Let's remember that hair also needs care and attention, to protect it we can apply a protective restructuring oil. It can be used before exposure to the sun or bathing in the sea and in the pool or as a pre-wash mask to restore tone and shine after days at the beach. Argan oil, coconut oil, almond oil and vitamin E are preferred. Elements capable of penetrating and nourishing the hair from root to tip, managing to provide the necessary substances to nourish and repair it.

A further tip: avoid, when possible, a make-up that is too demanding for the hot hours. In summer, for the face, prefer light products with a dual action, such as BB creams.

3. Nourishing and preserving your tan

Obviously, as in winter, the skin also needs to be nourished in summer.

If in general it is true that in summer it is useful to lighten the products for the beauty routine, it is also true that after exposure to the sun, the skin needs an extra dose of nourishment.

For the body, after exposure to the sun, specific products can be used, such as the After Sun Cream, and then butters and vegetable oils, such as argan oil, wheat germ oil and sweet almond oil, are ideal. You can use them pure or add a few drops of Vitamin E to increase their antioxidant effect.

If, after spending entire days at the beach, your skin happens to feel dry and sometimes irritated by the sun, salt and sand; to rebalance the normal state of the skin, you can also use soothing after-suns, with chamomile, calendula, green tea, licorice, zinc or hydrolates and refreshing mint spray water or aloe gel.

For the face, choose a nourishing and antioxidant beauty routine after a day at the beach: constitutional waters are ideal, followed by a rich and nourishing cream.

In the shower you can preserve the much "sought-after" tan by using delicate shower gels that contain moisturizing and soothing ingredients such as calendula, chamomile, aloe vera, vitamin E. Amico del mare is a perfect and very delicate shower gel, specially formulated to be super delicate on the skin and kind to nature: it is ecological and can also be used on boats, campers, camping. Once a week, continue with a light, illuminating scrub with a mechanical action. Don't be afraid to remove the tan, the mechanical action of exfoliation removes the most superficial layer deposited on the epidermis (impurities and dead cells), and helps keep the skin bright, smooth and make the tan last longer.

As for the hair, you can make packs or masks based on linseed oil to leave on and then make a delicate shampoo, the result will be less dry and brittle hair.

For burns however, if the situation does not require the intervention of a doctor, one of the best natural substances against burns can be used: the gel of aloe vera leaves. If we don't have any aloe plants at hand, we can opt for aloe juice. Hypericum is also excellent against sunburn, which we find in a perfect and refreshing formula for the summer in the Hypericum balm.

4. Regenerating the skin

In the winter months the skin undergoes stress and changes due to the cold, becoming dry and dull.

With the onset of spring, we can regenerate our skin using scrubs that allow us to remove dead cells and stimulate the cell regeneration process. Massaging with anti-cellulite creams, as well as being useful for the swimsuit fitting, is first of all important for stimulating microcirculation and giving elasticity to the skin.

Butcher's broom, green tea, caffeine and almond oil are the ingredients to look for in this type of cream. The problem of heavy and swollen legs can make it very difficult to face the summer period, in addition to women this disorder often afflicts men too. In addition to a sensation, swelling in the legs can be a visible problem, aesthetically unpleasant but above all painful and also very limiting in daily life.

An authentic ally to this type of annoyance can be self-massage, performed with movements from the bottom up, with specific creams based on menthol, butcher's broom, ivy and centella, better if kept in the fridge to give greater relief to our legs!

5. The importance of vitamins A, C, and E for your skin in summer

In summer, more than ever, our skin needs vitamins.

Among the allies for maintaining healthy skin we find various vitamins and minerals, one of the most important is vitamin A which gives our skin many benefits, for example it promotes the synthesis of all the mucopolysaccharides present in the skin and subcutaneous tissue, delays the formation of wrinkles, neutralizes the action of free radicals which speed up the aging process of our skin and the formation of wrinkles.

Be careful though, vitamin A, which you can frequently find in anti-aging products (in INCI retinol), is photosensitizing. In summer, use products that contain it only in the evening or choose products based on vegetable retinol (phytoretinol), which instead has no contraindications for exposure to the sun.

The action of vitamin C is also very important, which participates in the process of formation of collagen, a protein present in the containment structures, but also in skin, hair and nails.

To protect the skin from the sun's rays, let's never forget vitamin E, which is very often added to sunscreens for the many benefits it releases on the skin.

Aloe gel is also an excellent product used both before and after exposure to the sun.

In addition to important soothing properties, it also acts with a preventive action mechanism: applied 24 hours before sun exposure, it improves the skin's immune response to oxidative damage.

Beware of cosmetics! Some may contain photosensitizing raw materials, which can cause spots and dermatitis. The substance, in practice, absorbs the energy of solar radiation and consequently alters its structure, giving rise to free radicals and other irritating or toxic compounds for the skin.

These compounds can trigger an inflammatory response (phototoxic reaction), amplified by solar radiation itself. Examples of photosensitizing ingredients are some perfumes and essential oils, especially citrus fruits (such as bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, orange), and acidic substances such as mandelic, salicylic or kojic acid. Photosensitization obviously concerns those products that are applied when we expose ourselves to the sun, so let's avoid applying them to our skin while tanning!

6. The summer beauty routine for beach days

In summary: our summer beauty routine must consist of multiple gestures and habits capable of maintaining correct hydration and a hydrolipidic film in good condition, as well as counteracting free radicals and harmful sun rays.

A nourishing and antioxidant serum should be applied every evening in case of oily skin, a serum and a fluid cream, or better in gel, in case of dry or normal skin.

In the morning, it is better to choose creams with protective filters to protect us from the sun's rays.

And for a perfect day at the beach let's not forget 4 fundamental rules:

• Protect the skin with a protective cream to be applied every 2-3 hours and after each bath
• Avoid wearing make-up: make-up tires the skin and prevents it from breathing
• Protect and care for your hair with a protective oil
• Avoid exposing yourself to the sun during the hottest hours: it is counterproductive for tanning and the risk of burns is very high

And when we return, after a nice shower, let's not forget to hydrate our skin with a nice gel to give elasticity, tone and shine to our face.

If you don't know what type of skin you have, take the test!