What should we use to moisturise skin after sunbathing? Home methods for treating skin in summer

How often did it happen that you overdid with lying on the beach and later you suffered from dehydrated and reddened skin? Oh, I was in this problematic situation more than once as well…

Today I’m aware how crucial it is to prepare our body in the right way for the holiday sun. But do you know that proper skin care is important once you stop exposing your body to the sun, not only before and during sunbathing? Although UV filter can protect us from sunburns, it can’t maintain moisture level. I’m sure, I don’t have to explain to anyone the fact that we lose a lot of water because of the sun.

How does our skin feel during the summer?

Sun is necessary for our organism to feel good. Despite the positive aspects, which include pretty suntan and jovial mood, exposure to the sun contributes to intensified vitamin D production. Do you know why we need vitamin D? For example, it affects sugar level in our blood, it works antibacterial, strengthens our immune and nervous system as well as it protects our bones, including teeth. Conclusion? We need the sun to look and feel good.

Nevertheless, don’t forget that frequent sunbathing isn’t completely safe for our skin. The first thing that comes to our minds while thinking about the drawbacks are sunburns and very dangerous skin lesions. Unfortunately, a cream featuring high sun protection filer isn’t enough to counteract skin dehydration. Indeed, it protects from UV radiation but it won’t minimalize dry epidermis problem. It’s worth realizing that dehydrated skin is more prone to the damaging action of allergens and bacteria as well as inflammations.

Summing up this short (ha-ha) introduction: our skin is fine during the summer providing that we supply the dermis with adequate protection and moisturisation.

Let’s sunbath wisely

Several-hour long exposition to the sun isn’t the greatest idea ever. The truth is, the most durable suntan is obtained when we avoid intensive sun rays and divide the sunbathing into a few sessions. Let’s sunbath in a shadow! – Ok, it sounds weird but it’s worth realizing that, on sunny days, 50% of the total UV radiation is able to reach shadowed areas. This means that UV filter is useful even when we sit under a tree. Consideration is what I’m going to appeal for in every entry devoted to sunbathing I’ll ever write. Healthy skin, without sunburns equals prettier skin that houses suntan longer.

SKINCARE AFTER SUNBATHING

Moisturisation is the core

In the summer skin gets dehydrated pretty badly. As a consequence, it becomes rough and dull. This is the very reason why we should consider replenishing it with water as the prime step when it comes to this post-sunbathing skin care. Therefore, once you stop exposing your body to the sun, apply cosmetics of very a lightweight formula and strong hydrating action that also regenerate and smooth dermis.

What to use to replenish skin with water?

1. Balm with strongly moisturising ingredients – reach for all the creams containing urea, allantoin, d-pantothenol and hyaluronic acid. Also, products containing vitamins A+C+E (anti-oxygenating action) as well as soothing substances such as thermal spring water will be highly useful after sunbathing. In short, a cream you’re going to use after exposing your body to the sun should contain substances which collect and store water in skin.

2. After sunbathing regenerating mask – I was always wondering what’s the difference between a cream and a mask; and now I know the answer. A regular cream features less nourishing substances whereas a mask is more concentrated (rich in nutrients). Hence, I recommend using masks after taking longer sunbath and when the sun is stronger. My favourite masks contain hyaluronic acid, thermal water, Q10 coenzyme, starflower extract, vitamin E as well as vegetable oils such as evening primrose or wheat sprout oil.

3. After sunbathing oil – you can more frequently came across the oils which aim is to accelerate tan appearance to fix it afterwards. However, I recommend using readymade oils dedicated to treat skin after sunbathing. These products prevent water loss and keep skin naturally hydrated. In general, these cosmetics are blends of natural oils and cosmetic butters with nourishing substances.

4. Natural vegetable oils – a perfect solution if we want to moisturise our skin in a natural way. You know that I’m a supporter of all oil treatments and I always want to convince everybody to take advantage of various oils. These natural substances have semi-moisturising features, so in other words, they counteract water loss by reinforcing the natural hydro-lipid barrier of our epidermis. Oils store water in skin, have anti-inflammatory action, soothe and are natural UV filter. The list of beneficial features of natural vegetable oils is really long.

5. Moisturising mist – it is useful not only to moisturise dehydrated skin (due to the sun) but also when we need the skin care to be delicate. Basically, it’s worth cooling skin down using a mist. This cosmetic delivers immediate soothing to the sun-heated skin. On the other hand, a mist has one significant drawback. You mustn’t let the cosmetic penetrate skin (become completely absorbed by skin) because this speeds up skin dehydration. Therefore, once your skin is cooled down, you have to wipe mist off with a tissue.

Home methods for skin moisturisation after sunbathing:

1. Cold milk compresses made from, for example, sour milk, buttermilk, natural yoghurt.
2. Mineral water mist mixed with lemon juice or cucumber.
3. Regenerating bath with 2 litres of fat milk, 2 spoons of olive and a spoon of honey.
4. Natural aloe juice toner.
5. Delivering moisture from the outside – drinking a lot of water.