Summer skin issues can include uneven tanning, oily shine, sweating and dryness, redness and inflammation, pigmentation, and wrinkles. The heat and sun exposure are seasonal adversaries that require our attention. Our faces, décolletage, legs, and arms—including the skin on our elbows—deserve equal care.
How to Properly Care for Your Face
Summer skincare should involve deep cleansing, nourishment, whitening, exfoliation, and massage. It’s essential to use creams with sun protection factor, remove excess moisture and inflammation with alum, and wipe your face after washing with ice cubes made from frozen juices and natural lotions.
Wrinkle Masks
Prepare fresh mixtures for your face each time and rinse them off after 20 minutes with water, avoiding soap.
* Whip the white of one egg into a fluffy foam with the juice of half a lemon.
* Beat the egg white and yolk separately, then combine them with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 2 tablespoons of orange juice.
* Mix a raw egg yolk with grated cucumber, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
* Grate a third of a zucchini and mix it with 1 tablespoon of honey.
* The next wrinkle mask is made from mashed potatoes (you need to mash one boiled potato), raw egg white, and 1 teaspoon of milk.
* Mash 2 tablespoons of watermelon pulp and mix it with 1 tablespoon of honey.
* Mash a small bunch of dark grapes with 1 tablespoon of sour cream.
* Mash the boiled yolk of one egg with half a banana and mix it with 1 tablespoon of sour cream.
* Combine 1 teaspoon each of cream, fatty cheese, olive oil, and honey, mash until smooth, and add 1 tablespoon of milk. This mixture is used to smooth out fine lines around the lips and corners of the eyes.
* A deep wrinkle between the eyebrows, “crow’s feet,” and nasolabial folds can be reduced with a honey mask: mix 100 grams of honey with 2 tablespoons each of water and alcohol.
* This anti-aging gel contains 50 ml of olive oil and 10 ml of vitamin E oil solution. The mixture is applied to the delicate skin around the eyes, gently rubbed in, and removed with a tissue after 20 minutes. This procedure is repeated daily.
* A wrinkle mask can be made from crushed strawberries, 2 tablespoons of chamomile tea, honey, and oil (1 teaspoon each). The mixture is removed from the face using cotton soaked in milk.
To improve skin condition, it’s crucial to eliminate harmful habits: alcohol and tobacco toxins are incompatible with beauty and health.
Cleansing and Nourishing
Deep surface cleansing of the skin from clogged pores and dead cells is done using scrubs that remove makeup residue, even out skin tone, and improve blood circulation in the epidermis by exfoliating and removing dead layers. For example, weekly masks made from blue clay not only cleanse pores and remove dead particles but also combat oily skin and lighten the face.
You can prepare a homemade scrub from 200 grams of ground oatmeal and rye bread, adding 1 tablespoon each of salt and baking soda. After mixing the ingredients, transfer the scrub to a glass container and store it in the refrigerator. Mix 1 tablespoon of the scrub with sour milk, apply it to your washed face, and massage the skin with your fingers for two minutes. After 20 minutes, rinse the mixture off with warm water.
Homemade facial cleansing to even out skin tone should be done twice a week and is based on the action of fruit acids.
How fruits work:
– Strawberries and raspberries hydrate the skin;
– Apples refresh and tighten;
– Apricots soothe;
– Peaches and bananas soften and smooth;
– Sea buckthorn heals, nourishes, and softens;
– Currants and lingonberries nourish and tighten pores;
– Lemons tighten pores and lighten;
– Pineapples eliminate oily shine.
Once a week, treat yourself to steam baths with a herbal infusion of succession, chamomile, and lavender. Hold your washed face over hot steam, covering your head with a towel. Continue the skin cleansing process with a clay mask and finish with moisturizing. Immediately after rinsing off the mask, wipe your face with half a raw potato.
How to Care for Your Facial Skin
Let’s uncover the secrets of cleansing care starting with homemade remedies for fresh skin.
* If you add 1 tablespoon of red currant or grape juice to cold tea and use this lotion to wipe your face in the morning, letting it dry on your skin, your face will remain matte for several hours: it won’t shine or sweat.
* A mixture of 2 tablespoons of white currant juice and chamomile infusion (pour boiling water over a cup of flowers and let it steep for an hour) will help with sweating. Wipe your face and armpits with this lotion to prevent perspiration.
* Apply crushed cherries or sour cherries to your face and neck. After 20 minutes, remove the berry mask with a cotton pad soaked in warm water.
* Mix peach pulp with 1 tablespoon of chamomile infusion and apply to your face, rinsing with water afterward (this mask is suitable for all skin types).
* Mix crushed gooseberries with an egg yolk, apply to your face, and rinse with water after 20 minutes (this mask is suitable for dry, aging skin).
* Combine 1 tablespoon each of currant juice (from white and red berries) and starch. This mask will cleanse and tighten the pores of oily skin.
* Peel a ripe plum, mash it with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, and apply it to your face as a cleansing mask for combination skin.
* Pour cold water over 1 tablespoon of crushed raspberry leaves, bring to a boil, cool, and strain. Soak a cloth in the infusion, place it on your face for 10 minutes, and then repeat the procedure. This compress cleanses and dries the skin, removing conditions for inflammation, acne, and pimples. The procedure is done for 10 days, then repeated 10 more times a day.
* Mix an egg yolk with 1 teaspoon each of honey, sour cream, and raspberry juice. Thicken the mixture with crumbled bread, mix, and apply to the skin. After 20 minutes, rinse with weak tea. This mask cleanses dry and normal skin.
* A cleansing mask for all skin types: mix 1-2 tablespoons of currant juice with 20 grams of baking yeast, steam for a few minutes in hot water, and apply to your face for 20 minutes. Rinse the mixture with weak tea.
* Mash red currants with kefir (1 tablespoon each), let it steep for half an hour, and apply to your face and neck for 20 minutes. Rinse with cold water and enjoy the refreshing effect.
The listed procedures are recommended by cosmetologists to stabilize sweating, eliminate toxins, and achieve an anti-inflammatory effect.
Proper Facial Skin Care
A healthy complexion and a light blush indicate good vascular tone. Uneven tanning or a bluish tint signal the need for peeling, massage, whitening, and vitaminizing the skin.
For Vascular Tone
* Mix 1 teaspoon each of honey, raspberry juice, oil, egg yolk, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk semolina. Apply the mask for half an hour and rinse with water.
* Combine the whipped white of one egg, 1 tablespoon each of vegetable oil and sour cream with the mashed pulp of five apricots. Apply the mask to your face and neck and rinse after 20 minutes.
* Mix grated apple, 1 tablespoon of ground oatmeal, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Apply the mask to your face for 15 minutes and rinse with water.
* Soak the peels of two quinces in vodka, strain after two weeks, add the juice of half a lemon, and use as a natural toner for your face.
* In ½ cup of black currant juice, add 1 tablespoon of oil, blend, pour into molds, and freeze. Use a cube of this ice to massage your face after applying a hot compress (soak a cloth in hot water and hold it on your face for two minutes). After the procedure, rinse your skin with cold water.
* Pour two cups of boiling water over chamomile, linden, calendula, and hibiscus flowers and let steep for half an hour. Add a cup of apple juice or red currant juice, pour into molds, and freeze. Wipe your face with an ice compress to eliminate redness, inflammation, and irritation.
For Even Skin Tone
* Grate a cucumber (preferably overripe, with yellow or brown skin). Add 1 teaspoon of starch to the mixture and apply it to clean skin for 20 minutes. The cucumber mask has a whitening effect.
* Prepare a sour milk mask from equal parts of sour cream and cheese. This mixture whitens the face and nourishes the skin: it contains many beneficial amino acids, milk fats, and lactobacilli.
* For a honey mask, mix the juice of half a lemon with 1 teaspoon of honey. Lemon whitens the skin, while honey nourishes it with valuable microelements.
* The Hercules mask can be considered universal: it will whiten and exfoliate the skin, making it velvety. In the crushed flakes of Hercules, add 1 teaspoon each of honey and kefir, apply the mask to your face for half an hour, and then rinse with water.
* A honey-egg mask also revitalizes the complexion. Mix the yolk of a raw egg with 1 teaspoon of honey, apply the mask for 20 minutes, and rinse with water.
* The components of this mask—cucumber, banana, and strawberry—can be used together or separately. To improve complexion, apply banana puree (the flesh of one medium fruit), mashed strawberries (two berries are enough), grated cucumber, and the juice of half a lemon to your skin.
* A mask made from parsley or celery greens can also be prepared with a few drops of lemon juice and applied for 20 minutes to whiten the skin. This mixture can help remove freckles and pigmentation spots on the face or hands.
Contrast washing with alternating hot and cold water can quickly help the skin in summer. If you freeze used tea bags in the evening, you can use them in the morning as vitamin cocktails to tone the skin.
Summer Face Cream
Every day, a well-groomed woman is exposed to about five hundred chemical compounds, and research shows that 2.5 kilograms of chemicals from cosmetics enter the body over the course of a year. Even if beauty requires sacrifices, it’s important to remember the cumulative effect of regular use of cosmetics and perfumes: it can lead to premature aging and even cancer. Instead, the vitamin season offers a safe alternative.
To reduce the negative impact of chemicals on the skin, cosmetologists recommend replacing store-bought creams and serums with homemade remedies every two months. In summer, the choice expands with the blooming of nature and the ripening of seasonal fruits. For example, linden flowers contain a prototype of female hormones, and if you dissolve honey in an infusion of the blossoms and apply the frozen infusion to your skin, you can smooth even deep wrinkles over the summer. Natural oils—such as olive and cedar—are also effective for moisturizing and nourishing the skin.
* If you consistently apply the juice of your favorite fruits to cleansed skin, you can visibly rejuvenate. The simplest way is to apply mashed berries and fruits to previously steamed skin daily: cleansed skin will absorb more vitamins and beneficial microelements.
* Natural lotions and creams can be made from equal parts of fruit and berry raw materials and glycerin. For washing sensitive facial skin, mix the juice of one lemon and two peaches, add 1 teaspoon of glycerin, and a quarter cup of boiled water.
* All skin types can be wiped with a mixture of juice from five apricots, 1 teaspoon of glycerin, and 3 tablespoons of vodka.
* Dry skin should be washed in the morning and evening with juice from 5 tablespoons of white currants or gooseberries mixed with 1 tablespoon of glycerin.
* To ensure an even tan on dry skin, use coffee for care: dilute ground coffee beans with boiling water to a sour cream consistency and apply it to the skin after cooling, rinsing off after 15 minutes with warm water.
* You can make a homemade cream from a mixture of 2 egg yolks, 50 grams of melted butter, 3 tablespoons each of olive and castor oil, 1 teaspoon of 3% boric acid solution, and 30 grams of camphor alcohol. In the heated mixture, add 1 tablespoon of chamomile infusion. Store the finished cream in the refrigerator: its shelf life is three weeks.
* A nourishing cream for dry skin can be made from a quarter cup of soaked and boiled beans. The soft beans should be mashed into a paste, and 1 tablespoon of the puree mixed with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
* Pour 200 ml of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of dried chamomile flowers, strain the infusion after two hours, and mix 2 tablespoons of the liquid with 1 tablespoon of butter. Apply the cream mask to your face for 20 minutes to reduce redness.
* Combination skin should be cleansed twice a day to avoid shine on the nose, forehead, and chin. Cosmetologists attribute the active secretion of skin oil in the T-zone to an excess of the male hormone testosterone. In the second half of life, sebaceous glands become less active, and by age 40, skin condition usually normalizes. Meanwhile, while the problem persists, the T-zone should be wiped with thermal water, and natural antiseptics from chamomile or salicylic acid should be used for breakouts.
How to Care for Your Face at Home
Improving water balance and stimulating epidermal regeneration can be achieved with masks against skin sagging. The following beauty recipes will tighten tissues, eliminate defects, and prevent the appearance of new wrinkles.
* Twice a week for two months, nourish the skin with the active components of a sour cream-yeast mask. It is prepared from equal parts of sour cream, ground oatmeal, and mint tincture (1 tablespoon of each ingredient), 1 gram of yeast, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Mix the ingredients until you achieve a liquid sour cream consistency and apply to your face for 20 minutes. Rinse with water.
* The egg-sour cream mask is made from one yolk and equal parts (1 teaspoon each) of sour cream and crushed eggshell powder. Mix the ingredients into a homogeneous mass, apply to cleansed skin, and remove after 20 minutes with a damp cloth.
* Skin firmness can be increased with a mask made from one egg yolk, 1 teaspoon of buckwheat honey, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and the same amount of lemon juice (squeeze half a lemon). Crushed oatmeal will help thicken the mixture. The mask stays on the face for 20 minutes and works for a day.
* The protein mask with lemon is made from the white of one egg, the juice of one lemon, and 1 tablespoon of boric acid. Mix the components but do not whip! Apply the mask for 15 minutes and rinse with water.
* Mix 1 tablespoon of milk, the yolk of one egg, 2 tablespoons of oatmeal flour, 3 tablespoons of crushed oatmeal, 1 tablespoon of oil, and 1 teaspoon of honey. The oatmeal mask deeply cleanses and regenerates dry and normal skin.
* Mix 20 grams of yeast with milk, apply to your face, and leave until dry. Do not rinse the mask off; instead, remove it with a cloth using gentle circular motions, then wash your face with water of contrasting temperatures.
* For an aromatic tightening mask, mix 1 teaspoon each of essential oils: almond and lavender. Apply the warmed mixture to your face for 15 minutes and remove with a damp towel.
* Grate fresh horseradish root and mix it with sour milk. Apply the paste to skin previously coated with olive oil, avoiding sensitive areas. Leave the mask on your face for 10 minutes and remove with a cotton pad, without rinsing with water.
* Mature skin can be tightened with a warm mask made from lettuce greens. Boil the chopped leaves in a glass of water for about five minutes. Cool and apply to your face for 20 minutes. Do not discard the broth; strain it and use it to wipe the skin after applying the mask.
* To rejuvenate dry and sagging skin, steep star anise in ½ cup of boiling water, add equal parts of milk and oatmeal (1 tablespoon each), and 3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree. Apply the mask for half an hour, then rinse with water.
* For a toning compress mask, soak one cloth in boiling water and another in watermelon juice. First, place the hot cloth on your face, followed by the one with juice. Keep the cloths on your face for 15-20 minutes, then remove and do not wash your face.
* Mix 1 tablespoon of cosmetic clay, the white of one egg, and the juice of half a lemon with water until it reaches a paste-like consistency. After 15 minutes, rinse the mask off your face with water of contrasting temperatures.
Moisturizing, nourishing, and toning masks should be done twice a week in summer.
Dermatological Diet
External skincare products have a temporary effect, penetrating only the upper layer of the epidermis. To heal the skin from the inside, it’s essential to eat properly. Here are the components that prevent wrinkles.
Water
Since all metabolic processes occur in a watery environment, a lack of moisture affects skin condition. To prevent wrinkles, you should drink five glasses of clean water throughout the day (you can enhance the taste by adding lemon or berry juice). It’s best to avoid other beverages: for example, tea and coffee contain caffeine, which causes dehydration.
Antioxidant Vitamins
Under the influence of sunlight, free radicals are formed in the body, leading to aging. Vitamins A (found in beef liver, bright fruits, and vegetables), C (in citrus fruits and sauerkraut), and E (in nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils) help combat their destructive effects. Zinc and B vitamins restore skin elasticity (found in legumes and grains).
Proteins
Skin cells are built from proteins, which help skin framework molecules produce collagen. The highest concentration of essential amino acids is found in dairy and egg whites. The second highest is in meat and fish proteins. These products should be alternated in your diet. Plant protein is absorbed only 60% and does not provide a complete set of amino acids necessary for the epidermis, which is why vegetarian skin often requires additional care.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The purpose of “good fats” from marine fish is to maintain skin tone. These nutrients preserve the lipid layer that retains moisture in the skin. When heated, beneficial acids undergo partial destruction, so the “elixir of youth” is considered to be marinated or salted fish, rather than fried or boiled: herring that has not undergone thermal processing is the best choice.
Thus, the basis of a diet for healthy skin should include cereals, nuts, fish, seafood, vegetables, and fruits. And fluids will cleanse the skin at the cellular level.
For breakfast in summer, eat oatmeal (which contains beneficial B vitamins and biotin) with green tea (which detoxifies and activates metabolic processes). Your second meal of the day can be kefir (the same “protein cocktail” to prevent wrinkles). For lunch, make a salad of fresh greens with oil (anti-aging vitamin E), prepare a soup with broccoli (which protects the skin from harmful UV radiation), and marinate herring (a source of taurine and fatty acids). For dinner, cottage cheese with sour cream is best (this food replenishes collagen reserves).
Read also about skincare for your face and hands in winter.