12 products to solve all your summer skin problems
As beautiful as the season is, summer comes with its own set of skin woes.
Credit:
SunBum / Supergoop!
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Getting ready for a summer day sounds idyllic and easy: You can skip the blow dryer in favor of a quick tousling of styling cream through your hair, and you just have to throw on a tank, shorts, and sandals to be on your way. But the truth is, summer isn't all that easy-breezy for your skin: You may forget to reapply your SPF and end up with a sunburn, or walk a little too far in your flip-flops and earn yourself a blister. Not to worry—for every summer skin woe you encounter, we have solutions and ways to prevent them from happening in the first place.
1. For preventing a sunburn
Don't forget to reapply!
You already know the importance of sunscreen: It lessens your risk of getting skin cancer and, in a more immediate sense, it decreases the likelihood you’ll contend with painful sunburn from overexposure. The Blue Lizard Australian Sensitive Sunscreen has broad spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays and it’s water resistant for up to 40 minutes. One Amazon reviewer who is sensitive to the sun writes, “This product is amazing and I wish I had tried it sooner because it is actually life-changing.”
Get Blue Lizard Australian Sensitive Sunscreen SPF 30+ from Amazon for $28.99
2. For touching up your sunscreen and makeup
Apply a facial sunscreen underneath your makeup and retouch with a powder or setting spray infused with SPF throughout the day.
Finding SPF products that will enhance your makeup instead of causing it to melt off your face sounds challenging, but dermatologists have suggestions. Begin your makeup with a moisturizing SPF, like the ever-popular Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40, which claims to be weightless, scentless, and makeup-gripping.
As the day wears on, touch up your SPF with a powder if your skin is on the oilier side. The Colorscience Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-On Shield SPF 50 claims to soak up excess oil throughout the day. If you have dry skin, the Coola Classic SPF 30 Makeup Setting Spray is a hydrating spritz that seals your makeup and adds UV protection.
Get the Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 at Sephora for $32 Get Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-On Shield SPF 50 on Dermstore for $65 Get the Coola Classic SPF 30 Makeup Setting Spray at ULTA for $36
3. For treating your sunburn
Aloe relieves the discomfort from sunburn and promotes healing.
So you slacked on sunscreen—it happens. But now you need something that’ll restore some balance to your burnt skin and relieve the mega-uncomfortable sensation. Dermatologists agree that aloe promotes wound healing and decreases the inflammation and skin cell deaths associated with sunburns. If you don’t have access to an aloe plant, the next best thing is a 100 percent aloe vera gel, like the one from Seven Minerals. One Amazon reviewer says, “This gel feels sooo different from anything I have tried for sunburns and dark spots! The consistency feels much more natural and it does not dry up too fast. You can really feel it getting absorbed in your skin and it does not smell bad!”
Get the Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera Gel on Amazon for $19.95
4. For bronzing your skin sans sun
The Beauty by Earth tanning lotion is loved for its natural-looking results and formula that doesn't leave stains on clothing.
It goes without saying that a faux tan is far healthier than sunbathing. So, if you want to pretend like you’re coming straight from a beach vacation without actually sitting in the sun, try a self-tanner. The Beauty by Earth Self Tanner, which has 4.3 stars and over 4,200 reviews on Amazon, is cruelty-free, organic, and won’t leave behind streaks or blotches. One Amazon reviewer writes: "Aside from the ingredients being the best, the color I get is incredible and I love that it's buildable if you want to get a darker tan... I absolutely love it and will never be without!”
Get the Beauty by Earth Self Tanner on Amazon for $27.99
5. For avoiding pesky bugs
OFF! uses DEET, a chemical that protects against mosquitoes, ticks, and several other insects.
The most dreadful part of summer is easily the unrelenting sound of bugs buzzing and the itchy welts they leave on our skin. Not to mention the diseases associated with the bites—Lyme disease from deer ticks and West Nile Virus from mosquitoes, namely. Topical insect repellents containing DEET make us a less appealing snack to several bugs, including mosquitoes and ticks. The old standby from OFF! is exactly that for a reason: It works.
Get the OFF! Deep Woods Insect Repellent at Target for $5.89
6. For solving your chafing troubles
Apply BodyGlide wherever you typically chafe.
Summer activities should be fun, but there's nothing fun about chafing, which can happen when sweaty skin rubs against itself or clothing seams. BodyGlide, an anti-chafe balm that looks like deodorant and feels like gel, can be applied anywhere that you experience chafing: between your thighs, under tank top straps, or even on your feet beneath shoe buckles. It doesn’t stain clothing and it lasts all day, so reapplying isn’t necessary. Courtney Campbell, one of our senior e-commerce writers, swears by it. “I was immediately hooked and applied it everywhere (I mean everywhere) before my run.”
Get BodyGlide Original Anti-Chafe Balm on Amazon for $9.99
7. For warding off blisters
Anti-Monkey Butt wicks sweat away from the skin so there's less friction.
Lubricants like BodyGlide make our skin slick so there’s less friction with our shoes—no friction, no blisters. However, if you aren't sure what specific areas of your feet may be friction-prone in your sandals, you can try sprinkling a powder that’ll absorb excess oil all over your feet instead. The Anti-Monkey Butt Powder is moisture-wicking, meaning it pulls moisture away from the skin to ease potential rubbing between your feet and shoes.
Get the Anti-Monkey Butt Powder on Amazon for $4.99
8. For healing blisters
If a blister is popped, soak it in epsom salts, then apply an anti-bacterial ointment and bandage.
If you weren’t properly prepped for your long walk or your brand-new sandals, don’t worry! You still have options for how to deal with the troublesome bubbles. Dermatologists recommend cleaning the blister and covering it with a bandage if it is still intact. If it popped, soak your feet in epsom salts to speed up the recovery process, then apply an antibacterial ointment and a bandage to prevent an infection.
Get the Dr. Teal’s Epsom Salt Soaking Solution on Amazon for $4.87 Get the Neosporin Original Antibiotic Ointment on Amazon for $6.99 Get the Band-Aid Brand Hydro Seal Extra Large Waterproof Adhesive Bandages for Wound Care and Blisters on Amazon for $4.27
9. For shielding your lips from the sun
Aquaphor is hydrates the lips while the SPF protects them from the sun.
Don’t forget that your lips can burn in the sun, too. Avoid uncomfortable, dehydrated lips with a sunscreen-infused product, like the Aquaphor Lip Repair + Protect Broad Spectrum SPF 30. One ULTA reviewer writes, “My lips are pretty sensitive to the sun even though [they] are dark-colored. So this is all I want in a lip product and it solves all my problems!”
Get the Aquaphor Lip Repair + Protect Broad Spectrum SPF 30 on ULTA for $3.99
10. For hydrating parched skin
After a day in the sun, your skin needs hydration.
Regardless of how loyal you are to your sunscreen throughout your day, just exposing yourself to the heat of the sun dries out your skin. After a day at the beach or amusement park, rehydrate your skin with a moisturizer, like SunBum’s Cool Down Hydrating After Sun Lotion, which uses vitamin E to promote healing and aloe to give a cooling effect on the skin.
Get the SunBum Cool Down Hydrating After Sun Lotion at ULTA for $11.99
11. For mattifying oily skin
To remove excess oil, use a plotting paper and follow up with powder.
Heat and humidity have ways of making oil appear unrelentingly, but applying copious amounts of powder to sop it up can cause your makeup to look thick and cakey. Next time you touch up, try removing excess oil with a blotting sheet first, like the Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets. Then, if you still need it, apply a powder like the Mac Blot Powder.
Get the Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets at Target for $5.19 Get the MAC Cosmetics Blot Powder at MAC Cosmetics for $29
12. For calming poison ivy irritation
If you're developing a rash from poison ivy, drugstore options like cortisone and calamine lotion provide relief.
If you think you've come into contact with poison ivy, the best thing to do is use lukewarm water and soap or rubbing alcohol to prevent a rash in the first place. But if a rash is already developing, it's time to treat it. Try drugstore options like calamine lotion, which uses calamine (a combination of zinc and iron oxides) to relieve itching and dry out any weeping from the sores, or cortisone cream that uses hydrocortisone (a mild steroid) to relieve itching and inflammation. If the rash persists or gets worse, see your doctor for prescription-strength options.
Get the Cortizone 10 Maximum Strength Ointment on Amazon for $7.28 Get the Humco Calamine Lotion on Amazon for $5.99
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