Although it’s usually associated with the winter season, you can also experience the irritating and often unsightly symptoms of dry skin in summer. The condition is not serious, unless it’s part of a hereditary skin disorder that can sometimes be disfiguring, but the typical itching, cracking, peeling and flaking that accompanies normal dry skin can definitely cramp your style.
Summertime Dry Skin Causes
The causes of dry skin can often be environmental. If you live in a desert region or spend time in swimming pools with heavy chlorination, you may have a much greater chance of developing itchy dry skin during the summer. Both dry climates and chlorination can pull moisture out of your skin. Air conditioning removes moisture from your home or workplace, and without a humidifier to replace it, your skin can also dry out while you’re indoors.
While you’re outside, the summer heat may cause you to sweat, but the sun’s harmful UV rays can also rob your skin of its natural moisturizing oils. People with naturally oily skin may fare better in the sun’s rays, but if your skin type tends toward the dry side, the summer sun could do more harm than good.
Controllable Factors
Some of the more controllable factors that contribute to dry skin are related to what you do, rather than where you go. Spending a long time in a hot tub can be relaxing and lingering in a hot shower can be refreshing, but it can also dry out your skin. Certain soaps can do the same, especially if they were designed to clear up oily skin.
Your body’s overall degree of dehydration can affect your skin, and what you consume could affect your hydration. Summer heat is an obvious factor in dehydration, but coffee, soda and alcohol can also contribute. Your body may be better served during the summer by increasing your intake of water rather than soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.
What you wear could also contribute to dry skin. With the exclusion of wool, which tends to irritate, natural fabrics are healthier and enable your skin to breathe. Silk and cotton fabrics are good choices and can lessen the chances of dry skin developing. Washing your clothes with detergents containing dyes or fragrances could also contribute to dry skin; you may be better off choosing laundry products that are free of these additives.
If your goal is to determine how to deal with dry skin, one area where you have a great deal of control is your choice of skin care products and their ingredients. Two skin care ingredients that can help you combat or avoid summertime dry skin issues are squalane and vitamin C.
Squalane - Naturally Occurring Dry Skin Fighter
First introduced for use in cosmetics in the 1950s, squalane is a hydrocarbon compound and 100% saturated oil which can be found occurring naturally in human skin. It makes up about 13% of the sebum that our skin produces to keep it properly moisturized and protected from the environment. Squalane also provides protection from free radicals that can cause oxidative damage and destroy skin cells. It’s colorless and odorless, and because it doesn’t feel greasy, it looks more like a gel than an oil. Because of its non-greasy lightness, applying squalane to your skin won’t clog your pores the way some other oils will. It also sinks into the skin quickly, has antibacterial properties and can help prevent oily skin.
Although it plays a role in maintaining healthy skin, the amount of squalane produced by the body begins to decrease as early as our 20s. Replenishing it topically helps keep skin looking and feeling healthy while also combatting dryness in both facial and body areas. Skin experts say that this antioxidant-rich oil can also clear up scars, age spots and uneven skin tone. The International Journal of Toxicology reports that squalane is a non-irritant at a 100% concentration and is safe for use by people with sensitive skin.
Squalane and Squalene – Similar in Name, but Different in Nature
Although it sounds similar in name, squalene is quite different compared to squalane. Although they are both excellent skin moisturizers and are derived from the same sources, squalane undergoes a different form of processing that makes it much more skin-friendly. As a result of a hydrogenation process, squalane is a 100% saturated fat and is a much more stable compound with a longer shelf life. Its lighter texture makes it suitable for use with any skin type, oily or dry. Squalene, on the other hand, is a much less stable compound and can turn rancid quickly. It’s best to avoid it if you see it listed as an ingredient in a skin care product.
Using 100% Pure Squalane To Keep Skin Looking Healthy and Youthful
Dry skin does more than just cause itching, flaking and peeling, it looks bad. One of the advantages of using squalane as a topical application is that it has anti-aging properties; by preventing dry skin, you also help to prevent wrinkles from forming. Using a quality natural-ingredient skin care product, such as Timeless Squalane 100% Pure, will protect and lubricate your skin while also reducing fine lines and wrinkles. A morning and evening fingertip application of two to three drops smoothed onto freshly cleansed skin will be absorbed quickly and leave no greasy or oily after-feel. Because this is a 100% all-natural product, there’s no reason to be concerned over harsh chemical additives soaking into your sensitive facial skin. You’ll notice the change in your skin tone and appearance as your formerly dry skin becomes well moisturized.
Helping Your Skin To Heal Itself With Vitamin C Serum
When you begin to notice dry skin forming and flaking off, a vitamin C serum can aid in speeding up the regeneration of new and healthy skin cells. Vitamin C, which is acidic, triggers skin to heal itself by producing elastin and collagen. Elastin is a protein found in body tissues that has both elastic and connective properties. It’s what enables skin to resume its shape and position after being pinched or poked. Collagen is a primary component in connective tissues and the body’s most important structural protein. These two vital proteins work together to keep your skin healthy and in good shape.
Vitamin C, when applied to the skin as a topical serum, will promote the removal of dead dry skin cells and the growth of fresh and healthy replacement cells. This makes it a powerful damage-repairing and anti-aging agent. You won’t, however, be able to derive the skin care benefits of vitamin C by eating a few extra oranges a day or taking a vitamin C supplement. It can take a little time and repeated topical applications for the full range of vitamin C serum benefits to become apparent. Dermatologists generally agree that the most effective way to use a topical vitamin C serum is to apply it before a moisturizer. The recommendation is to let it dry for about a minute first.
Because vitamin C can be somewhat unstable in its purer forms, it can oxidize over time. You can tell this is occurring if a vitamin C serum is turning brown. It should be an almost clear yellowish color when purchased and when used, but if you notice it darkening and turning from yellow to orange to brown, skincare experts advise discontinuing its use and discarding the product. Refrigeration can extend the shelf life of a vitamin C serum, and if it remains odorless and yellow it should be okay for use. If rancid or sour-smelling, however, it’s gone bad and should be thrown out. Vitamin C serums that are packaged in clear bottles are not recommended; choose one that comes in an opaque or dark glass bottle. This will protect the contents from exposure to light and prevent a shortened shelf life.
Using a Quality Vitamin C Serum To Help Heal Dry Skin
A quality topical vitamin C serum product should contain natural ingredients, be free of color dyes and fragrances, dry quickly on your skin and contain no hormone-disrupting parabens. Timeless Vitamin C serum meets those criteria, is a proven match for most skin types and can be trusted as a cruelty-free product made in the USA. It also contains ferulic acid to extend the effectiveness and life of the vitamin C content. In addition to its ability to aid in fighting harmful free radicals, ferulic acid also increases the effectiveness of antioxidants such as vitamin C.
To apply topically, two to three drops are smoothed evenly onto freshly cleansed skin both morning and evening. A sunscreen should be used after an application and before exposure to sun. Vitamin C serums are intended for external applications only and should not be ingested. After a few days of the morning and evening application routine, you should begin to feel the difference.
All-Natural Skincare: Gentler and More Effective on Sensitive Facial Skin
When the concern is how to fix dry skin on your face, your best option is to stick with all-natural ingredients that won’t harm your most sensitive skin areas with harsh chemicals or additives. The natural and simplest approach can bring about the greatest benefit, and the Timeless Skin Care product line has been formulated to be both highly effective and gentle on your skin.
