Your ultimate skincare guide for summer

This season always sparks the most questions when it comes to skincare as you’re working with the heat, natural oils, flights, pigmentation and more.

So, I thought I’d create a little ‘cheat sheet’ with your most popular questions and that way, you can refer back to it at any time. Let’s dive in...

Should I do my evening skincare routine later in the day to keep my SPF on for longer?

Usually I advise doing your evening skincare as soon as you get home to maximise the benefits of your routine. However, if you know you’re going to be pottering in and out of the garden or perhaps taking the dog for a walk, don’t do your evening skincare until an hour before bed.

This way you’ll be protected for as long as possible and your skin will still have plenty of time to drink up all the goodness, rather than your pillow!

What should I do if I get sunburnt? Will after sun help?

People are often nervous to admit to me that they’ve got burnt but I totally understand that sometimes, it just happens!

If this is you, the first thing you need to do is get out of the sun and cool your skin. To do this, take a gentle cloth like our So-Soft Face Cloth, run it under cool water and press it over the effected area to remove the heat.

Once that’s done, grab yourself some pure aloe vera gel and cover the area in it. I know there are hundreds of ‘after sun’ products available, but they’re usually full of fragrance and irritants your skin doesn’t want or need. Plus heavy creams can lock excess heat into your skin and make it feel very uncomfortable - So a gel is always your best bet.

If it’s your face that’s burnt, although it pains me to say it, you need to dodge almost all your BASE products until it’s completely healed. The only one you should keep applying is Sunbeam Cream - SPF 50 which would go on top of your aloe vera gel each morning.

How can I stop my makeup sliding in the heat?

This is such a popular one! Firstly, you need a great base to work on, so apply your Sunbeam Cream - SPF 50 and then wait a full 5 minutes for it to settle before going in with your makeup.

At this time of year, I advise opting for lighter products to stop anything heavy mixing with the sweat in your pores and causing breakouts. This means swapping any full coverage foundations for light BB/CC creams and using a concealer to cover any particular areas of concern instead.

When it comes to application, remember to tap your makeup into your skin instead of sweeping it. This technique allows the product to blend seamlessly and remain in place for hours on end. If you have oily skin, consider using a powder or setting spray afterwards for enhanced longevity too.

Skincare for a long haul flight?

I absolutely love a long haul trip but the cabin air is so dry and dehydrating that it can wreak havoc with your skin. So to ensure you look radiant upon touchdown, here’s the in-flight facial you need …

To begin, you want to cleanse away any face makeup (you can leave your eye makeup if you’d like to). I always use the Dream Clean Cleanser post take-off in the aeroplane bathroom.

Once you’re back in your seat, apply a liberal amount of your Miracle Eye Complex, a good pump of your Super Youth Serum and then a double layer of One Cream Wonder. This will act as a face mask and lock in as much moisture as possible, protecting your skin from the cabin environment.

As your complexion will drink everything up twice as fast as usual, I always recommend repeating the process half way through the journey. Then all you have to do is apply Sunbeam Cream - SPF 50 just before landing and you’ll be good to glow!

Aside from SPF, is there anything else I can do to prevent pigmentation?

There certainly is…To improve the efficacy of your SPF, you always want to use it alongside its BFF, Vitamin C.

Vitamin C fights something called free radical damage, which is damage caused to your skin cells by the external environment. When the 2 are used together, you’re far less likely to experience burning, skin ageing and of course, pigmentation too.

All you need to do is apply a pump of the Super Youth Serum each morning under your Sunbeam Cream. It contains the perfect dose of Vitamin C and will deliver maximum pigmentation prevention.

Is a base tan a good idea?

As a skin expert, I genuinely debated if I should answer this one as it goes against everything I do and believe in. With that being said, I know there are a few sun worshiper’s amongst us, so I’m answering it purely to keep you guys as safe as possible…

There is some evidence to suggest that building your tan up gradually allows your skin to protect itself better. This means that rather than doing a complete 0-60 and going from no tan to baking on a sun-lounger, you may wish to strengthen your skin beforehand.

This would mean exposing it to VERY short increments of UV radiation before your holiday (either the sun or a tanning bed), so you gradually become more tolerant and less likely to burn.

Again, this is NOT a recommendation as any form of tanning is a bad idea. But, if you’re going to do it anyway, there may be some benefit to prepping your skin ahead of time.

And that’s the cheat sheet complete! If you’ve got any other burning (excuse the pun 😂) questions, please feel free to drop me a message and I’ll share them on Instagram stories next week 🥰