WHAT NOT TO DO FOR ACNE PRONE SKIN: Summer Skincare Edition

We’re always so excited for rising temps, slinkier clothing, later nights, and long weekends. But with summer comes a major shift in our skin. Whether we live somewhere ultra humid, or super dry, we are plagued with parched or oily skin that is more often than not suffocating under a film of sweat mingling with our skincare and makeup. This is quite an inflammatory cocktail for the breakout prone.

While winter skincare has us exfoliating and hiding under layers of rich creams, it’s time to dial down the weight of our products, as well as the heat. We don’t want to do everything different—we want to be intentional about our choices and create a blissful summer routine. Here’s what not to do for acne-prone skin this summer:

Hot steam

While we love that deep clean feeling that a hot steam does when we are getting a professional facial, or giving ourselves a luxe at-home treatment, skip it in the heat of summer. Our skin is already subject to enough inflammation-causing heat right now as it is, and this could aggravate existing redness and provoke new breakouts.

Instead, use cryo globes after your favorite mask, or use a steamer device that has a special cold mode, like this one.

 

Oil and balm cleansers

While your oil and balm cleansers may be your holy grail in the winter, ease off of heavier balm cleansers during the hot seasons. A lightweight oil cleanser is a great first step in a double-cleanse routine to deeply cleanse the skin of SPF, makeup, and sweat residue, but don’t stop there.

Chase your favorite light oil cleanser with a purifying gel cleanser to remove excess oil instead of add to it.

 

Heavy moisturizers

The hot hot heat makes us think the moisture is rapidly evaporating from our skin, but for those that are prone to breakouts, heavy moisturizers might actually be suffocating our pores and trapping in oil, sweat, and grime.

Make the switch to a light and fresh gel moisturizer that plumps up cells without adding weight.

 

Avoid sunscreen

We get it, sunscreen feels so greasy and heavy, especially on acne prone skin in the summer. However, those long days out in harmful UV takes a toll on our skin, and not just later down the line. It can exacerbate breakouts, deepen redness, and aggravate our barrier if not properly protected.

Try a featherweight, silky, serum-like SPF that doesn’t sit on top of the skin and create that oily layer, but rather sinks in for a nutrient barrier.

 

Skip exfoliation

We exfoliated that dry, flaky skin all winter and we are ready to settle into our summer dewy glow. But, we should still stay on our exfoliation game to help clear out blocked pores and blackheads, making sure our skin is healthy and fresh enough to absorb our lighter weight products.

Try a gentle enzyme mask once a week to eat away at dead skin and debris without dangerously stripping our protective barrier.

 

From Poosh