My Guide to Summer Skin: How to Glow Through the Heat

Written by Carlyn

Ah, summer—the sun sets late, t-shirt weather is hella comfortable, and those long evening walks hit different. With its title as the “best season,” summer is loved and embraced by all of us up here in Canada.

BUT we can’t forget about the sweating, the humidity, and of course, *insert ominous music* the sun.

Let me get one thing straight; I love summer. Period. However, there are aspects to summer that I have to be aware of, including protecting myself from our powerful friend, Mr. Sun.

Toronto dermatologist Dr. Kellett notes that “The skin is the largest and most visible organ of the body. In the summer, it plays a role in temperature regulation in the form of sweating. This differs from how winter skin acts, which consists of more water loss from the surface of the skin. Due to the loss of water, the skin can become drier in the colder seasons.” So, skincare in the dead of winter should look different compared to a summer routine.

My summer skin concerns include:

• Chin and mouth area breakouts due to sweating (and wearing a mask to help protect from COVID-19!).
• Freckles and sun damage scattered across my nose and cheeks.
• Occasional chest and back acne.

Sound familiar? Check out my tips, treatments and products that help manage my summer skin concerns:

Combatting chin and mouth area breakouts (while the mask mandate is still in order!):

a) Don’t go overboard on makeup application in the area hidden under your mask. Wearing a mask can make the mouth area moist and humid, causing sweating which contributes to breakouts. Layers of makeup creates a buildup of moisture, causing more oil to be produced. Since this area is hidden under the mask anyway, I try to avoid layering it with makeup.

b) After wearing your mask, gently wash your face. Personally, I like to splash some clean cold water on the area after coming home from a day of mask-wearing. Even just a quick splash of water reduces the sweat and moisture buildup. Be sure to also use a clean towel to dry off!

c) For existing breakouts, I like to apply a medicated benzoyl peroxide treatment on my spots. In this case, masks are a blessing because I can treat my pimples low-key while running to the grocery store! My personal fav benzoyl peroxide cream is by Clear Clinical.

How I reduce freckle sun damage on my nose and cheeks:

a) This one is pretty obvious—sun protection. Duh. Especially during summer, I have been making a huge effort to apply spf every morning. Wearing a hat and sunglasses helps a lot when it comes to face freckle reduction.

b) Sometimes, even when wearing sunscreen, my stubborn freckles still continue to multiply. I recently started using the Luminate Pads by Clear Clinical, which target my freckled sun-damaged spots and work to lighten them overtime. I’ve integrated the pads into my routine and started to notice a difference after only about a week.

Fighting summer chest and back-ne:

a) Use clean towels! Dirty towels can harbor oils and acne-producing bacteria which can contribute to body acne.

b) Make sure to thoroughly wash all shower products (shampoos, conditioners, fragrance-y soaps) out of your hair and body before getting out of the shower. Extra conditioner can linger on your back and chest, which can cause body acne.

c) Use a body exfoliator in the shower! My favourite ones are the Polishing Gel Cleanser by Clear Clinical and the Kylie Skin Coconut Body Scrub. I like to do this step near the end of my shower, specifically after using hair products to get rid of any leftover residue.

As always, my code ‘carlyn’ will get you 15% off at Clear Clinical. Stay cooool out there!