Summertime skincare (part 2)

Summer is quickly approaching which means it's time to adjust your skin care routine to account for long days of sun, sweat, and salty or chlorinated water. Below you'll find my own opinions, tips, tricks, and advice based upon research I've done for myself over the last few years. This is part 2 - click here to check out part 1.


Creepy crawlies

With summer comes mosquitoes and other annoying insects. What makes the problem worse is that bugs are often attracted to the products we use daily – suntan lotion, perfume, hairspray, deodorant and shaving cream. The problem with insect bites is that they're not only itchy and unattractive, but they can expose you to things like West Nile Virus and Lyme disease.

Increasing your vitamin B will naturally repel bugs, so keeping this as a summer staple can be worth it. You can get your B vitamins in pill form, or by consuming some foods that are particularly high in them, such as bananas, potatoes, tuna, and even energy drinks had quite a bit of added B vitamins. When looking for an actual repellent, you should know that the ones containing DEET are the most effective, and are recommended by the CDC. Just base your choice on how long you'll be outside and exposed. The shorter the amount of time, the lower the concentration you can get away with. You can find the concentration of the active ingredient on the back of the container.

Check out
Sawyer Controlled Release Insect Repellent $6
Off! Insect Repellent II $6

Poison Ivy/Oak

It's not uncommon to have a run-in with poison ivy when you're camping or hiking. You can even get it from indirect contact. Not everyone is allergic to the plant (or rather, something in the plant) but most people are. If you know you've had contact with poison ivy or something/someone who has, wash with soap and water immediately. If you can wash right away, even if you only have access to water (and no soap) you may be able to completely rid yourself of the substance that causes the reaction. Waiting even 15 minutes won't remove all of it, but it can still help. Some people believe scratching will cause the rash to spread, but it won't. Still, it may cause infection so it's best to avoid scratching as much as you can. Calamine lotion, cold showers, and oatmeal baths can relieve the itch. Familiarizing yourself with the way the plant looks as well as any outdoor areas you may be visiting can help prevent contact in the first place.

Dealing with the damage

Sometimes we end up with a sunburn or other skin problems anyway. Accidentally forgetting your sunscreen at home and not being able to reapply, for example. Maybe a camping trip where you run out of bug repellent. These can be painful and ugly mishaps.

The fact is that sunburned skin heals slowly, so start the process as soon as possible. Your first step, besides getting out of the sun, should be to take a cool shower or bath to soothe the pain. Not ice cold, but cool or just below room temperature. Avoid bath salts, oils, and perfumes because they're likely to irritate your skin even more. Avoid scrubbing the skin or shaving the skin, and pat yourself dry rather than rub. Apply aloe, moisturizing cream or over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to the burned skin. Continue moisturizing even once you've begun to peel, and while it can be very difficult (and trust me, I am definitely one who has a hard time with this) try as hard as you can not to peel the skin yourself. You can end up peeling skin that wasn't meant to come off. From personal experience this is incredibly painful. I am not exaggerating, after having 2 children, that when I did that to myself accidentally, it was the most painful experience of my entire life. Writing about it even now is giving me horrible memories. I actually ended up in the emergency room due to the combination of overly peeled skin, blisters, nausea, and the resulting pain.

Following a sunburn, don't cover anything that is open or blistered with any ointment or salve or anything like that, as it can increase your chances of infection. Do increase your intake of vitamins C and E. You know how your food can continue cooking, even after you've removed it from the stove or oven? The same thing happens to your skin. Taking a warm shower will help draw out the heat from a sunburn to prevent you from continuing to burn.

Check out
First Aid Beauty Healing Stick $14
Mill Creek Aloe Vera Gel $3
Aloe Ice Sunburn Relief Gel $4