How to recover the skin after the summer

Summer brings us hundreds of memories, relaxation and lots of fun, but our skin tends to pay a heavy toll during the summer months. Sun, chlorine, various food excesses, sea and dehydration end up taking their toll on us and at the beginning of September a rescue plan for our skin becomes essential.

It's not all news meh . One of the positive things about vacations is that we dedicate more time to ourselves. Take advantage of that trail of hedonism and self-care that you started naturally at the beginning of the holidays and turn it into a habit. Even if it's five minutes. This is the two-step fine-tuning that we propose from Vera & the birds for healthy and renewed skin.

1. Exfoliate

The skin thickens during the summer, precisely to protect itself from the sun's radiation. The most common result is dull skin without light . More than at any other time of the year it is necessary to exfoliate the skin of the face. By removing dead cells and making way for new ones , the skin emerges bright, smooth and even.

With exfoliation, you will not only be eliminating dead cells, but you will help to unclog pores and prevent the appearance of blackheads.

Choose a gentle exfoliant whose descaling particles are fine-grained and biodegradable, like our Gentle Scrub , with jojoba pearls, chamomile and an aloe vera base. For the body, this exfoliating solid format option is sensational.

And how often to exfoliate? It will depend on your skin type . Oily skin will need 1-2 times a week, mixed skin, once, and dry skin will only require a fortnightly exfoliation.

Do not forget to exfoliate the lips, they also need to be renewed! Perform a light massage with our Lip Scrub and in a matter of seconds, the lips regain their softness. Eliminates annoying little skin thanks to the small bamboo particles that perform an effective and intense exfoliation .

2. Treat sun damage

2.1 Tones and renews the skin

Surely the sun has left you some other withered. Well then, we have good news. Although it is very difficult to completely remove stains in cosmetics, there are specific products and routines that you can follow to treat them.

After cleansing, apply a toner that contains exfoliating and renewing active ingredients. In our case, we have included lactic acid in the Botanical nude tonic , a powerful alpha-hydroxy acid that helps unify skin tone and fade skin blemishes . Likewise, its high concentration of vegetable salicylic acid (4%) is capable of refining the skin surface.

2.2 Antioxidants to power

Make room for vitamin C in your daily routine, its anti-stain power will help you a lot. This ingredient is a powerful antioxidant, which fights against the creation of free radicals and is also very effective in reducing facial hyperpigmentation by decreasing the levels of the enzyme responsible for the formation of melanin, tyrosinase. The result is a visible reduction of sun spots and a more luminous and unified skin.

Another highly antioxidant ingredient and, therefore, that will help you repair the damage caused by the sun and other external aggressions is bakuchiol , an alternative to retinol but with high skin tolerability . Little by little, this active ingredient has been gaining a place in its own right in the beauty world and no wonder: it has great rejuvenating power , helping to reduce expression lines and wrinkles while treating small spots and imperfections and providing silkiness and elasticity to the face .

Be careful because these products will only work if the spots are sun spots: if it were hyperpigmentation caused by hormonal changes, genetic factors or medication, you would have to go to a dermatologist to treat it.

3. Don't forget to hydrate

After a whole summer exposing yourself to the sun, your skin is thirsty. Metaphorically speaking, of course. During the summer months, transepidermal water loss is on the rise : high temperatures literally cause water to evaporate and break the delicate balance of our skin. Although I'm sure you already do, make sure you give it all the hydration it needs with a good daily moisturizer , according to your skin type.

• oily skin Opt for a moisturizer with a light texture , which absorbs quickly and contains ingredients that retain moisture in the skin, such as glycerin.
• Combination skin . You will need a moisturizer that contains a mix of moisturizing and emollient active ingredients .
• dry skin As it does not have the lipids it needs to retain moisture and protect the skin barrier, your skin, in addition to hydration, will need more creamy facials that provide nutrition.

With (a little) perseverance and discipline you will make your skin recover from summer in no time at all. Tell us how it goes in comments!