How the Strategist Beauty Writers Swap Their Skin Care for Summer
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The skin has a lot to contend with come summer: heat, sun, humidity,sweat. This can lead to skin issues, such asbreakoutsandsun damage. Obviously, the products that worked in the colder weather aren’t going to cut it once the temperature rises. But it can be tricky to know where to start: Should I be double cleansing? Should I retire my retinol until the fall? Should I be exfoliating more or less? So I gathered a few of the Strategist beauty-team members to discuss how exactly we’re all shifting our skin care with the seasons.
Our top picks
Cleansers
Dominique Pariso:So I wanted to start by asking about the most simple swap at the ground level, which is cleansers. Do you all do anything differently? Change your products, stick to the same thing, cleanse more, etc.?
Arielle Avila:I’ve been cleansing more because I’ve been wearing so much sunscreen. I’ve been doing a double cleanse almost every day, I think. And I usually don’t in the winter. Right now, I’m doing the True Botanicals balm and then the Osea Ocean Cleanser Purifying Face Wash.
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D.P.:Wait, I was actually at a True Botanicals facial event this morning and I tried that balm for the first time. The ginger-and-turmeric one? It’s so good. I’m not really a cleansing-balm person but that one smelled so good.
A.A.:It smellssogood.
Tembe Denton-Hurst:I’m doing the same, if not triple.
Krista Bennett DeMaio:Wow.
D.P.:What is atriplecleanse?
T.D.H.:First, Bioderma micellar water, then I’m going in with an oil cleanser and then after that I’m washing my face with a regular cleanser. In the winter, I’ll probably just do an oil and then cleanser, or micellar water and cleanser. But right now, I want to get my face super-clean because of all the sweat and the SPF. I’m a little more paranoid than I usually would be.
K.B.D.:I do sort of a half double cleanse in the winter. I pretty much just use either a balm or micellar water on my eye makeup only and then just wash my face. My skin is on the drier side. I feel like the cleansing balms are too heavy for me. But in the summer I definitely use it all over because of the sunscreen.
Kitty Guo:I’m definitely double cleansing all year round.I just wrote this story about wearing waterproof mascara in the summer because they hold up better against sweat. So I’ve also been incorporating theLancome Mascara Melterinto my routine to really get the waterproof mascara off. And then I just go in with my regular routine, which is the Prequel cleansing balm and then the Dieux gel cleanser.
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D.P.:Are you all switching up your second-step cleanser from a more hydrating option to a gel, or no?
T.D.H.:I’m using thePrequelcleanser all year round.
K.B.D.:That’s what I’m using now.
D.P.:Is that the glycerin one?
T.D.H.:Yes.
D.P.:Should I try it?
T.D.H.:It’s really good.
Moisturizers
D.P.:Next up, what about moisturizers? What are we doing?
T.D.H.:I am still on my Dr. Althea 345 cream. I haven’t switched that up. I use it 365.
A.A.:I’m doing a lighter-weight one. I was using a heavy moisturizer twice a day, but it was just too thick for daytime. Now I’m using Osea’s Atmosphere Protection Cream lightweight moisturizer, and that’s been really nice for the daytime.
K.B.D.:I actually have been testing the new Lancôme products, and I find the cream a little too heavy for daytime, especially for summer. So I’ve been using the serum alone and then my sunscreen usually has some sort of a moisturizer in it, too. So I feel like that’s enough for me.
K.G.:I tend to stick to lighter moisturizers year-round because my skin is really prone to clogging. Recently, I found this brand Malezia that has this really lightweight moisturizer. It has urea in the formula and it’s fungal-acne safe because my aesthetician said I had some fungal acne along my jawline.I’ve been going through tubes and tubes of it.
D.P.:I also am a lightweight-moisturizer person basically year-round, but for some reason my face has been so dehydrated, specifically right now in the summer, which is super-weird. I was going crazy trying to fix it. And then the aesthetician I saw this morning said, “I think you’re just not drinking enough water. I think you’re actually just dehydrated on the inside.” And I was like, “Okay, well, good to hear because that’s a much easier problem to fix.”
But I still haven’t found the right summertime moisturizer for me. In the morning, my sunscreen can do double duty. But at night, I don’t know. I have a couple different things in rotation. I’m not happy with any of them.
K.B.D.:I still stick to the same heavier moisturizers at night, because with the air conditioning, I feel like I’m probably just as prone to transepidermal water loss. So I still like to lock it in.
Exfoliation
D.P.:What about exfoliation? Are we on retinol sabbaticals? Are we sticking to the same routine but using things less?
T.D.H.:I am really toning down the acids. I’mgoodwith sunscreen. I just feel like I’m not thebestwith sunscreen. I feel like using lots of acids in the summer is for people who are diligent, and I don’t think I’m diligent.
D.P.:I’m exactly the same way.
K.B.D.:I continue with my Retin-A. But I do notice if I’m not diligent. The other day I was out and I had a hat on, too, but my cheeks still got a little bit red. It really does make you more sensitive. So I have to be really diligent with SPF.
A.A.:I’ve pretty much stopped retinol for the summer. I’m nervous about getting sunburnt, but I’m still doing Barefaced vitamin C every other day in the mornings. I just make sure I’m following up with SPF.
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K.G.:I’m sticking only with azelaic acid, which I think is a gentler formula than some of the other more intense ones out there.
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Post-sun skin care
D.P.:Does anyone have a post-sun routine that they do if they get a little burnt or have too much exposure?
T.D.H.:I do like to keep a little hypochlorous acid on hand just in case. If my skin feels angry at all, I’m going to just spray myself. And I don’t know that it actually works, but it feels correct.
D.P.:Yeah. Are you using the Prequel one?
T.D.H.:I’m using the E.l.f. one right now.
A.A.:I also added hypochlorous acid to my summer routine. I picked it up at the drugstore.
K.B.D.:I do actually use that more these days. I have Tower 28, but my daughter steals it all the time. So I’ve been using the Prequel one currently. I like to use it after I work out.
T.D.H.:I also use it for that too. I’m curious if hypochlorous acids are different. This is going to sound crazy, but the Tower 28 one kind of irritates my skin a little bit, whereas the E.l.f one is fine. It’s funny because the E.l.f. and Tower 28 sprays have the exact same ingredients, so maybe it’s the concentration.
K.G.:I’ve been using Magic Molecule.
D.P.:I haven’t tried that one.
Sunscreen
D.P.:Itwouldn’t be a summer skin-care story if we didn’t talk SPF.
T.D.H.:I’m having a big love affair right now with the La Roche-Posay serum one. It’s so good. I’m obsessed. It’s the UVAir SPF serum sunscreen. I love this stuff. It’s so light. It’s so thin. It makes me so glowy.
D.P.:I think they sent me that, too, but I didn’t get around to trying it.
T.D.H.:It has lots of antioxidants. And it has a little spout at the top, like it’s a very focused nozzle situation. It feels very, very invisible. It’s so thin that I’m like,Is it even doing anything?
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K.B.D.:I have a sunscreen wardrobe. I definitely am all over the place depending on what I’m doing. When I go out for walks, I tend to use the super-duper stuff like EltaMD and Isdin. I don’t care if it’s white. And then during the day, I always looking for something thin that doesn’t peel with makeup. I was wearing the Tower 28 one, which is tinted, but if I put makeup on top of that, it did pill a little bit. So now I’ve been using the Indie Lee. It’s like a primer, but it feels almost like face oil. But it makes my skin glowy and it does not peel under my makeup.
D.P.:Are you doing anything for reapplication during the day?
K.B.D.:I have powders. Colorscience is the classic, but I also have the Isdin one. But I only use those for reapplication because they don’t even have the SPF monograph on them anymore. It’s too hard to know how much you’re getting, but I feel like for reapplication it’s probably fine.
A.A.:I’ve had three on heavy rotation. The Naked Sundays priming lotion. It’s pretty sweat resistant. The Ciele primer-slash-SPF, if I’m putting on makeup. I actually like it better than Supergoop. I find that it’s a little bit more glowy and less mattifying under makeup. And I’ve also been using Naked Sundays water-gel serum if I’m on-the-go and I don’t want to put on a full face of makeup, but I just need a little bit of a tint with SPF.
K.G.:I definitely feel like SPF primers are the way to go in the summer because you really don’t want to be layering a bunch of stuff on your face and end up feeling super-heavy. I’ve been using the Live Tinted one. It’s like a moisturizer, primer, and SPF all in one. It’s like a tinted mineral sunscreen essentially. And then I don’t have to put on primer and I just need my Jones Road tinted moisturizer on top. Those together feel pretty light on my skin and don’t feel really heavy or cloying or anything.
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Makeup prep
D.P.:Anything other tips for makeup prepping or setting?
K.B.D.:Setting sprays.I feel like I don’t always use them, but I have been using them more with this heat lately.
T.D.H.:I’m still just using my normal Urban Decay setting spray.
Body care
D.P.:What about body care?
T.D.H.:For the first time ever, I’ve been really into the Kiehl’s Creme de Corps body lotion, which is really interesting. It makes you really, really glowy, but it’s not super-greasy. I’ve given away so many bottles of this stuff, and I’m like,How do I find those people and ask them to give them back?because now I really like it.
D.P.:Do you have to put it on and let it dry? Does it transfer at all?
T.D.H.:It doesn’t transfer at all, which I’m impressed by. I think that is the nice thing. It’s not like body oil where you have to wait for it to settle. But it gets a similar level of shine.
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K.B.D.:I do use a heavier lotion in the winter. I use the La Roche-Posay one with urea in it to help with bumps. But this summer I’ve been using Joonbyrd’s newest one. It kind of smells like banana; it’s in the yellow bottle.It absorbs quickly and my skin has been supersoft from it. So I’m a big fan.
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D.P.:It’s really the summer of banana. Banana-scented everything.
K.G.:This brand Knock sent me some of its stuff. It’s like a milky toner for your body. It’s definitely lighter. It sinks in really quickly. There’s no sticky feeling after or any sort of residue. And there’s an unscented version I prefer. I think it’s a really good option for the summertime especially.
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A.A.:I’ve been testing the Sluff It Kit. It has a mitt and a bar that I’ve been using two to three times a week. When I’ve been wearing body sunscreen, it really gets everything off. But then my lotion’s been the same one I use all year: Nécessaire’s body lotion.
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D.P.:I don’t exfoliate my body at all come summer because I’m trying to keep my tan.
A.A.:I get a really bad farmer’s tan and shorts tan, so I’m always trying to scrub it off.
K.B.D.:I do spray tans once in a while for events. So I feel like I’m exfoliating for that prep. I like Celimax pads. It’s a Korean brand and the pads are good for arms and elbows and things like that.
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A.A.:The exfoliating has helped with my ingrowns and razor burn. I shave my legs way more in the summer.
Shaving
D.P.:While we’re talking about shaving: Does anyone have any shaving tips and tricks?
K.B.D.:I like a shave oil. My daughter has a shave oil from Flamingo in my shower and I started using it. I actually really like it because it softens your skin. We’re a big Flamingo family.
T.D.H.:I’m also a big Flamingo person.
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Flamingo Nourishing Shave Oil
K.G.:I’ll be real: I use conditioner to shave.
D.P.:I do, too.
K.G.:My boyfriend and I share products in the shower, but he always uses more shampoo than conditioner.And we end up using up the shampoo before we use up the conditioner. So I’ll just use the leftover conditioner to shave my legs.
Foot care
Dominique Pariso:Anything else we want to talk about?
K.B.D.:I guess feet because we’re all walking around barefoot more often in the summer.
D.P.:Yes, that’s a good one!
K.B.D.:I’ll often put on a thicker lotion on my feet before bed with socks. But lately I’ve been taking the Prequel peel. I’ve been putting that on and then putting socks. It helps soften my heels.
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A.A.:I’ll just say my Footlogix foot file has working overtime.
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D.P.:I do one pedicure at the beginning of the summer and one at the end, and everything that happens in between I just give it up to God.
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