As summer days heat up, humidity changes both the weather and your skin. Regardless of whether you’re in a dry climate or a humid one, there are skincare essentials you need to keep your skin clean, smooth and looking great through the summer months. Here are a few fundamentals to help maintain quick and easy skincare no matter where you live or where you travel.

Start with SPF 30 to SPF 50 if you’re even thinking about spending time outside. Real skincare starts when skin is bare and exposed to the sun, wind or heat. If you want the products you put on your skin to help improve it, you’ve got to begin by protecting it. And for those of us who want a tan, applying SPF helps your skin tan evenly and sunscreen helps promote a longer lasting tan.

Be sure you’ve got a blemish fighting toner or astringent made for your skin type. Even a few moments in the sun can cause oils to start to pool under the skin’s surface. After a day on the golf course, an afternoon at the beach or a quick walk around the block, clean your skin with a quick wipe of toner, especially along the T-zone.

Don’t neglect your lips! Invest in a lip balm with a high SPF and loads of moisturizers. Be careful of high shine gloss in the sun. Reflective light from cosmetics, water and other surfaces can be especially harmful to the delicate skin around your lips. A gentle daily exfoliant is a great idea for those of us who spend a lot of time outdoors.

Mineral makeup is not only making headlines for the way it blends and evens skin tones; it’s making waves this summer as a super protector of delicate skin. Minerals are actually feeding the skin as they are protecting it from the elements both indoors and out. We’ve come a long way from the makeup that simply made us look good on the surface. Today’s makeup goes beneath the skin’s surface to take healthy skincare to a new level.

Perhaps the most important part of a summer skincare routine is to find ways to keep skin moisturized and hydrated without causing breakouts from oil overload. Remember the cardinal rule of moisturizing: Even oily skin needs moisture, it just need the right kind and the right amount. Look for products that are balanced for not only your skin but for the location where your skin lives. There are innovative moisturizers and skin hydrators designed for dry skin in humid climates, oily skin in dry climates… the list goes on. A little research will be well worth it as you travel – especially for air travel.

Last but not least on the list of summer essentials is night cream. Night creams work so well because they are allowed 5 – 8 hours of uninterrupted time on your skin…so choose wisely. You’ll find amazing products that can serve all your skincare needs from moisture balancing to acne control to treating dark circles and evening skin tone.

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