9 Tips: Keep Your Skin Looking and Feeling Great This Summer

Summer's coming up and the weather's burning up. Getting beach ready doesn't only mean looking cute out in the sun, but taking good care of your skin in the hot weather. Sunburns aren't attractive, hurt, and often peel as well. We've all been down that road, and it's easy to prevent. Here's a few tips to keep your skin looking and feeling great this summer:

1. Use a lighter moisturizer. As you may have already known, heat causes your skin and face to produce more oil. This causes breakouts, and feeling pretty gross out in the sun. Unlike the winter, you don't have to worry about your skin being dry because of this oil production. Your skin will stay more hydrated because of the oil. This also means to hold off on using the heavy lotion that you would use in the winter, and going for something lighter. I recommend Clean and clear morning glow face lotion. It's one of my favorite skin care products to use in the summer. If you have oily skin like me, or dry skin, you'll love this product because it's lightweight, smells good, and doesn't break out your skin. It also has SPF 15, which is essential for the warmer weather, as no one wants a bright red face. It keeps your face fresh feeling, and gives it a glow as well. You can find this product at your local drugstore, or grocery store, for about $6. It's cheap, and worth every penny.

2. Getting SPF products. If you're just going to be out in the sun any, for the shortest time, or even on a cloudy day, it's necessary to keep yourself protected from the sun. SPF is commonly found on the labels of many cosmetic, chap-stick, and moisturizer products. Invest in one.

If you don't want to put on SPF moisturizer, because you don't want to ruin your makeup, I suggest either putting it on before you apply it, or blending a few dots of it in with your foundation. This will also help your foundation stick to the skin, making it last longer. This won't clog your pores, if you use the right kind of lotion. Again, I recommend Clean and Clear Morning Glow; works wonders.

3. Mineral makeup will do you wonders. Any form or brand of mineral makeup that is for purchase, is made with all natural ingredients, and also providing excellent sun protection; Making it twice as great for your skin. This way, you won't have to worry about using an additional moisturizer or sun block to keep your skin protected. I suggest Maybelline mineral power products, which come in tons of different shades, are affordable, made from all natural products, safe for sensitive skin, and provide awesome coverage. You can find these products available for all less than 10$. Mineral makeup has become quite popular. If you'd like to know more about mineral makeup, this article is for you. If you'd also like to know where you can get it for cheap, I suggest taking the time to look here as well.

4. Use a tinted moisturizer. On days where you want to wear lighter makeup or little makeup at all, a tinted moisturizer will do you a lot of good. It's a moisturizer that has a bit of a tint to it to match your skin tone, making it able to be used as a foundation. It gives you a little bit of coverage, and keeps your sun-protected face glowing. I highly recommend Physicians Formula Organic Tinted Moisturizer. You can find this at your local drugstore, or grocery store that sells Physicians formula products. It comes in many different shades, provides SPF 15, is 100% natural and free of harsh chemicals (also meaning it won't break out your skin), and will keep your skin hydrated all day long.

5. Exfoliate. As mentioned before, your skin will produce more oil, and also shed more skin cells. If you don't get rid of these two things, they will build up and just sit on the top of your skin, making it look and feel gross. This is also the main cause of acne, when the dead skin cells and oil clog your pores. It's important to invest in a good exfoliator for your face or for your body.

If you don't want to invest in an exfoliator, but still want to take good care of your skin, adding sugar to your daily body wash or face wash will do you some good. Just be sure to use a small amount, because if not, it will get rid of the dead skins cells, but rub your face raw. This is why you should limit how many times a week you use an exfoilator. It's not good at all to exfoliate every single day, so limit it to 2-3 times a week.

6. Keep up on your skin care routine. Be sure to wash your face every single day twice a day. This will prevent your face from breaking out, and giving you a smoother and cleaner surface to apply your makeup on. Be sure to use a toner or astringent, which soaks up the extra oils from your skin, clears your pores and keeps them clear so they can breathe, and not leaving it dry all at the same time. But also don't forget to use a moisturizer after-wards, as washing your face often makes your skin dry, and gets your skin's natural oils to producing. Also, using a facial mask weekly also helps keep your skin looking clearer, cleaned up, managed, and a lot less shiny. If you don't know which masks/cleansers are right for your use, view this article.

7. To keep your face looking fresh: If you have oily skin like me, you'll probably face problems in the summer with having greasy feeling and shiny skin. Any time you're out, don't have time to wash your face, or already have all of your makeup applied, and need to mop up a little shine, Oil absorbing/blotting sheets will keep your skin fresh and clean. I recommend Neutrogena brand, or clean and clear. You can usually find them in packs of large quantities for around $5. It's well worth it, and comes in handy.

8. Use Vitamin A products instead of Vitamin C products, as products containing vitamin A are useful for winter weather, but in the summer it'll make your skin more sensitive to the sun. Vitamin C products also help protect against UV rays.

9. Water. Drink tons of water. 8 eight ounce glasses of water is suggested. It keeps your body and skin healthy, and is very hydrating.

Keep that skin well taken care of, and looking/feeling great!