Summer Skincare Routine

Hello Summer-Lovers!

Summer has arrived! Who’s ready for long sunny days, beach trips and outdoor play? Memories are made while the sun shines and it’s great to feel excited about alfresco fun and pool dips – but it’s also vital to remember that our skin needs extra care and protection during the warmer, higher UV months. 

Let’s enjoy the sun safely and try to prevent burning together – because one burn doesn’t just spoil a summer, it can cause enough damage to be serious later.

Here’s some sun-safe skincare tips and Altruist products to help keep your summer skin healthy:

Dial up the hydration in your summer skincare routine

A solid summer skincare routine begins with hydration. Heat, increased UV and other seasonal environmental factors can dehydrate and aggravate skin in warmer months.  

Try using Altruist’s Cleansing Foam with 2% Salicylic Acid to gently cleanse and remove dry and dead skin cells to leave healthy, clean skin that feels clean and fresh, without stripping your skin of essential moisture.  Because we ask you to wear lots of sunscreen (even more in summer!), this can help you remove it. It’s also a brilliant exfoliating cleanser with anti-inflammatory and hydrating allantoin to smooth skin.  Great for clearing pores of dirt and reducing sebum production too.

No summer skincare routine should be without a hydrating, moisture rich (but light in texture) moisturiser and the Altruist Moisturising Fluid 0.5% Hyaluronic Acid is a firm favourite with glowing skin lovers. It’s an affordable, effective skin barrier-loving face moisturiser formulated to soften and plump the skin.  Plus it is loaded with ingredients to enhance the skin’s natural moisturising factors. It’s the perfect pre-SPF moisturising base.  A mighty hydration hit for summer! 

Reach for the Urea to exfoliate and moisturise your summer skin

Don’t forget to hydrate and exfoliate your body throughout summer too.  Altruist has two fantastic Urea-rich skin-saving solutions you can try.  

Altruist Dry Skin Repair Cream with 10% Urea is a rich cream with a high concentration of Urea that can soften the hardest, toughest and driest of skin areas e.g. heels, hands, knees or elbows – or help those with dry and complex skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis or scaly skin 

Urea is a magic ingredient that can help break down the outer layer of skin to improve new cell growth, hydrate skin cells (it’s a humectant), appease irritation in the skin and can help chronic skin conditions – and it’s a natural moisturising factor compound that helps your skin retain moisture

And for a lighter Urea solution that you can use every day and after showering, try Altruist Body Lotion with 6% Urea.  All the same benefits, quickly absorbed – perfect for hydrated summer skin on the go!

Prime, protect and smooth for your summer glow

The last step in any summer skincare routine is sunscreen, so reach for 5-star UV protection to stay safer in the sun. Top tip: never scrimp on sunscreen and to make sure you wear more in the summer, find one you really love wearing and that you can afford to wear lots of – sounds simple, but if you love it, you’ll wear it!

Altruist sunscreens come in a range of formulations – from Sunscreen SPF30 to Sunscreen SPF50 – and textures to suit all ages, skins and needs.

For smooth skin and make-up lovers, the Altruist SPF50 Primer is a great summer face sunscreen and is our lightest and most matte SPF to date.  It’s specially formulated by ALTRUIST Founder and Consultant Dermatologist Dr Andrew Birnie – in consultation with a make-up artist – to be extra lightweight under make-up.  It is perfect for layering as it leaves the skin silky smooth, hydrated and even.

This new Primer is 5-star rated with an ultra-high UVA PPD of 48.  It is already winning fans with its texture, pore and skin-smoothing formulation. The lightweight formula is also designed to help makeup stay in place and provide a smoothing base for makeup.  It’s water-resistant, so you can hit the pool and give your skin its best glow – with or without make-up.

An all-in-one solution for those looking for a fuss-free makeup fix that keeps you safe from the sun too.

For summer face protection, also try Altruist Face Fluid SPF50 or SPF3 or the tinted Anti-Redness and Pigmentation SPF50 cream which is perfect for healing, concealing and treating uneven skin tones, hyperpigmentation and red skin conditions

And for all over, head-to-toe 5 Star protection formulations, there’s a Family Sunspray SPF50 with a fun water-pistol style nozzle, the two original SPF50 and SPF30 Cream sunscreens and the ultra-fine, invisible SPF50 Spray.

There’s something to protect all skins from those peak summer UV rays!

Reapply and go high when it comes to summer SPF

One application of sunscreen in the morning is not enough because clothes and everyday wear will rub the sunscreen off and reduce its effectiveness. So always reapply sunscreen SPF 30 or 50 every two hours and immediately after swimming, sweating, or towel drying, to maintain continuous protection. 

Remember, you can still get burnt if you don’t apply enough, if sunscreen is not applied evenly or if you don’t follow safe sun practices – including covering up, wearing hats and sunglasses, seeking shade and avoiding peak sun from around 10am to 3pm daily

Clothing is your first line of defence against sun damage

Do not rely solely on sunscreen. 

Wear lightweight, long-sleeved clothes. Black and dark blue absorb more UV (so less reaches your skin) than lighter colours.  If you wear colours, choose vivid ones — a red top absorbs substantially more UV rays than pale pink. Fabric with a tight weave, such as denim, allows less UV light through. And clothing with an embedded sun protection factor is a good idea.  Wear UV-protective clothing when swimming or snorkeling.

And don’t forget to wear a hat, broad-brimmed, and sunglasses to protect all exposed areas.

Protection starts with not tanning

There is no such thing as a healthy or base tan, this is a myth. So please always cover up, even when it’s really hot outside and wear lots of sunscreen – more than you think you need.  It’s easiest to avoid the blazing midday sun and have fun in the shade 

Skin damage starts with your very first tan. Each time you tan, the damage builds up and tanning damages all types of skin: Even if your skin type is not fair, it causes DNA injury that can lead to premature aging and skin cancer.

These tips will help you maintain a healthy, glowing complexion all summer long. Enjoy the

sunshine, drink plenty of water, swim, have fun and slap on the sunscreen!