Newsletters: July-August-September 2010
Summer Skin Care
Natural Times July/August/September 2010
By Michele Hatton
WebMD.com reports that over 80 percent of the signs of aging skin in adults (wrinkling, sagging, discoloration, uneven pigment, thickening, spots…) are a result of tanning as teenagers. The best way to prevent skin damage is to limit sun exposure by using sunscreen, protective clothing and liberally applying moisturizer (even in muggy Tallahassee!). However, if you find yourself sun-burnt, windblown, chlorine-dipped, or even parched from too much air-conditioning, you can nurse your skin back to health. WebMD.com and several home remedy websites suggest simple treatments for relief from sunburn:
- Take frequent cool showers or baths.
- Apply soothing lotions that contain aloe vera (or apply aloe directly) to sunburned areas.
- Soak a washcloth in one part milk and one-part water to make a cool compress.
- Add 1/2 cup oatmeal or baking soda to a cool water bath.
- Cut a raw potato and spread the juice on burned skin.
- Use chamomile diluted in warm water or brewed into a tea to sponge on burned skin.
- Add two to three drops of lavender essential oil to one teaspoon of vegetable oil to smooth over burned skin.
- Swab burned skin with solution of three parts water to one part vinegar
If your skin has become wrinkled, parched or weathered from high living in the sunshine state, award-winning medical journalist, Colette Bouchez, recommends a simple solution:
- Use a gentle exfoliate, like a soft sugar scrub, to remove the top layer of dehydrated cells.
- Replenish (hydrate) skin afterwards with soothing, nourishing botanicals like borage, lupin, olive and wheat germ oils, and essential fatty acids.
- Apply a daily antioxidant serum containing vitamin C, green or white tea, Ferulic acid, or vitamin E.
Increasingly, studies show that vitamin C can increase collagen production, protect against damage from UV rays, and correct pigmentation problems, according to Bouchez. To treat damaged skin, she recommends eating foods high in vitamin C or applying topical vitamin C to the skin (L-ascorbic acid form of Vitamin C is the most potent for wrinkle relief).
Spots on the skin are harder to treat. Although these can fade, her best advice is to protect against sun damage in the first place. So, stay beautiful, stay looking young, stay out of the sun.
