Summer is just around the corner, so that means it’s time to give your skin a little TLC. Everyone wants glowing, tan skin, yet so many people lack a basic skincare routine. Plus, spending too much time in the sun without protection can lead to rapid aging, which we’re totally not about.
Vanish Skin Clinic & Beauty Bar embodies what it means to “age gracefully.” As Brandon’s top skin care experts, we ensure our clients look as young on the outside as they feel on the inside. Each day, we focus on educating each person who steps through our door, giving them the tools necessary to flourish, no matter the age.
Don’t let summer roll by without looking your best. With our guide, you can easily achieve the look you want and protect yourself from harmful UV rays.
Let’s talk about your skincare routine.
Before we go any further, we have to start with the basics. How you treat your skin each day will most definitely affect how it looks and feels. Are you finding high-quality products? Is your routine consistent? Does your routine work for you? These are all questions you should consider when building your skincare regimen. In reality, not every product will work for every person—you have to find the best options for your concerns.
Without taking time to truly listen to your skin, you won’t ever understand your skin’s unique needs. An uncustomized skincare routine means you could be slathering on products that do nothing for you… or worse, they could damage your skin. Not good.
How do I start? What should I look for?
One of the best ways to get started is by understanding your skin type. Basically, each type derives from how much moisture your skin produces and retains. In general, there are three:
❖ Dry Skin
❖ Oily Skin
❖ Combination Skin
If you have dry skin…
For those with dry skin, winter may be especially tough on you. From flakiness to patchiness, you may feel like you can never get enough moisture. Dry skin can come from a variety of factors such as:
- Genetics
- Medications
- Skincare habits
- Weather
- Water consumption
However, that doesn’t mean you have to live with it forever; you just have to know what to look for. Here’s the thing—many people apply so-called “moisturizing” ingredients without realizing they aren’t adding hydration at all. One key takeaway: all oils ≠ moisture.
We’ll delve into moisture a little further.
Whether you’re searching for skincare products or looking into DIY solutions (💡pro tip: be careful with those; not everything “natural” should be applied to the skin), there are ingredients you should avoid if you’re trying to combat dry skin… or simply avoid in general. We’ll call them moisture imposters; they feel like they’re hydrating, but in reality, they’re 100% not.
🚫Silicones: Silicones don’t increase moisture levels; they lock in moisture… and dirt, and oil, and dead cells, and bacteria. Do you see where we’re going here? They even interrupt the skin’s natural exfoliation process, which could make your skin appear even more dull and dry.
🚫Olive Oil: Don’t let the word “oil” confuse you. Olive oil is an oleic acid, which is known to create tiny holes in the skin and damage your skin barrier (almond oil is another common oleic ingredient to avoid).
🚫Mineral oil: Many products add mineral oil because of its hydrating capabilities by locking in moisture to heal the skin—great for cuts but not so much for regular use. Over time, mineral oil can clog pores. Meaning instead of soft, supple skin, you could end up with unwanted breakouts.
🚫PUFA Oils: a.k.a. poly-unsaturated fat oils. These kinds of fatty oils do wonders for your body when added to your diet, but slathering it on your skin? That’s where the health benefits end. PUFA oils oxidize quickly due to their instability. This oxidation process releases free radicals that lead to premature aging.
With that being said, there are some amazing ingredients that actually moisturize and soften your skin to provide a more youthful glow. Ditch the above items and instead search for:
✅Hyaluronic acid: There’s nothing quite like the skin-plumping effects of hyaluronic acid (HA). HA has the capacity to hold 1,000x its weight in water, which can truly help you graciously age.
✅Glycerin: Glycerin is another humectant like HA, meaning it attracts and retains water. It also helps strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier and protects against drying environmental forces.
✅Occlusives: Ingredients like shea butter, lanolin, and jojoba oil are great for sealing moisture into the skin. Keep in mind that these ingredients don’t actually provide additional moisture. Instead, they make sure that the moisture you do add doesn’t get pulled out. However, unlike silicones and mineral oil, occlusives won’t clog your pores.
✅Ceramides: In some cases, dry skin comes from a damaged skin barrier, which may only worsen with summer wear and tear. Ceramides, a class of fatty acids, help repair your natural skin barrier so it can properly retain moisture.
If you have oily skin…
Oily skin sometimes gets a bad rep. While it can lead to more acne breakouts, it can also slow the aging process. How? It’s simple. Oil helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Plus, it has antibacterial properties to fight infections. Therefore, treating oily skin is less about completely getting rid of the oil and more about finding the right balance.
Should I skip moisturizer since my skin produces a lot of oil anyway?
Despite popular belief, eliminating moisturizer from your skincare routine will not reduce oil production. Your skin, no matter how oily it is, craves water and hydration. If you take that away, it’s going to say, “Well, it looks like I have to do it myself.” As a result, you may find your skin becomes more oily since it’s trying to compensate. Everyone should apply a daily moisturizer; people with oily skin are no exception.
To prep your skin for summer, your goal is to control your oil production without causing excess oil. This is especially important to do before the season changes since higher humidity levels and heat could impact your oil production.
Here are a few ingredients to control oil:
💧Niacinamide: Niacinamide has quickly gained popularity within the skincare industry, and it deserves all the recognition it receives. A form of vitamin B3, this water-soluble vitamin can help restore moisture levels and even aid with skin cancer prevention. Yes, that means you can balance oil and prevent sun damage.
💧Kaolin Clay: Kaolin clay acts as a gentle cleanser that extracts impurities and soaks up excess oil. With regular use, it can be a long-term solution to keep oil production at a more beneficial level.
💧Retinol/Retinoids: Retinol is a vitamin A derivative with tons of benefits, such as anti-aging, treating uneven skin tones, combating acne, and controlling oil. Since it stimulates collagen production, it helps tighten pores, which in turn reduces how much oil comes to the surface.
If you have combination skin…
Wouldn’t it be easier to have dry skin or oily skin? Having combination skin means some areas of your face (especially the T-zone) tend to be oily while other areas such as the cheeks could experience dryness.
The tricky part about combination skin is finding the right products. If you buy products catered to oily skin, they may cause your dry areas to become even drier. On the other hand, if you buy super hydrating products, you may be adding too much moisture to your oily areas.
So what do I do?
It’s all about catering to different parts of your face. First, finding more gentle products that don’t conflict with your different skin types could make a world of difference. Second, you’re probably going to have to do a little trial and error. Not everyone with combination skin is the same, so make sure you’re patient when creating your skincare routine. When in doubt, apply different products to different areas (but don’t go overboard!). If your cheeks need a little extra moisture, maybe add a hydrating serum to that area but not your T-zone. Plus, you can always check over the above sections to figure out which ingredients can treat oily and dry skin.
For all skin types…
We can’t stress this enough: You never want to go without SPF. Summer rays provide much needed vitamin D, but they also release free radicals that damage your skin at a molecular level. UV rays disrupt collagen and elastin production, which can lead to fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots, and even skin cancer. No matter who you are, always end your morning routine with a sunscreen of at least SPF 30 (those with paler complexions may want to go higher). Plus, don’t forget to reapply throughout the day!
How to Prep Your Skin for Summer in 3 Easy Steps
Getting ready for summer should be an exciting time, but you also should keep in mind how excess sun can affect your skin. Therefore, focusing your attention on creating the best foundation before summer fun begins will help your skin flourish.
1. Exfoliate dead skin
While your skin goes through a natural exfoliation process, sometimes it still needs a little pick-me-up. You definitely want that nasty build up gone by the time summer hits. Proper exfoliation removes dead skin cells from the surface so newer, rejuvenated cells can shine bright. Boosting cellular turnover helps eliminate dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, dry patches, and so much more. Basically, almost everyone can benefit from gentle resurfacing.
Keep in mind, you want to avoid harsh, abrasive scrubs. Instead of exfoliating, they could cause micro tears and cuts, which harms your skin barrier. In your daily routine, we recommend implementing chemical exfoliants*. For those with more sensitive skin, a low-percentage lactic acid will still shed old cells without being as strong as other alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs). If you’re used to chemical treatments, try out a stronger AHA such as glycolic acid.
* Before you begin using acids: Always do a patch test to make sure your skin can handle AHAs. You will more than likely experience slight tingling or burning, but if you have extreme pain, you may need to find a different exfoliation treatment. Using a low-percentage retinol could be a great option (for anyone, not just those who can’t handle chemical exfoliants). With anything you add, start slow and build up. AHAs and retinol should only be used at night since they can make your skin more sensitive to the sun.
To complement your at-home exfoliation, the SaltFacial is an all natural way to remove the outermost layer of dead skin while cleansing the skin of impurities and toxins.
What is the SaltFacial?
The SaltFacial is an innovative medical-grade treatment that uses the power of salt. Hear us out—salt isn’t always a bad thing. While you may not want to pour tons of salt onto your food, your skin loves it, especially high quality sea salt. Sea salt holds minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium, which help firm and moisturize the skin.
Up Next: 7 Reasons to Get a SaltFacial →
Natural sea salt also has organic healing properties like improving circulation, balancing oil production, and other anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s truly a pre-summer treatment practically anyone can enjoy. The treatment goes through three main steps:
- Exfoliation
- Ultrasound
- LED Light Therapy
Learn more details about how the SaltFacial works →
Bonus: The SaltFacial doesn’t only work for your face; it can also treat dryness, dead skin build up, and even acne on your body—the perfect solution to get swimsuit ready this summer.
2. Remove unwanted hair
Smooth, hair-free skin doesn’t have to require daily shaving or monthly waxing. Now is the perfect time to take it to the next level with laser hair removal. Whenever you’re ready to prep your skin for summer, a series of laser hair removal treatments target unwanted hair follicles for permanent hair reduction.
Our favorite option?
Forever Bare BBL.
Forever Bare BBL uses broadband light, which targets the pigment in your hair follicles. As a result, light energy converts to heat, destroying hair at the root. So what does that mean for you? No downtime. No prickly skin. No daily hassle.
One thing to note: BBL hair removal only affects hair during the growing phase. Since not all follicles enter the growing phase at once, you will need to go through a series of Forever Bare BBL treatments to eliminate as much hair as possible.
The great thing about laser hair removal is its versatility. Like shaving and waxing, laser hair removal can be performed on your:
- Underarms
- Legs
- Bikini area
- And more!
3. Tighten loose skin
Summer time means more heat, which means it’s time to pull out the tank tops, shorts, and sundresses. However, if you have loose skin, you may be worried about wearing more revealing clothing. Good thing there’s a solution!
Loose skin can come from a variety of factors, including:
- Aging
- Weight loss
- Pregnancy
- And more
Diet and exercise can help sculpt your body, but it won’t remove excess skin. That’s where treatments like SkinTyte come in. SkinTyte uses groundbreaking infrared technology to stimulate collagen production on the face, neck, abdomen, arms, thighs, and any other area you want to increase firmness. After your treatments, you will be ready for summer in no time. What’s more? You gain amazing benefits without surgery or downtime!
Get summer-ready skin with the help of Vanish Skin Clinic & Beauty Bar.
We are passionate about empowering men and women in West Manitoba to look and, more importantly, feel their very best. Our highly trained staff develops long-term relationships with clients, building trust and mutual respect through exceptional services and client care.
With science-backed aesthetic treatments and luxurious spa services, we strive to help our clients achieve their goals while aging as gracefully as possible. Our mission is to enhance the health, wellness, and natural beauty of every client by delivering result-driven procedures through state-of-the-art equipment and a highly trained staff.
Get one step closer to discovering your beauty within by scheduling an appointment or using our Virtual Consultation Tool.