A Fast Fix Plan To Keep Damage To A Minimum

Posted: Tuesday 24 January 2012 09:47am

If you’ve spent your summer hanging out with the punishing trio of sun, swimming and outdoor entertaining, chances are the lower layers of your skin have been stripped of moisture. Get your skin back on track with these nine tips.

1. Switch to a creamier cleanser to prevent further dehydration. Try L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Cleansing Milk, $13.95, lorealparis.com.au.

2. Use a gentle exfoliantonce or twice a week to help active ingredients to penetrate more deeply.

3. If skin is really dry,a moisturising mask once a week will further ramp up long-lasting hydration. Smooth on L’Occitane Shea Cotton Ultra Comforting Mask, $39.95, loccitane.com.au.

4. Wear sunscreen at all times- even when you are just out and about doing the weekly shopping. Clouds do nothing to filter skin-damaging UVA rays. Australian researchers have found that daily sunscreen use not only provides topical protection, it stimulates the skin’s repair mechanisms to work better, too. Clinique Sun Face Cream SPF30+ with Solar Smart Technology, $36, not only protects the skin against damage, it adds a barrier repair to help minimise the signs of ageing.

5. Step up to a more hydrating moisturiser, day and night. But stay away from too-thick creams which tend to sit on the top layer of the skin. Top choices include: A’kin Rose de Mai Anti-Oxidant Day Creme, $39.95, purist.com, with a time-release formula that releases moisture onto the skin for 12 hours; Avon Anew Genics Treatment Cream with YouthGen technology, $59.99, or L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Hydrating Skin Re-Support Day Cream, $31.95, firms the skin, too.

6. For a bib and braces skincare strategy, use Lancôme Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector, from $115, department stores, under your moisturiser night and day. One of the best over-the-counter products to repair sun damage, its hero ingredient – LR 2412 – is as effective as retinol at reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. And there’s no irritating side effects, either.

7. Summer is also harsh on hands and many women “forget” to put sunscreen on the backs of their hands. Use a hand cream every time you put your hands in water and make it an anti-ageing one such as Nivea Hand Age Control Creme Q10 Plus with sunscreen filters and antioxidants.

8. Antioxidants are the first line of defence against sun damage so try to use creams and serums that offer a cocktail of antioxidants. Ingredient names to look for on labels are: Vitamin C and E, green tea, rooibos, grapeseed extract, co-enzyme Q10 and coffeeberry.

9. Your eyes are one of the first areas of the face to show sun damage because the skin is thin and prone to wrinkling. Don’t panic, though. Crow’s feet often look worse during summer because the wrinkles are often paler than the surrounding, lightly tanned skin and look more prominent. To rehydrate and protect the eye area use damage-correcting eye creams such as Christian Dior Capture R60/80 XP Wrinkle Restoring Eye Creme, $110, department stores, which targets each wrinkle with stem cell technology. Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless Line Smooth Eye Cream, $44.95, burtsbees.com, is also formulated to repair and restore over-40s eyes.

Your say: How do you keep sun damage to a minimum? How religious are you with sunscreen application? Share with us below. 

by Elisabeth King

Comments (0) Print Send to friend Share or bookmark this page