Skin Care

Get beach ready skin

Summertime is the perfect time to spend your days lazing around at the beach. But the sea, sun, and sand are your skin’s holiday frenemies! Here are some tips to protect your skin from these harsh elements so you can enjoy your beach vacation without damaging your skin.

1. Before

The day before you leave, work over your face and body with a scrub in the morning, making sure to use a more delicate product for the face. It will get rid of dead skin cells (which allows the skin to tan evenly all over the body) plus it stimulates microcirculation and optimizes hydration. Then pamper your face and body with hydrating and enriched skincare treatments - hyaluronic acid, sugars, vegetable oils (sweet almond, apricot, argan) are your allies. In the evening, treat yourself to a face mask to hydrate and plump up the skin. Your skin will be left hydrated, nourished and soft, all ready to tan.

Be careful to choose products that don't contain photosensitising agents (they make the skin more sensitive to UV rays that can cause sunburn, eczema, and allergic reactions). The main culprits are perfumes, triclocarban (an antibacterial agent found in soaps and lotions), retinol, and essential oils of geranium, fig, citrus and verbena. Avoid irritating your skin before you leave or you will be spending your holidays hiding under a big hat. That means absolutely no harsh skin peels or hair removal. If you do want these treatments, go to your beautician at least three days before your holiday to allow your skin to recover and reconstitute the lipid barrier. If you self-tan before your holiday, don't forget a fake tan does not protect your skin, so stick to an SPF 50 for the first few days, then switch to a lower SPF as your skin gets used to the sun.

2. On the day

Before you leave, check you have a sun cream (and an after-sun cream) in your bag. Take your pick from milk, gel or cream, with an SPF suitable for your skin. Skipping sunscreen during your beach trip is a sure shot way to get an uncomfortable sunburn and damage your skin. Try the UV Perfect Even Complexion sunscreen by L’Oréal Paris to protect your skin from the harsh and harmful UV rays. The ultra-fine and non-greasy formula of the UV Perfect gets quickly absorbed into the skin and provide a photo-stable broad spectrum protection to help guard skin’s fairness, colour, and visible youth.

Keep these simple tips in mind to prepare your skin for the upcoming beach vacation and remember to apply generous coats of sunscreen when you are out at the beach all day. Reapply your sunscreen every 3-4 hours or every 1-2 hours if you go in the water. Use the right skincare products and don’t let then sun spoil your fun!