Summer Skin Care Tips | Organiworks

Summer is finally here! Time to break out the tank tops, shorts, flip flops, and head to the pool. But is your skin ready for the season’s debut? I’m Jenn, a new mom and founder of Organiworks, serving the natural skin care needs of Capital Region and beyond.

Here are some natural, healthy summer skin care tips to whip your skin to tip top shape and ready to impress!

Summer Glow

Experts agree that regular exfoliation not only leaves skin looking young and glowing, but is also healthy for your skin. Too much dead skin build up causes dull looking skin, and can also lead to clogged pores and blemishes. Gentle exfoliants such as jojoba beads or salt scrubs removes dead skin cells, revealing smooth, fresh skin below. It also leaves skin ready to receive moisturizing nutrients from serums or lotions. But don’t go overboard, exfoliating more than once per day or using harsh abrasives such as apricot scrubs can cause micro-tears!

For face, I love Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean and Cranberry Scrub, which is gentle enough even for the most sensitive skin. For body, nothing comes close to Trillium Organics Body Polish. It’s certified USDA Organic and leave skin lusciously moisturized. A sponge bath using a sea wool sponge is another relaxing way to exfoliate. Soak in a warm bath with some detoxing dead sea salt for about 5 minutes, then use a natural sea sponge to gently wash dull skin and your cares away!

Remember Sunscreen

Sun protection is no joke. Harmful UVA and UVB rays are directly linked to skin cancer as well as early aging. So if you want healthy, beautiful skin 10 or 20 years from now, don’t forget your sunscreen! Also remember to apply enough, about 1 shot glass full for an adult body and size of a quarter for face. Use at least SPF 30 for adequate protection and try to stay in the shade and wear a hat. Avoiding the sun in peak hours (10am to 4pm) helps prevent sunburns, but UVA rays can still cause cancer and aging, so remember to wear sunscreen during those times too!

Choose a natural mineral sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB, and doesn’t contain hormone disruptors, parabens, or other nasties. After trying tons, my favorite brand is Goddess Garden. I like them because they only use non-nano zinc oxide and titanium oxide, and their formulas are not chalky or gooey, but easy to apply and no weird smell. They offer adult, kid, baby versions, and a special one just for the face that’s super light and won’t clog pores.

Bye Bye Bites

Do you feel like mosquito food sometimes, but hate to slather chemical bug spray on yourself and the kids? Bug bites are not only unsightly, but also can transmit diseases. On the other hand, chemicals such as DEET can irritate skin, cause headaches, nausea, seizures… the list goes on, and dissolves many plastics such as sunglasses, fishing lines, and tents. Other chemical insect repellents are not much better.

The good news is that there are natural solutions that repels insects. The Bug Band is an adjustable wrist bands that contains geraniol, a derivative of geranium flowers. It smells nice to humans, but repels flying insects such as mosquitos, flies, and gnats. The Bug Band Spray works well for camping, hiking, and can be applied directly to skin and repels crawling insects such as ticks as well! Laboratory tests have shown that geraniol is 3 times more effective at repelling mosquitos compared to citronella.
Final note, it might be tempting to get a bug repellent and sunscreen 2-in-1, but I’d recommend against it. One reason is that sunscreen needs to be reapplied often, every 2 hours, and chemical bug repellents usually last at least 4 hours. So if you are doing the right thing, reapplying sunscreen, you could be overdosing on bug spray. So apply a good mineral sunscreen and separate insect repellent, and reapply sunscreen liberally as needed.