S.O.S Summer: how to prepare your skin for the heat and sun exposure From face to body: all the steps to follow for skin ready for the warmer season

Summer never really arrives all of a sudden, yet somehow it always manages to catch us unprepared. One day you’re comfortable in your loose jeans and safely tucked into your spring comfort zone, the next someone suggests a beach day and you find yourself dealing with dull skin, an uneven complexion, and legs that haven’t seen the sun in months. Preparing your skin for summer doesn’t mean striving for perfection, but rather avoiding that slightly traumatic effect that comes back every year, when we start showing a bit more skin. So here’s a little guide to getting your skin summer-ready.

S.O.S summer: how to prepare your skin for heat and sun exposure

Products to add to your skincare routine

If you followed the advice on how to revive your skin in spring, then you’re already off to a good start. If instead, after months of cold weather, harsh March winds, and temperature swings, your facial skin feels a bit unsettled, don’t worry: there’s still time to get it back on track. The most common mistake here is trying to do everything at once, mixing serums and acids randomly and only ending up stressing the skin further. It’s better to take it step by step and introduce the right essentials, the ones that truly make a difference in reviving your skin. Start by adding a detoxifying and purifying product, useful for helping the skin get rid of the impurities accumulated throughout the day, from layered products to smog and more, allowing it to regain a healthier balance. Next comes exfoliation, but without overdoing it: it’s best to use gentle actives consistently to improve skin texture and restore a more even look. After all, aggressive exfoliation and sun exposure don’t go well together. At this point, it also makes sense to introduce brightening products with vitamin C, azelaic acid, or niacinamide, which help counteract the dullness typical of winter and instantly give a fresher, more rested appearance. Hydration, needless to say, remains the real game changer: after months of cold, the skin tends to retain less moisture, so it needs ingredients that restore elasticity and comfort, making it look visibly healthier and more plump, such as trehalose. Finally, sunscreen. No explanation needed.

What about the body?

I don’t know about you, but for me winter follows the rule of out of sight, out of mind. In other words, it’s incredibly easy to get lazy and neglect body skincare when everything is hidden under sweatshirts and tracksuit pants. The problem comes when temperatures rise and suddenly “undressing” becomes almost necessary, unless you want to pass out under the scorching summer sun. So you grab your shorts, stand in front of the mirror, and notice your slightly pale body. And it’s not that soft, porcelain-like paleness that can actually look good: the issue here is that the skin appears dull, lacking tone, and uneven. The first step is a good exfoliation or scrub to remove dead skin cells and bring back smoothness and radiance, also a plus for anyone dealing with ingrown hairs or the classic “strawberry skin.” Ingredients like urea, which hydrates and exfoliates at the same time, or the much-loved glycolic acid, often too strong for the face but excellent for the body, are particularly effective. Then it becomes essential to work on microcirculation, often the real cause behind that dull and uneven tone. This is where creams and treatments with targeted active ingredients come in, such as caffeine, ivy, red vine, or horse chestnut, all of which help reactivate surface circulation and visibly improve the skin’s appearance. Another big help comes from lymphatic massages, which help stimulate the drainage of excess fluids and boost circulation. Of course, drinking plenty of water remains the basic step, but if you want to speed up your summer reset, you can also introduce gradual, lightweight self-tanners, just to handle those first “legs on display” emergencies.