4 Tips for Beautiful Summer Skin

Summer is almost here! Here are a few basic tips to make your skin look its best in the summer.

Get rid of the dry winter skin.

In the winter, the skin can often become dry and scaly. To get rid of the dry and flaky skin, I recommend moisturizing with an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) lotion. Use it once or twice per day, and you should notice an improvement within 6 or 8 weeks.

Get a safe “tan.”

For starters, tanning in the sun or in a tanning bed is dangerous. It may cause cancer and wrinkles and is a big no-no. But you can safely get a tan by using a sunless tanner that contains dihydroxyacetone. Dihydroxyacetone binds to the outer layer of the skin and causes it to darken. Dihydroxyacetone does not protect the skin against UV rays. If your sunless tanner does not contain SPF, make sure to use SPF.

Sunless tanners come as creams, lotions, gels, and sprays. My favorites are the gradual tanners. These products are safe when applied to the skin. It is not clear, however, if these products are safe to use near or in the eyes, nose, or mouth so use caution when applying.

Soften those heels.

To soften those cracked heels, I recommend using an AHA or BHA lotion at least once daily to the cracked heels. You can also use a pumice stone. If your heels are in bad shape, I recommend seeing your doctor for a prescription strength urea cream.

Get rid of unwanted hair.

There are many safe ways to eliminate unwanted hair. Shaving, waxing, threading and depilatory creams are all safe and effective options. Laser hair removal is also an effective, relatively permanent method to remove hair. It usually takes several treatments, spaced about one month apart. It is best done when the skin is not tan. Laser treatment, unfortunately, does not work on white hair.

A prescription strength cream, Vaniqa, can be useful for treatment of unwanted hair. In many people, it will decrease the growth of hair when applied twice daily. The cream must be applied regularly for it to work. The good news is that it does work on white hair.