Rule number one in summer is to simplify”: how to protect your skin without making mistakes
When temperatures rise, protecting your skin becomes a real challenge. Perspiration intensifies, sebum production speeds up, and the epidermis grows both more reactive and more prone to dehydration. Faced with this imbalance, two opposite instincts kick in: piling on products to compensate, or abandoning your routine altogether. Neither, it turns out, is the right move.
Streamlining your routine to better protect your skin
Doris Tenara, founder of the aesthetic practice Skin Easy in Paris and author of Désenflammer son corps (Éditions Hachette), is unequivocal on this point. For her, protecting your skin in summer is first and foremost about lightening the load. “Rule number one in summer is to simplify. When it’s very hot, layering product after product is completely pointless. You go for a routine that’s light but effective,” she says.
Before even thinking about cosmetics, the expert reminds us that skin hydration starts from within. In intense heat, perspiration causes a loss of water and minerals that compromises the skin’s ability to maintain its balance.
Doris Tenara also recommends leaning on electrolytes, which help cells absorb water properly. She specifically suggests soluble tablets such as Hydratis, available at pharmacies, to support daily hydration.
“With the heat, I recommend leaning on electrolytes, which help cells absorb water properly.”
Choosing the right antioxidants for your skin type
Summer amplifies oxidative stress, thanks in no small part to sun exposure. Antioxidants remain essential seasonal allies, provided you choose them wisely for your skin type.
For combination to oily skin, niacinamide is the go-to. “It’s an anti-inflammatory that strengthens the skin barrier, regulates sebum and acts on hyperpigmentation spots,” explains the aesthetician. Normal, dry or sensitive skin types, on the other hand, will get more out of centella asiatica, celebrated for its repairing and soothing properties.
As for vitamin C, hugely popular for its brightening effect, it warrants extra caution on reactive skin. “I would avoid vitamin C on sensitive skin, as it can be very irritating on a skin barrier that’s already weakened and dehydrated by the heat,” the expert warns. Ultimately, protecting your skin means selecting your active ingredients with care.
- Favour niacinamide on combination to oily skin to regulate sebum.
- Opt for centella asiatica on normal, dry or sensitive skin.
- Avoid vitamin C on reactive skin during periods of intense heat.
- Lean on electrolytes to support internal hydration.
- Finish your morning routine with an SPF 50 sunscreen, a non-negotiable step.
The mistakes that weaken your skin in the heat
Heat encourages the appearance of blackheads and uneven skin texture. Sweat and impurities accumulate on the skin’s surface. The classic, but counterproductive, reflex is to overload the skin with exfoliating or stripping actives to correct these imperfections.
“You’re mostly risking a nasty irritation,” warns Doris Tenara. She recommends reserving purifying actives for the cleansing step, before following up with light, hydrating formulas. Protecting your skin, in other words, is not about aggressive exfoliation.
Another persistent myth: skipping your moisturiser because your skin looks shiny. “That’s completely wrong. When you don’t moisturise, the skin dries out and produces more sebum to protect itself. You very quickly end up in a vicious cycle,” she explains. Summer is also clearly not the season to test powerful new actives or photosensitising ingredients.
For those already accustomed to them, it’s better to save their use for the evening routine. Day to day, protecting your skin comes down to simple gestures adapted to the season.
A minimalist routine: Doris Tenara’s recommendations
In the morning, keep it light. A gentle cleanse, optional, means nothing more than a cleansing milk, a cooling gel or simply a spritz of thermal water mist for very dry or reactive skin. Follow with an antioxidant serum, based on niacinamide or centella asiatica depending on your skin profile.
If needed, a light gel-cream completes morning hydration. The routine always ends with an SPF 50 sunscreen. This step remains non-negotiable for protecting your skin from sun damage.
The evening double cleanse: the key step in skin recovery
In the evening, a double cleanse is essential to remove the sweat, pollution and sunscreen filters that have built up throughout the day. This step prepares the skin to receive nighttime treatments in the best possible conditions.
Follow with a targeted serum suited to your current skin concern. Then a gel-cream comfort treatment supports the skin barrier’s overnight regeneration. Protecting your skin in the evening means giving it the ideal conditions to repair itself.
Ultimately, protecting your skin during heatwaves doesn’t require more products, it requires better choices. A streamlined routine, actives matched to your skin type, and hydration considered from the inside out: these are the pillars of healthy skin all summer long.
