How to repair your skin after your sun holidays

You look and feel prettier after holidays ….don’t you ? and whatsmore important rested , refreshed and ready to come back to reality …?  well this is difficult I know !

If you have followed some good tips I wrote weeks ago of what to use during summer holidays apart from suncare , plant oils are your forever best friends to highly nourish your skin without any doubt and to protect your skin from ultraviolet light that potentially cause damage to the cells resulting in dry skin and ultimately wrinkles forming and sagging skin. If you do not make your own natural products yet at least look for those wonderful oils in the ingredients label  (INCI) of the suncare products you purchase. I know it is already September but in Spain and other Mediterranean is still summer, I know this very well 🙂  If you missed that post and fancy a read  click here  

First thing to repair your skin after sun holidays

1. DO NOT EXFOLIATE your skin after few weeks coming back from your sun holidays. Ideally you should exfoliate your skin before going on holidays. Your skin is very sensitive after being in the sun, focus in hydrating , moisturize and calm , cool down the skin.
2. How? You can use of course Organic Aloe Vera gel  as many times you like it is like giving plenty of water (and food) to your thirsty skin. Spray Aloe vera water as many times you feel your skin dry and tight. Also Lavender and Chamomile water is good. Rosewater is fantastic but it would suit better to oily skin in this case.
3. Apply calming gentle face masks to replenish your skin without being harsh. White clay (Kaolin) is the best option as it is the gentlest of all clays. Some product that contains Calendula extract , Lavender or Chamomile essential oil as they are calming, anti-inflammatory and Calendula extract is a wonderful skin repairing ingredient.  Talking about essential oils , be careful not using high concentrations of essential oils during and after sun exposure and be aware that some of them are phototoxic: lemon, grapefruit, bergamot , angelica, fig leaf , bitter orange, lime ,mandarin leaf, rue, tagetes, opopanax .   Face masks are great to use in gel forms are great as they contain a lot of water.
4. Mix Organic Sunflower oil and Organic Rosehip oil and apply every morning and night after cleansing your skin and after your moisturizer cream. This mixture is an oil based product which will take long to absorb and will also form a good occlusive barrier  to protect your skin from the environment. Moisturizers/cream contais water therefore they get absorbed pretty quickly in general. This simple mixture of 2 oils will deeply moisturize your skin, will help with cellular regeneration, will reduce any sun spots noticeably . Rosehip oil is high in provitamin A and essential fatty acids and Sunflower oil is high in vitamin E both suitable for any type of skin. You can use Rosehip oil neat or mixed with other oils. Go for the Organic version. Totally worth it.
5. Here is a list of some of many  great oils  (good oils for skin regeneration)  you can use after sun. It always best to mix 2-3 oils rather than using only one as you will get the total of the different properties of each oil i.e. vitamins , essential fatty acids and other interesting content :

Argan oil  – Rich in vitamins A, B1,B2 and B6, high in vitamin E -Excellent ingredient for skin regeneration . Damaged and mature skin

Avocado oil – Rich in Vitamin E and D, B5 and phytosterols and betacarotene – Great oil for normal, dry and sensitive skin and works best overnight. Good repairing aftersun oil for itchy and dry skin. I found a wonderful cold pressed Avocado oil a while ago in M&S and wrote about other oils too here 

Calendula oil (infused) -High content of carotene plus the properties of the oil that flowers have been macerated in . Healing, speed up tissue repair,anti-inflammatory . Carotene is a powerful antioxidant that works very well to fight free radicals .

Camelina oil – Rich in antioxidants, such as tocopherols (vitamin E) and high in Omega 3 similar to Rosehip oil but it is not suitable for sensitive skin. There is a great Irish brand that sells Camelina oil (Camelina sativa) I met the owner years ago and gave me some bottles to use in my skincare workshops. Lovely guy and good quality products. Newgrange Gold is the brand you should look for in your supermaket . Love when you have good affordable beauty oils at your doorstep and support local as much as you can.

Rice bran oil –  Very very high in Vitamin E and blends very very well with Rosehip oil. It contains Ferulic acid which is a great antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals potentially causing damage in membrane cells, protects the skin from damage of ultraviolet light.

Actually see my super-antioxidant sunshine face serum I made for myself to bring on my holidays which it is a great serum to use to repair your skin after the sunny holidays.  If you missed my post read it here 

Keep your skin moisturized , hydrated and nourished at all times as we are facing the hard winter in Ireland , indoor heating, darkness, wind …

TIP: If you want your tan lasts have a black tea bath by putting a couple of regular tea bags in a warm bath , soak in for 10-15 min . 

My next live skincare workshop in Dublin is the 30th September , read all info here, you will be amazed of the products you can make yourself and how healthy and glowing your skin will become.

La Mayca x

Note: All my skincare recipes/formulas and skincare tips are made and shared in the best faith for information and educational purposes only to encourage people to you use natural sustainable products. They are  based on my natural skincare knowledge, training and experience of 9 years working with natural and organic skincare . These recipes/formula are not prescriptions nor tend to replace any medication/products no claim as to their effectiveness.  The reader takes total responsibility in making and using them . Always do 24hrs patch test before using a new ingredient on your skin