It’s been pretty hot the past couple of weeks. But, we’re not complaining! Seriously, we’re not. Summer is definitely a welcome friend, especially after the year everyone has no doubt had. As we continue to welcome the summer days, it’s also a great time to ensure that we’re ready and equipped with the essentials that are going to keep our skin protected and glowing throughout this sunny and hot season.

Now normally we’d start our 5 skin essentials list for summer with the most obvious skin essential: SPF. But we’re not even going to put it on this list because it’s not an essential in our books….it’s a MANDATORY health item. And to be honest, we know you know how important it is, so let’s just skip the SPF lecture and move on to some of our favourite must-haves for this summer 😉

Great Summer Skin Protection? A Sun Hat

There are so many beautiful ones to choose from these days, but we are particularly big fans of a wide brimmed hat that gives lots of coverage of your whole face. Here’s the thing: the sun is wonderful. It makes you feel warm, and can give you a healthy glow, it’s literally vitamin D in its unaltered form, and god knows we do not get enough vitamin D throughout the year in Canada. So it is awfully tempting to just bask in it all day long.

But unfortunately, the sun does damage to your skin if left unprotected.

When we expose our skin to UVB rays and UVA radiation, we are inviting unwanted skin issues, from hyperpigmentation to an overproduction of oil (meaning acne breakouts 🙅‍♀️). On the flip side this can lead to overly dried out skin, which can cause a whole series of other skin concerns like those fine lines and wrinkles that lead to premature ageing, or even skin conditions like eczema.

Basically what we’re saying is, don’t undo all the work you’ve been putting into your skincare routine throughout the year by unnecessary sun exposure. Get a wide brimmed hat and channel the Greta Garbo within.

Summer Skincare Dream Team: Enzyme Scrub & Clay Mask

We’re talking Enzyme and Mask from Miracle 10 Skincare—two of our fave go-to products all year round, but we love what they can do during the summer months. You can use them separately, but together they work even more magic.

During the summer you’re obviously outside more, which means not only more sun exposure, but more exposure to everything, including pollution and dirt. Pair that with heat and sweat and an overproduction of oil, and you are well on your way to an unwanted but completely avoidable breakout.

For this you need a powerful exfoliator like Enzyme, which is a fruit enzyme scrub that will deeply exfoliate your skin and scrub away all those impurities, leaving your skin squeaky clean but also hydrated, super smooth, and generally feeling recharged. An extra added bonus of Enzyme is that it reduces the appearance of those fine lines and wrinkles that more commonly appear with too much sun exposure.

If you really want that extra glow and hydrating boost, follow Enzyme with Mask. What we particularly love about Mask in the summer is that not only does it literally cool you off (seriously it feels so cool on the skin), but it also refines the pores so that they don’t allow all that extra dirt in, protecting you from those breakouts, while adding much needed hydration to the skin that we lose at a quicker pace during the summer. Think of Mask as that product that awakens and reinvigorates your skin after a little snooze in the sunshine.

A Lightweight Peptide-Rich Moisturizer

Generally, no matter your skin type, during the summer you don’t want to feel your moisturizer sitting on top of your skin, weighing it down. You want something that’s lightweight, that seamlessly blends into your skin as opposed to adding another layer that you can feel. So key ingredient number one in a summer moisturizer is something light.

Key ingredient number two is a moisturizer that’s peptide-rich. Just because your summer moisturizer is light doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. Peptides do a variety of things from making your skin feel firmer, improving the look of skin damage and evening out your skin tone. They’re amino acids that are essential to healthy, firmer and younger-looking skin.

One of the most important things that a moisturizer rich in peptides does, especially during the summer, is strengthen the skin barrier, helping to keep all those impurities at bay while also providing hydration.

We especially love Miracle 10’s Light Serum for the summer, which is both lightweight and peptide rich, but it’s also full of antioxidants and botanical extracts that just give the skin that clarity and firmness that keep it looking so fresh and healthy.

Take a Break from Light Based Treatments Over the Summer

If you’re someone who gets regular IPL (Intense Pulse Light Therapy) or other light based treatments for things like age spots, sun damage, acne scarring or other skin tone issues, we recommend that you take a break from these treatments over the summer months unless you’re someone who’s super strict about practicing safe sun care.

When you have IPL or other light based treatments, it’s imperative that you fully stay out of the sun for at least 48 hours after your treatment, which is actually not always that easily done in the summer. You also have to avoid tanning the treatment area or things like tanning sprays both before and after your treatment. Basically we can’t perform any light based treatments on you if you have a tan, because any sun exposure can result in adverse pigment reactions on your skin.

So might be best to just take a break from these and pick them back up in the fall.

The Perfect Lip Gloss

You need the cherry on top. And there’s no better cherry than an awesome lip gloss to top off your summer look. We especially love Miracle 10 Lipshine for the summer months. Super shiny and glossy, you can wear it all on its own, or pair it with a lip liner, or even pop it on top of your lipstick for that extra added shine.

Besides making your lips look fresh and fabulous, we love how Lipshine doesn’t dry out, doesn’t feel sticky, and actually offers your lips continuous hydration throughout the day.