My Best Summer Skincare Tips

I’m sharing my best summer skincare tips with a simple routine (using clean products) for healthy, hydrated, glowing skin!

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These are the dog days of summer and the last thing I am thinking about is my elaborate skincare and makeup routine. Frankly, all I want to be doing is lounging at the pool, throwing (reusable) water balloons with my boys, and eating cold watermelon on the porch.

When it comes to summertime, I keep my skincare and makeup routine as simple as possible, while still maximizing protection and hydration. Speaking of hydration, I recently learned something from my esthetician that is simple to remember:

Dry skin = lack of oil
Dehydrated skin = lack of water

Makes sense, right? Just something to keep in mind when you’re evaluating what products can support your skin’s needs best.

New product alert! This one is for those of you who want to swim in moisturizers. More below!

Summer Skincare Game Plan

While I wear sunscreen every single day in the summer (two layers: foundation with SPF and sunscreen) and I wear a hat all the time, I inevitably get more sun on my face while swimming or playing soccer outside than I would in the cooler months.

The summer months are not the time to be doing any corrective treatments (like lasers and peels), but rather a time to protect your skin as best as possible from further damage.

Due to it being so hot and sticky outside, I prefer a less is more beauty routine too. Most days, you’ll catch me wearing sunscreen, cream blush, a swipe of gloss, and mascara – that’s it, really!

My Best Summer Skincare Tips

1. Get obsessed with a face sunscreen. And the apply it daily!

Your best weapon towards protecting your skin will always be sunscreen.

This is the best facial sunscreen I have ever used. I seriously think every single person should have a bottle. It’s the perfect sunscreen to wear daily under makeup and doesn’t have any white cast at all and isn’t greasy after it sinks in. It’s sheer, as its name indicates, and provides coverage against UVA, UVB, and blue light rays.

Using SPF daily is your biggest protector against signs of aging (including fine lines). There’s also vitamin E for antioxidant protection from environmental stressors.

2. Set your foundation aside.

I hardly ever wear foundation in the summer, partly because I’m sweating all the time and partly because I get a little more tan.

But my tinted moisturizer with SPF 20 is a staple part of my year-round routine. I don’t leave the house without it because it provides just a hint of coverage and SPF too. It’s perfect for summer days when you want a little bit of dewy coverage while still allowing your sun-kissed freckles to show through.

Read this post for my full break down between Dew Skin vs. Skin Twin. I wear shade #3 in Dew Skin for reference.

3. Double cleanse the grime away.

Between the layers of sunscreen (you’re re-applying, right?) and sweat, I highly recommend double cleansing your face at the end of the day. Start with an oil cleanser on dry skin to remove sunscreen and makeup, followed by a more exfoliating cleanser for the grime. I like to mix the Countermatch foaming cleanser with the Bamboobuff Exfoliating Polish.

4. Hydrate Day + Night

While I might lighten up my makeup in the summer, I still need all the hydration I can get. The sun + salt water + mild dehydration means my skin is always thirsty.

I’m a die-hard fan of the Countertime Supreme Cream every night, and have a new favorite day lotion to rave about: Beautycounter recently launched a brand new moisturizer, the Mighty Plump Ceramide Water Cream, that I think of as the daytime version of the Supreme Cream.

I am absolutely OBSESSED with this stuff!!!

This new moisturizer is a weightless water cream that gives an instant filler effect. Made with two forms of hyaluronic acid plus ceramide to protect the moisture barrier. It’s so smooth and feels cushiony when you put it on. My skin is SO soft!

This water cream is suitable for all skin types, especially those concerned with fine lines and wrinkles, because it visibly plumps the skin. Use it in the mornings after toner and serum.

If you love the Supreme Cream or were a fan of the plumping face oil that was discontinued, you’ll absolutely love this.

The Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion is another favorite light moisturizer that I always have in my arsenal, too.

5. Make your makeup sweat-proof.

If you are putting on a full face for an event, to keep makeup from sweating off on a scorching hot day, apply the Glow First Priming Serum under your foundation. This potent, skin-loving primer-serum combo has the complexion-improving results of a serum with the makeup-extending power of a primer – 4,000 encapsulated jojoba ester bubbles are suspended in a tripeptide-infused gel-serum. It helps makeup stay put.

If I am wear a fuller face of makeup in the summer, I like to set it with the Mattifying Powder as well for double staying power. Use this shade finder to find your perfect color match!

6. Keep dark spots at bay.

I use Beautycounter’s vitamin C serum every single morning to help reduce the appearance of dark spots and boost brightness; it also helps support skin’s natural production of collagen (I’m all about that!).

I recently added Beautycounter’s new Dark Spot Minimizer to my “hyperpigmentation-fighting routine” – think of it as a supercharged C serum. It’s a targeted treatment that visibly improves the appearance of darks spots and discoloration from age, acne breakouts, and sun damage. I don’t know about you, but I need these two products in my summer line-up.