- A dermatologist has shared the tweaks she makes to her skincare routine as the weather gets warmer.
- Dr. Aamna Adel, who typically has dry skin, focuses her skincare routine on hydration.
A dermatologist has shared the changes she makes to her skincare routine to maintain clear skin as the weather gets warmer in spring and summer.
Dr. Aamna Adel, a dermatologist working at an National Health Service hospital in London, UK, who has dry skin, told Insider that her skincare focuses on hydration.
Skincare should be based on a person's skin type and tailored towards any "skin concerns," like acne, dry skin, fine lines, or pigmentation and then "it's trial and error" to find products that work, she said.
Adel said that there are no "hard and fast rules" for optimizing skincare, and people don't need to change up all their products each season. "Listen to your skin and adjust skincare accordingly," she said.
Here are the tweaks that Adel makes as she switches off the heating, which makes her skin drier, and reaches for a sunhat in spring and summer.
Cleanse in the morning and use a lighter moisturizer
On a winter morning, Adel doesn't use a cleanser to wash her face because that can dry her skin out. Instead, she rinses it with lukewarm water. She then sometimes applies rose water or glycerin with a cotton pad to "add hydration" back into her skin.
But, as it gets warmer and her skin is less dry, she opts for a light cleanser like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser or La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Cleanser.
She then applies serums, which include hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C, and then rubs in a moisturizer.
In the warmer months, Adel swaps a thicker cream for a lighter lotion because her skin is less dry, but otherwise her routine doesn't change.
Lastly, she applies sunscreen with sun protection factor 50. Generally, everyone should wear a minimum of SPF 30 all year, she said.
People with oily skin could consider a moisturizer or lotion that contains SPF so they don't have to "double layer" a sunscreen plus a moisturizer, she said, adding: "If you're using a moisturizer like a sunscreen, ensure you apply it to the face and neck."
Increase retinol and exfoliating acid
In the evening, Adel double cleanses, using micellar water and CeraVe Hydrating Cream to Foam Cleanser as a second step.
The cleanser "doesn't have any specific active ingredients in it, but helps to remove any sunscreen or makeup while keeping the skin well hydrated," she said.
People with oily or acne-prone skin may feel "shinier" or get worse acne during the warmer months and may benefit from using a cleanser with an active ingredient twice daily, she said.
After cleansing, Adel dries her face and alternates between applying a retinol and an exfoliating acid. Typically she uses a retinol two to three times a week and exfoliating acid once or twice a week in winter.
But her skin is less irritated in the warmer months so she increases the frequency of the retinol to four days a week and continues to use exfoliating acids once or twice weekly.
Adel said that there is a misconception that you can't use retinol during summer because it can make the skin more sensitive to the sun's damaging UV rays, but "you absolutely can" so long as you wear sunscreen and your skin is dry beforehand.
"If you apply products with active ingredients to damp skin, it can increase absorption, which can lead to irritation, she said.
Slugging
On the days that she doesn't wear retinol or an exfoliating acid, she applies Aquaphor ointment as the slugging step of her routine, in addition to the moisturizer.
Slugging is a barrier layer to reduce the amount of water that the skin loses to the environment. Adel does this at night because it can get "messy."
Slugging "is really good if you're somebody who has dry skin conditions or if you've got a damaged skin barrier or if you're generally feeling that your skin's a bit irritated," she said.
Switch off the humidifier
Adel said that she often feels cold and enjoys putting on the heating in the winter months. It dries out her skin, but she's persuaded her husband to switch on a humidifier in their bedroom at night to add moisture back into the air and prevent her skin from drying out as much.
"What we call transepidermal water loss happens all the time, which is when your skin is losing water to the environment. But that tends to be increased at night," she said, adding that people should be careful with humidifiers as they can cause mold.
The heating and humidifier get switched off in the warmer months, she said.