5 tips to care for your skin and hair in spring
In spring, environmental conditions change and it is important to adapt our skin and hair care routine to keep them healthy. Here are 5 tips to keep your skin and hair healthy during this time of year.
1. Protect your skin from the sun ☀️
As the days get longer, it is essential to protect our skin and hair from UV rays. In fact, spring is the time when we usually see the first skin burns in our office because the ultraviolet index (UVI) begins to have increasingly higher values, and it is easy to neglect ourselves when exposing ourselves to the sun .
There are two types of sunscreen that we can apply to care for our skin in spring:
All sunscreens have an expiration date. Therefore, the first thing you should do when using them this spring is to check them and make sure that they have not reached the end of their useful life. You can check this with the PAO (Period After Opening) symbol . This is represented with the drawing of a cosmetic jar with an open lid and a number inside that indicates the time in which it has to be consumed from the moment it is opened. Sunscreens normally have a useful life of 12 months, which you will see represented as 12M.
These topical photoprotectors can be complemented with oral photoprotectors, composed mostly of antioxidants, substances capable of delaying or inhibiting cellular damage caused by the sun. Vitamin C, vitamin E, polypodium leucotomos, lycopenes and resveratrol , among others, are examples of antioxidants that reduce damage induced by UV rays at the cellular level. Specifically, they can protect us from UVA rays, which penetrate deeper into the skin, causing premature aging and increasing the risk of skin cancer.
2. Protect your hair from the sun 🌿
Solar radiation not only affects our skin, but also has an effect on our hair. For example:
To prevent these effects on the hair now that the good weather has begun and we want to resume outdoor activities, the correct thing to do would be:
Remember that being in the shade is not a correct photoprotection measure, since the different structures that provide us with protection against direct sunlight (such as umbrellas or awnings) vary greatly in their protection depending on the material, surface area and the orientation they have with respect to the sky. In addition, surfaces also reflect UV radiation. Sand, for example, reflects 15% of the sun's rays. In conclusion, shade is an additional (and not the only) protection measure to those previously mentioned .
3. Moisturize your hair 💦
Hair photoprotectors are products that are applied to the hair to protect it from the damaging effects of the sun and other environmental factors , and can have several beneficial effects on the hair, such as:
It is important to keep in mind that hair sunscreens should not be used as substitutes for other protective measures , such as the use of hats or scarves to cover the hair during sun exposure.
4. Maintain a healthy diet 🥑
Antioxidants are beneficial for our body throughout the year, but they are even more important in the spring-summer season since the sun can cause direct damage to our DNA, in addition to altering the collagen in our skin.
A balanced diet rich in antioxidants to take care of your skin and hair in spring could include:
There are also several studies in which antioxidants of plant origin, such as polypodium leucotomos, anthocyanidins, turmeric , black cumin, resveratrol (extracted from grape seeds or other plants such as "polygonum cuspidatum"), astaxanthin and vitamins C or E seem to be the most beneficial.
Likewise, we have Olistic , which is an excellent supplement thanks to its complete formula that provides us with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that will help keep our hair, skin and nails healthy.
5. Respect your body's rest time
Adequate rest is important for our skin and hair. During sleep, the body produces melatonin, a hormone that regulates circadian rhythms and promotes hair growth .
Chronic stress and lack of sleep can increase cortisol levels in the body, which can contribute to hair loss . Likewise, cortisol affects other hormonal systems, increasing the production of androgens that promote sebum production, which in turn can cause inflammation in the scalp.
Adequate sleep can help reduce cortisol levels in the body, which can reduce hair loss, help reduce scalp inflammation, and therefore improve hair health .
