Summer Beauty Guide: Skin And Hair Care Tips For The Heat

Best tips for healthier skin and hair throughout the summer months this guide walks you through the best carrier oils to use to treat and care for you naturally preventing problems before they happen

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Want to know the best carrier oils for your skin type? Here's a quick look at which carrier oil you can use to improve the feel, texture, and look of your summer skin and hair.

What is a carrier oil?

A carrier oil is usually a plant-based oil extracted from a nut or a seed used to moisturise and heal the skin. It can be used alone or blended with other oils to find just the right consistency for your skin type. High quality essential oils are often added to carrier oils to provide specific therapeutic effects for the skin.

These oils are really healthy for your skin and hair providing long periods of moisturisation and hydration inhibiting the signs of ageing, wear and tear.

What is Summer skin?

Hot balmy weather increases water loss from the body resulting in thirty, dehydrated skin. Skin feels irritated, red and dry. Be sure to hydrate your skin and keep water levels topped up. Summer heat tends to mean more sweat, more oil and increased skin cell generation.

Hot and humid, even with a breeze outdoors you can still suffer dry irritated skin. Spending time in the sun, close to water, and air-conditioning all play their part in drying out your skin. Consider the followin steps to enjoy your summer and minimise skin problems:

• use a sunscreen one that is SPF30+ and water resistant

• shower and shampoo as soon as you can once home, indoors

• use a mild summer ready oil based cleanser for locking in moisture

• shower and bathe in warmer cooler water, less hot water than normal

• apply an allergy free rich moisturiser for maximum nourishment and protection

Sunburn Aftercare

As soon as it becomes clear you are suffering sunburn, seek shade. In warm days out you should carry with you:

• a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses at all times

• wear a long sleeved blouse and trousers, loose fitting

• wear sunscreen applied several times throughout the day, in the evening too

This is how you take care of your skin during the summer, naturally. Use my guide above to blend your own hand and body moisturising oil free from unnecessary additives and synthetic ingredients.

Ensuring your moisturiser goes on more easily and sinks into your skin without fuss, apply the oil blend before applying your moisturiser.

Hair Care and Choice of oil

A troubling problem with summer obviously is the intense heat, humidity and dehydration. Your skin suffers and so does your hair yet have you ever considered an alternative? Forgoing the shop bought shampoo and condition in a plastic bottle is an environmental win-win.

One of the first things I realised when self learning the use of carrier oils was the benefit of oiling my hair twice weekly. And the smiles after realising my hair and scalp felt and looked better, and no greasing either.

If you find your hair is greasy after an oiling you've either used too much oil or used the wrong oil for your hair type.

Or not thoroughly rinsed. In any case, keep experimenting and keep the massage going for the utmost health and beauty of your hair.

Massage Hair and Scalp

Hair oiling is an art form, a worthwhile skill to learn and master. One part is knowing what an oil is capable of in terms of treatment and conditioning, and what purpose it serves as an instrument of hair care.

The other part is the blending. The choice you hope works best for your hair and scalp expecting exact results.

Almost all cold-pressed carrier oils are beneficial for the care of skin but fewer still are really worth their weight in gold for use in hair care.

Over the years I have found myself relying on the following oils. Rather limited you may think but they're the best in my experience.

Avocado Oil

• boosts hair growth, rich in vitamin E tocopherol

• repairs dry damaged hair, increased shine

Jojoba Oil

• reduces hair loss, manages oily scalp condition

• hair and scalp has improved moisturising

Argan Oil

• improves on, repairs damaged frizzy hair

• promotes hair growth, moisturises dry scalp condition

Olive Oil

• reduces hair loss, greatest hair conditioning

• increase the health and elasticity of hair

Castor Oil

• increase of blood flow to scalp, improves hair growth

• best treatment and care for dry itchy scalp

Sunflower Oil

• ultimate hair improvement, smooth with glowing shine

• rich in vitamin A, B, C and E, improved hair health

By oiling the hair regularly (once per week, try it) you are doing two things. A scalp massage will strengthen your roots and stimulate new growth, by blood circulation. An oiling, the hair shaft receives protection.

Caring for your Hair

As a part of your hair care routine, the massage element is also enjoyable and relaxing. Some of the benefits you gain include:

• hydrated scalp, less itching and dry patches

• hair is moisturised, nourished hair has greater moisture retention

• oiling regularly, you control curly, wavy and frizzy hair more

• hair has protection against salt sea water, chlorinated water

Apply the oils you feel best suits your hair type, massage into hair and scalp fully. This massage should take a full 3 minutes of your time, be sure the full length of your hair receives the oil. With a warm towel, cover or wrap your hair with this towel for 20 minutes.

The warm towel ensures the oils are absorbed more easily by your hair and scalp. Remove the towel and rinse thoroughly to be sure all oil residue has been washed off.

Use a Hair Mask

If you find you have time on your hands, apply a dry powdered hair mask before you apply an oiling (or a normal shampoo). I suggest a dry powdered mask because of your choice of oil. Mixing the mask would be based on your own experience of what works for you, surely?

Having practised the oiling of your hair you will quickly realise what works best. So you use those oils to mix up a hair mask.

You apply the hair mask and leave it on for a while. Let your hair and scalp soak up all the nutrients from the mask. Wash off the mask with plain lukewarm water and then proceed to either oil or shampoo normally.

Deep Conditioning

With a dry powdered hair mask you can further improve the health and condition of your hair and scalp by including either Aloe Vera or Honey into the hair mask after mixing in the oils.

The Fuller's Earth mask is a good, best choice for treating all hair types and scalp conditions. This natural mineral prevents flaky scalp, dandruff and dry or itchy scalp conditions.

The mask is marketed as a facial mask but in all honesty I designed my masks to be multi-discipline; for the face, hair and body. The product is far more diverse being a dry powder formulation. In effect, this vastly improves value for money for you.

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