Dealing With The Sun: A Few Mid-Summer Skin Care Tips

I recently had the chance to ask Todd Leff, CEO of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa a few questions about coping with the intense mid-summer sun on skin. I love hearing other people's perspective (especially when they pretty much have the same priorities as me: protecting and soothing the skin), and I always hear about new products.

Do you recommend clients do anything other than just sunscreen to prepare for time in the sun?
Yes, over 90% of the population’s skin is dehydrated year round, so particularly in the summer we encourage an increased amount of hydration to keep the skin from looking dull and dry as a result of the summer’s heat coupled with the exposure to the environment more in the summer, i.e. sun and wind. The best known hydrator in cosmetic technology is hyaluronic acid. This miracle hydrator can increase the skin’s hydration levels immensely and maintain the moisture throughout the day, preventing dehydration. Most companies have such a small amount of hyaluronic acid in their moisturizers that it doesn’t provide the best results. ClarityRx 100% Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a pharmaceutical-grade hydrating serum that is ideal for all skin types and all ages. Just a drop will do to maintain a youthful, dewey looking skin.


What is your favorite sunscreen and why?
The best sunscreens are those that provide a UVA-UVB Broad Spectrum protection as well as provide some water resistance to things such as perspiration and swimming. We also want to make sure that a sun protection product contains both organic sun blocks such as titanium oxide, iron oxides, and zinc oxides that prevent the sun’s rays from effecting the skin along with a non-irritating chemical sunscreen agent such as octylmethylcinnamate to absorb the sun’s rays. ClarityRx Skin Defense SPF30 represents all of the above. A fragrance-free, non-sticky, broad-spectrum, water resistant formula for all skin types.


Once out of the sun, what are the recommendations for dealing with the after effects and minimizing damage?
The best solution would to apply a concentrated anti-oxidant to ward off the oxidative stress from sun exposure as well as to hydrate the skin with hyaluronic acid to re-balance the hydration levels in the skin as they are depleted by the heat of the sun. Anti-oxidants are critical to fight the free-radical damage that occurs within the skin when exposed to the environment. Free radicals are highly responsible for speeding up the aging process and causing the skin to look prematurely aged. The ClarityRx Red Tea Antioxidant serum, derived from the rooibos plant, is ideal as it contains 50% more antioxidant abilities than green or white tea. This hyalronic-based anti-oxidant serum also hyper-hydrates the skin simultaneously. Perfect for all skin types following any environmental exposure!


Any specific product recommendations for dealing with the effects of hot, sweaty summer skin and pore clogging sunscreens?
ClarityRx Take Your Vitamin Spray For Thirsty Skin is ideal to cool, soothe and eliminate redness as it contains a cocktail of over 70 vitamins and minerals including colloidal minerals such as gold, copper, magnesium and cobalt to act as strong anti-inflammatory agents, also relieving redness and irritation from the heat. My advice is to find a sunscreen like ClarityRx Skin DefenseSPF30 that doesn’t clog pores. It is difficult to fight the effects of comedogenic (pore-clogging) products when used daily. This can lead to unwanted acne breakouts as well.



Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa