Summer is here in full swing! Cookouts, swimming at the lake, and spending lots of time outdoors and in the sun can be fun, but they can also do a number on your skin. If you are in the know about the day-to-day steps for great skin, especially in the morning, you will come out glowing no matter how hot the weather gets!

How Your Skin Behaves in Summer

Each season presents the skin with challenges. Of course, summer days mean increasing sun exposure as well as exposure to other problematic substances such as seasonal allergens, higher air pollution levels, and halide contaminants from pools and jacuzzis. All this can not only wreak havoc internally, but also make your skin dry, irritated, and inflamed (not to mention sunburned).

This is why it is important to pay attention to the “state of our skin” and set it up for success, especially as we age. (1) During the long days of summer, this also means “keeping things light” on the surface while hydrating, eating right, getting enough sleep, and taking care of our internal environment so that our body remains healthy on the inside and on the surface as well!

Why Morning Exercise?

Summer can mean lots of time “out and about” and long days with a myriad of external activities stacked up one after the other until the sun goes down and even beyond. If you want to keep your skin vibrant and young-looking amidst all the summer fun, the name of the game is balance. This means a balance in just about everything– activity and rest, excursion and relaxation, going out on the town (ahhh those summer nights!) and going to bed early, eating all the summer goodies at the potluck and sticking to your guns, being out in full sun and sitting it out in the shade, and so on. The ways in which we get to practice balance this time of year are endless!

However, at the end of the day, balance begins first thing in the morning. In the height of summer, early morning is the best time to get up and go outside. The daylight hours before 10 a.m. are the coolest part of the day. In addition, the UV rays of the sun are not as strong in the early morning as in late morning, mid-afternoon, or even late afternoon.

So, how can we best take advantage of these precious hours of coolness? Here is my advice. First of all, get up early (which often means getting to bed early as well, which is the topic for this article. Once you have done all your morning “essentials” and before you officially start your day, take advantage of the cool of the day and go outside, move your body, and be in nature! This may mean doing some light stretching on your back porch, enjoying a brisk walk around your neighborhood, taking a light hike on a nature trail, getting your hands dirty with a little gardening, or going for a full workout in the form of a run or a cycle at a nearby park.

Can moving your body first thing in the morning really help your skin? You bet, and for several reasons. Morning exercise stabilizes blood pressure, blood glucose, mood, appetite, and many other metabolic functions for the rest of the day. This translates into more life-giving oxygen, circulation, nutrient absorption, and overall vitality for healthy skin as well.

It also means better decision-making when it comes to what you eat and drink for the rest of the day (and a healthy diet is key for healthy skin). Research has found that exercise can regulate appetite-stimulating hormones by reducing ghrelin, also called the “hunger hormone,” and increasing hormonal substances related to satiety. In addition, a study conducted at Brigham Young University in 2012 on normal-weight and overweight women found that when they exercised for 45 minutes first thing in the morning, they responded less to food cues (as opposed to how they responded on the days when they did not work out). (2)

There is just no way around it: a healthy body translates into healthy skin. And a healthy body can only happen through the right diet, a healthy lifestyle, and regular exercise, especially first thing in the morning!

Start Your Day Right with CHARLíS

Once you have invigorated your body and are getting ready for the day, don’t forget to lightly cleanse, invigorate, protect, and moisturize your face and neck with CHARLíS and this four-step process:

#1 Lightly cleanse with CHARLíS Daily Face Cleanser. Canadian Willow herb and aloe vera in this signature formula lower inflammation for sensitive skin, while beta-glucans derived from oats and two kinds of organic citrus essential oils provide moisture locking, antimicrobial benefits, and cell renewal at the deepest levels.

#2 Next, apply a tiny amount of CHARLíS Anti-Aging Nourishing Toner around your face and neck. This can provide next-level cleansing, pH balancing, barrier repair, and light exfoliation without any harshness whatsoever (so it is totally safe for sensitive skin). The Nourishing Anti-Aging Toner also contains some very unique ingredients, including Alpine Rose, which has been shown to remove senescent skin cells. According to a 2021 UK study, “cellular senescence is the 'primary aging process at the cellular level.” (3) Alpine Rose (aka Rhododendron) has also been shown to stimulate collagen production. The CHARLíS Nourishing Anti-Aging Toner is safe to use every day after cleansing (morning and night) or intermittently as your unique summer routine allows.

#3 Third, revitalize, renew, and oxygenate with CHARLíS Breath of Life Oxygen Serum. According to the Center for Science Education, summer heat waves can negatively affect air quality as well as ground-level ozone in urban environments and surrounding areas. (4) This one-of-a-kind serum contains several organic ingredients meant to protect your skin against stressors of all kinds, including those that come from the outside environment. Apple stem cells can boost the production of human stem cells as well as protect them from stress. The super antioxidant Ubiquinone, also known as CoQ10, can energize skin while providing strong internal protection against the harmful rays of the sun.

#4 And as the final important touch, apply a small amount of the CHARLíS Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer to your whole face as well as any external areas that need extra soothing. The CHARLíS Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer is our most popular product in large part because it is so versatile. Its zesty, uplifting citrus scent is appealing (and mood-lifting) for both men and women. But that is not all. The signature formula contains organic Theobroma grandiflorum seed butters, which are a great vegan alternative to lanolin and are known for their benefit for dry, damaged skin. It also contains non-greasy organic perilla ocymoides seed oil, a solid source of skin-healing omega 3 fatty acids, which can prevent free radical damage caused by UV light overexposure as well as encourage new cell growth to curb premature aging. The CHARLíS Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer is light enough to apply throughout the day if needed, yet powerful enough to encourage your skin’s own moisture-retention mechanisms.

Stick to a Morning Routine This Summer and All Year Long

There you have it– the perfect morning routine for your perfect summer. Armed with CHARLíS, you can be ready for whatever the day has in store, whether that is the start of a family vacation, a day at the beach or lake, or a productive work day. What’s more, using CHARLíS’ organic, lab-tested, safe, natural, and powerful formulas ensures that, once you go out that door in the morning, you will have a sunny smile on your face, whatever the rest of your day looks like!

References:

1. AAD DRY SKIN: WHO GETS AND CAUSES
2. Neural response to pictures of food after exercise in normal-weight and obese women
3. How good is the evidence that cellular senescence causes skin aging?
4. How Weather Affects Air Quality