Countdown to summer
Easy steps taken now will prevent a last-minute panic when summer kicks in
Start scrubbing
Use a body scrub, coarse sea salt mixed with olive oil or a friction mitt twice a week. Work the legs using upwards pressure, then do arms, tummy, chest and back. You will achieve smooth, glowing skin and circulation will be increased. Regular, gentle scrubbing not only gives you great body skin, it actually tones and trims the body!
Try: Korres or Body Shop scrubs
Condition your skin
After scrubbing, apply body lotion or natural oil all over to feed and hydrate the skin. This will enable your skin to be better prepared for the onslaught of all that hot sun. On days between scrubbing, you can just moisturise legs and arms, which are the areas more often exposed. Don’t forget feet, cuticles and the very tops of arms.
Try: Korres Body Milks or Santangelica Elasty-Med
Start exercising
If you don’t have an exercise or gym routine, or are a busy parent, make the effort to introduce some form of exercise into your schedule, even if it is just a 45 minute brisk walk three times a week. Swimming, cycling or any form of exercise that you enjoy, even if it is only twice a week, will gradually trim and tone flabby muscles and prevent that inevitable panic which many of us experience around the end of May!
Easy hair
If you are lucky enough to have naturally straight and/or fine hair, you can get away with a shorter cut or layers in your hair, without the worry of suffering from the dreaded frizz in hot, damp weather. For the rest of us, with wavy, curly and/or coarser hair, it’s usually easier to let hair grow a little by the summer time, as the weight of slightly longer layers tends to help minimise the electric shock look that is the result of humidity, post swimming or perspiring. Get a trim now and let it grow a little in time for summer. It will be easier for you to slick it back with some hair protector and clip it back during hot, sticky weather or beach visits.
Try: Halo Hairdressing: 24 669696. Hair@hennessey’s 25 814618. Niki’s Hairworks 22 334810
Nails
Nails are easy, as long painted nails are not de-rigeur anymore, although we seem to be in a bit of a time warp in Cyprus! Keep nails fairly short and condition them by rubbing any natural vegetable oil, such as olive, wheatgerm or rosehip mixed with almond oil, avocado into cuticles every night and if possible after showering. For very dry and battered cuticles, pierce a Vitamin E capsule and use this instead. By summer, nails will be pink and healthy and you can treat yourself to a manicure and a pretty paint job.
Try: Essie Nail Oil, Creative Solar Oil or Dior Cr?me Abricot
Spots, scars and blemishes
Individuals who suffer from spots on the back, shoulders, legs or face may scratch or pick at them, which results in unsightly marks or brown scars. To really improve and fade scarring on body, see step one above. Performing regular but gentle body scrubs will achieve minor miracles, but do not scrub too aggressively, especially over very bumpy, large, red or open spots. Doing the above should actually prevent so many pimples coming up in the first place. Use a very light, water-based lotion after showering to moisturise only drier areas.
For the face, by far the most effective treatment is a gentle ‘Hydradermie’ facial by Guinot, which uses well-known galvanic current to fade and refine marks and scars. Galvanic current was originally utilised by doctors to treat scarring.
Try: Body & Soul Beauty Salon: 24 665640. The Facewizz: Nicosia, 99548338. RKS: 26 961235. Andria Panayiotou: 25 745746
Practice protection
Get into the habit of using a sunscreen on the face and neck from early spring. If you have an oily complexion or tend to get spots, use a drier formulation. Using foundation gives added protection against UV rays. Add a little mascara, a natural cheek and lip stain in berry tones and you have a fresh, healthy and protected face in five minutes flat!
Try: Clinique City Block. Avene Suncare
