In the Summer spirit, we turned to skin care expert Jean-Pierre Mastey—president of Los Angeles-based, men’s grooming line Baxter of California—for some end-of-season skincare tips.

What is a summer must-have for good skin?

The most important product is sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays—the rays that cost premature aging, skin cancer and painful sunburns.

Don’t forget to put some sunscreen on your hair and scalp—especially if you dye your hair. Not only will the sun strip the color and burn your scalp, but the sun can actually burn the hair itself and change its texture. After you apply sunscreen to your body, just run your fingers through your hair with the extra lotion left on your hands.

What SPF level will save us from the sun? I still get burned even though I put on sunscreen before hitting the beach.

The American Cancer Society recommends using a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. More important than the number is the frequency of application. It’s a misconception that people put it on once and you’re good to go for a day in the sun. If you’re swimming at the beach or sweating a lot, apply it every hour. Otherwise, you can apply it every two to three hours.

What if I look better with a tan? Tan lines can be quite sexy.

A spray tan or a tan that comes out of a tube is the only safe way to tan. It’s amazing how much damage the sun can do to your skin. It can cause premature aging like causing ages spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and that rough, leathery look.

I break out a lot during the summer. I feel like I’m going through a second puberty. What am I doing wrong?

Most men have oily skin and during the summer months, the heat and humidity will cause your body to create excess oil and sweat. With the oil slick on your face, all the dirt and oil will cause breakouts, and blemishes. I recommend washing your face a few times a day with a gentle cleanser.

In addition to washing my face in the morning and at night, I like to wash before and after the gym. If I can’t make it to my house to wash my face before the gym, I’ll use a gentle, alcohol-free toner instead. But don’t use any harsh cleansers or your skin will pump out more oil and worsen your skin problems. Keeping your skin clean is the best way to steer clear of breakouts. Using a scrub or a clay mask once or twice a week can also help keep your skin under control.

What about mattifying lotions and blotting tissues for mopping up the oil? Are they any good?

Those are more aesthetic fixes than real skin care solutions, but they do work for those times that you need to make a good impression and you are away from home.

Does skin have different needs during the summer than during the winter months? It seems to act out like a troublesome teen during the warm months.

Yes. In the summer, your skin is oilier and you sweat more, but in the winter, your skin tends to be dryer. So, when its hot, you’ll want to use a light, oil-free moisturizer with sunscreen instead of the thicker, balm-like creams that are too heavy. Save those for the winter.

So how do you get a full 30 days?

— Don’t exfoliate. It will shed your tan faster than anything else.
— Keep your skin moisturized. Moist skin is happy skin. It won’t necessarily slow your exfoliation, but it will prevent your skin from drying out and flaking.
— If you want to go longer than 30 days but don’t trust tanning bulbs, a sunless tanner is the only safe way to go.

Read the full story after the jump!

Avoiding Goodbyes to the Summer Tan

By NICK BURNS
Published in the NY Times: September 7, 2006

LIVING in Tacoma, Wash., Donna Villa might be forgiven for seeking a perpetual tan.

“I think that I look healthier with color in my skin and when I don’t tan, I almost look sickly,” she said. “If I lived in an area with less rain, I might not be such a fanatic about tanning.”

Ms. Villa, 45, who runs a skin-care clinic in Tacoma, is aware of the risks. While she spends her summer weekends lying by the pool, she makes sure to wear SPF 44 sunscreen. Once summer is over, though, she heads to indoor tanning salons, hoping to keep her tan lines fresh.

A tan, without further exposure to sun or tanning bulbs, can last only about 30 days, said Dr. Thomas Kupper, chairman of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He said it takes about one month for the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, to renew itself by shedding old skin cells and replenishing them with fresh ones.

That has not stopped some companies from marketing products they say can extend the life of your tan, part of the estimated $534 million market in 2006 for sun products, according to Mintel, a market research company that tracks cosmetics.

Some products, like California Tan’s Total Immersion Tan Extender, add copper peptides or tyrosine, which companies say play vital roles in the synthesis of melanin. Dr. Ezra Kest, a cosmetic dermatologist in Los Angeles, is skeptical. “I haven’t seen any clinical research about applying tyrosine or copper topically to extend a tan,” he said, “and I’m not sure that it makes any difference.”

Other products are developed with the idea that keeping skin moisturized and healthy will slow the natural exfoliation process. And many rely on self-tanning additives like dihydroxyacetone (DHA) or erythrulose.

Dr. Kest said exfoliating speeds up the fading process. If moisturizing helps, it’s not for very long. Dr. Kupper says the only safe way to prolong your tan is by using sunless tanners containing DHA. “As far as we know, there are no ill effects with sunless tanning,” he said. “But self tanners don’t make you resistant to sunburn, so remember to wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen.” NICK BURNS

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