Beauty

Why you should protect your lips from the sun and other skin tips from the expert

woman looking in the mirror with a towel on her head

The legs come out of the packaging, the floral dresses out of the closet, and the nose needs to be in the sun. But before you lay yourself on that sunbed to take in some vitamins, we first consult skin expert Annelijn van Ierland from Skin Kliniek, because what should we do and especially what should we not do?

1. SPF it up. March is the month when the UV index starts to rise, which is usually lower in winter. In winter, you also need SPF, but now you prefer to apply factor 30. Use the sun protection over your day cream. You can quickly get a sunburned skin now, as your face sees the sun again for the first time.

2. Goodbye to that dull winter skin. Book a mild peel or combine it with a laser treatment. A peel dissolves the layer of dead skin cells and goes, depending on which peel you get, from superficial to deep in the skin. A peel that works a bit deeper can still be done now; from May/June, you should take a milder one. The peel immediately ensures that the skin shines again, retains moisture better, and slows down aging. Oh, good to know: you’d rather not book this treatment just before your sun holiday.

3. If you suffer from red veins, then laser treatment works. After winter, you see the red veins more often. The treatment works very specifically: each laser has a different purpose in the skin. It’s no more than one color of light, but at such a specific wavelength, like the 1064 Nd:YAG laser, which works very targeted because only the blood vessels absorb the heat.

4. Go outside. But do apply SPF. Your skin is still a bit in a winter dip; by enjoying the nice weather and relaxing, the skin de-stresses.

5. Don’t forget your lips. If you’ve applied cream to your face, you have burned lips. That’s not the intention, of course. Therefore, use a lip balm with SPF.

6. At the last minute, let’s debunk a myth. It really doesn’t help if you drink three liters of water instead of two to hydrate your dry skin, but the opposite does help: if you drink too little water, your skin becomes dry. Yes, it’s deceptive.