What an amazing summer we are having! At the time I am writing this we are looking at another lovely week of sunshine. Such a treat. It is important though that we remember to look after our skin this summer - during hot weather like this our skin can easily be neglected. Here are a few tips for easy natural summer skin care. Firstly, if you are outside a lot and are applying layer upon layer of sun-cream make sure to do a deep cleanse every few days as your pores can easily become clogged which can lead to complications. A gentle scrub is perfect for this, for example Dr Hauschka’s Cleansing Cream which is made from ground almonds and when mixed with a little water forms a soft paste that will gently de-clog your pores and leave your skin radiant and grime-free. And a good all body scrub is the Salt Scrub from Dead Sea Magik - use it in the bath or shower to get rid of dirt and sun cream and give your skin a silky glow. All you will need to finish is a little Rose Body Oil from Dr Hauschka...Heaven! Most skincare companies advise cleanse-tone-moisturise, and certainly during this glorious weather my toner is getting good use! It is another Dr hauschka product, a rosewater spray, and I have one in the bathroom, one in the car, one on my desk, and one downstairs at the counter for all the staff to use regularly. Hopefully our skin is looking fresh and glowing! Most of us are using a moisturiser with an SPF factor these days. My favourite is by Green People, it is a daily use moisturiser with SPF 15 which is enough for your face unless you are planning a day at the beach (in which case I would take it with me and reapply). Generally, high factor creams mean lots of chemicals (the highest organic/natural factor is 25 but this actually gives 97% protection) so I tend to avoid them; the best way to avoid sunburn is to cover up, wear hats/long sleeves, and be respectful of your skin. I have one child with white skin and one who tans, and I take care of them accordingly! If you go get too much skin, Aloe Vera is the most natural choice, you can add it to a bath as well as using it as an aftersun. We have one with tea tree oil in it which is great if you have heat rash or lots of bug bites as the antiseptic nature of Tea Tree comes in very handy. I would always look for a pure Aloe Gel with 99.9% Aloe gel rather than a gel that has had lots of additives, as some brands can be pure chemicals rather than pure aloe! With all the BBQ’s coming out at this time of year burns are all too common. If you are treating a burn at home, the first step is to cool the skin with cool or lukewarm water (whichever feels better) for up to 30 minutes. Do not apply any creams at this stage particularly not anything oily. Once the burn has cooled, and if you are sure it does not require medical attention, there are a number of alternatives for treatment: Honey is excellent for preventing scars, infections, and speeding up healing. Any good quality honey will do but for a bad burn I would use manuka for the added antibacterial qualities. The advice is to spread the honey thickly over the burn or, if you are using a dressing, apply to the dressing first. Comvita make a Manuka Honey in a tube which makes it sterile and easy to apply to burns and wounds. Lavender oil is very cooling for burns and has good antibacterial qualities. Aloe Vera Gel is also excellent particularly for sunburn but also for any minor burn. We have Australian papaya ointment in Organico and this is also great to have in your first aid kit - rashes, burns and all kinds of skin irritations are soothed and healed. In Australia this is a cult product for everything from nappy rash to dry skin! If someone is badly burnt give them a zinc supplement for a month or 2; it helps with skin healing and regeneration. Active Colloidal SIlver can be used topically on burns to prevent infection. It's used in many medical burn gels and also in a range of plasters which are sold as having antibacterial properties. It's very handy if you have it in your First Aid Kit in this 100mls Spray form We will be taking bookings soon for Dr Hauschka mini-facials in October so if you are interested let us know - places are very limited. And if you are going away this summer come and have a look at our range of Dr Hauschka Travel Sizes - they are excellent value and we have a buy one get the second half price offer!