Monsoon Skincare Tips from Dr Snehal

Dr Snehal Sriram (MD), Kaya Skin Clinic shares a few tips on taking care of your skin this monsoon:

Summer is the season for growth - our skin cell turnover increases; this leads to piling up of dead layers of skin by the time monsoon begins. Also, the UV rays that harm the skin are invisible but do penetrate the clouds and harm the skin. Without right skin care, our skin starts looking dull and lifeless in the monsoon. Acidic water adds to our woes and hair tends to get rough and frizzy.

Skincare:
- Cleanse your skin daily using a soap free cleanser. Also make use of a gentle scrub (with uniform mild beads) once a day to get rid of dead cells.
- Cleansing should be followed by toning using an alcohol free toner, since increased humidity could open up your pores
- Use a sunscreen even on a cloudy day since the harmful UV radiations are capable of penetrating the clouds
- Use a light lotion based moisturizer or serum with a lightening agent as well as lactic acid – this will gently rehydrate your skin and also brighten it up
- Avoid heavy makeup and use waterproof make up when necessary
- Remember to nourish your skin - eat salads blanched in boiling water to disinfect them. Vegetable soup, consumed regularly, will also keep you warm and healthy.
- Just because it is raining, don’t reduce consumption of water. Drink your usual 8-10 glasses of water. Your skin is always thirstier than you are!

Care of Feet

- Effective cleansing of feet is very important as they would be exposed to lot of grime and muck
- Do not forget to completely dry your feet so as to prevent fungal infections
- Avoid wearing boots as these would hold water for longer duration sogging your feet
- Effective cleansing of the inside of your nails using orange stick dipped in hydrogen-peroxide would help prevent nail infections
- Home pedicure should be done once a week. It would consist of soaking feet in warm water to which you can add 3-4 drops of Savlon, for 15-20 minutes, followed by cleansing the inside of the nails with orange stick dipped in hydrogen peroxide and scrubbing the feet with foot scrapper. Complete the pedicure by applying light glycerine based moisturizer.
- When you go for pedicure to a beautician, ensure that the instruments used are sterilized/ cleansed with disinfectants. If possible use your personal instruments. Also instruct your beautician to avoid pushing of the cuticles as toe nail fungal infections are very common in monsoons.
(Guest Post)

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