How To Reboot Your Skin After Vacation

The summer months are the perfect time to take that much-needed vacation. The warm weather. The Caipirinhas by the pool. And while you might come home rested and refilled, your skin is another story. Typically after long flights, continuous hours in the sun and perhaps even a couple more drinks than you usually indulge in, your skin is starving for attention.

Josie Feria, Director of Operations at Lapis Spa at Fontainebleau Miami Beach, has some tips that she practices at her spa and recommends you do once home to revitalize your skin.

Dry Brush
To get rid of toxins built up in the skin and body and to buff away dry skin, dry brushing is a great way to detox. It stimulates the body’s circulation and lymphatic systems and can even improve digestion and kidney function. To do this make long, sweeping brush strokes all over your body towards your heart. You always want to brush toward the heart because that is the way the lymph flows naturally.

Take a Bath
Add 1 cup of Epsom salt and 1 cup of baking soda to warm bath water to detoxify. Alternatively, add 10 drops of ginger essential oil to warm bath water and soak for at least 20 minutes. Post bath, wrap your body in a blanket and your head in a towel so as to induce further perspiration to aid in detoxification.

Exfoliate
Achievethe same great results from dry brushing on your face using an exfoliating cleanser. You can buff away dry and dead skin while enhancing blood flow, leaving your face smooth and radiant. For an easy DIY overall body exfoliant, combine coconut oil with sea or rock salt and gently rub over body in circular strokes. For sensitive skin, mix with sugar instead.

Moisturize
One of the most noticeable side effects of too much sun and alcohol is dehydration, so make sure to replenish your skin with nourishing lotion. To make your own refreshing and hydrating face moisturizer, melt 3 tablespoons of mango butter and mix with 1 tablespoon of almond oil or jojoba oil. Blend thoroughly and refrigerate until it sets and apply to skin while still cool.

Hydrate
Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day to counteract the dehydrating effects of vacation. For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, drink 60 ounces of water per day, she says. Also, squeeze an entire lemon into 8 ounces of tepid water to create a strong diuretic that will aid in flushing out toxins from your system.