Trending Beauty (What’s New, What Works)
Photo: Wesley Tingey/Unsplash
By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS
It’s hard to tell what kind of weather to expect from day to day during the summer in Mexico.
Sure, during a sunny day, the temperature can easily hit the higher 90s spectrum, especially outside the capital and at beach resorts.
It can be hard to know how to dress during Mexico’s hot-one-minute-cold-the-next summer weather. Photo: Who What Wear
But then a sudden downpour — it is, after all, the rainy season — can make you want to grab a jacket and bundle up against the cold.
Still, while the temperature may fluctuate drastically in just one 24-hour period, the fact remains that, as a whole, Mexico is a place where extreme cold and extreme heat don’t normal exist.
The best way to prepare yourself for Mexico’s contradictory summer weather is to wear layers and treat your skin as if it were undergoing seasonal changes every day.
Here are some tips to help you through the country’s topsy-turvy, sometimes-cold-sometimes-hot summer season.
Photo: Regina Dondé
Go Native
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and when in Mexico, dress like the Maya. Mexico’s indigenous communities have been dealing with the country’s temperamental weather for centuries, so they definitely know how to handle its all-the-seasons-in-one-day summers.
Mexican designer Regina Dondé has drawn on the rich colors and textures of the Maya people in her latest collection, Xiyo, adding sparks of patterns from Rajasthan and the exuberance of the Valle de Bravo forest.
Xiyo is an audacious fusion of textures, shapes and colors that brings melds pre-Hispanic and Asians cultures in a harmonious ménage of freshness and tradition, combining Maya compositions with Rajasthani fabrics in a mosaic of hues and patterns.
Photo: Regina Dondé
Her iconoclastic gowns reflect a universal passion that assimilates Huichol dreams into Moroccan desert ink.
Many of the garments in Dondé’s new collection have hand-embroidered segments produced by Maya artisans based on the motifs of their traditional huipils, worn for generations by women in the southeast of Mexico.
Shun the Sun
No matter what the season, sunscreen should be a part of your daily routine, slathered on generously every morning and replenished through the day (at least every four hours) to ensure protection against the sun’s potentially dangerous UVA and UVB rays.
Photo: Google
And just because it’s raining outside or cloudy doesn’t mean you can forego using protection.
Solar rays penetrate even the darkest clouds, and for those living in Mexico City, the danger of premature aging (and skin cancer) is even more serious because while it may seem cool outside, the capital’s high altitude means that you are all that much closer to the sun and the damage it can do to your skin.
And since children tend to spend more time outside than adults, especially during summer months, it is important to keep them protected.
Photo: Deposit Photos
In fact, when it comes to excessive sun exposure, kids are at particular risk, because a full 70 percent of the radiation a person is exposed to during their lifetime occurs during the first 18 years of life. Even a mild sunburn in childhood doubles the risk for melanoma – the deadliest of all skin cancers – later in life.
And skin cancer is the most common type of cancer worldwide, and, according to statistics from the National Social Security Institute (IMSS), the incidence of the disease in Mexico has increased from just 2 percent to a whopping 13 percent in just the last decade.
Banana Boat’s pediatrician tested Kids Sport is a tear-free, sting-free sunscreen with patented PowerStay technology that provides heavy duty protection that stays on strong during heightened activities.
Photo: Banana Boat
Available in both lotion and spray, Kids Sport, is gentle enough for even sensitive skin. and provides safe and effective FPR 50 broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection. Its lightweight, quick absorbing texture that won’t run into eyes, and its water-resistant formula stays put for up to 80 minutes in pools and ocean.
Moreover, Kids Sport is reef-friendly, made without oxybenzone or octinoxate, and is recommended by the International Skin Cancer Foundation to protect children against the sun’s harmful rays.
There is also a Banana Boat Baby sunscreen to use on children under age 6.
Remember to reapply children’s sun screen every two hours, since they tend to be more active and perspire more than adults.
The Skin Below Your Chin
It used to be that neck creams were something reserved for women over 40, but not any more.
Photo: Deposit Photos
Women of all ages are waking up to the fact that the neck is one of the first places to show signs of aging, including loss of elasticity, fine lines, irregular texture, spots and discoloration
So whatever your age, now is a good time to expand your skincare routine beyond your chin and show your neck some love.
The skin on your neck and décolleté is different from the skin on your face. It has less fatty tissue and collage, as well as with fewer oil glands, and that makes it more prone to loose, sagging skin and chronic dryness.
Photo: Sisley
Also, the muscles in the neck are less resilient than those in the face, so are we age, we lose contours.
That is why neck creams have targeted formulas help tighten and firm this fragile skin while lifting it for a more youthful appearance.
The oat seed creates an elastic film on the surface of the skin for an immediate, temporary lifting. The combination of extracts of rhatany and lady’s mantle, with astringent properties, helps to reinforce this tightening effect.
This tightening action is reinforced by soy fiber extract that visibly improves firmness and skin tone. It is combined with vitamin E acetate to protect from oxidative stress.
Then, a powerful cocktail of long-term refining ingredients, including the caffeine, red algae and horse chestnut, visibly smooth under the chin.
Shea butter, plant-based glycerin, sunflower oil and D-panthenol provide hydration and nutrition for softer skin.