[Dermatologist] What Has Changed in Your Skin After Summer Ends?

Hello,

I am Kang In-jeong, the director of The River Dermatology.

Today, after spending the unbearably hot month of August, I would like to talk about ways to help heat-stressed skin recover in a healthier way.

After summer ends, many people come in saying:

“Somehow, my skin looks dull.”

“It feels like it has lost its firmness.”

In fact, during summer, a wide variety of changes take place beneath the skin due to ultraviolet rays and high temperatures and humidity.

Strong ultraviolet rays not only increase melanin production, making melasma and dark spots more pronounced, but can also affect the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the dermis, which may lead to reduced skin elasticity and wrinkles.

In addition, high temperatures and humidity increase sweat and sebum production, which can clog pores. Heat-related damage to the skin barrier can also create an environment where various types of skin inflammation and dermatitis develop more easily.

Damaged skin does recover to some extent on its own as the seasons change. However, the skin’s ability to recover declines with aging, making it increasingly difficult to return to the condition it was in before.

Therefore, it is important to check your skin’s condition and help it recover before too much time passes.

Why is your skin oily on the surface but dry underneath?

During summer, many people find that their faces look shiny because sweat and sebum production increase, so they often think they have oily skin.

However, especially among women, it is often not simply a matter of having oily skin. Many instead have what is commonly described as “inner dryness”—skin that looks oily on the surface but is dry underneath.

If you believe you have oily skin and repeatedly wash your face very thoroughly or use highly cleansing products to reduce sebum production, remember that the surface of our skin contains not only sebum but also natural moisturizing components and a lipid layer that protect the skin. Excessive cleansing can remove these protective layers as well, weakening the skin barrier.

When the skin barrier is damaged, moisture inside the skin evaporates more easily, and the skin becomes more sensitive to external irritation. As a result, the skin may become red or feel tight more easily, and acne or dermatitis may worsen in some cases.

Therefore, the goal of summer skincare should not be limited to removing surface oiliness.

In summer cleansing, the method is more important than the number of times you cleanse.

After going outside, it is important to sufficiently remove impurities and sunscreen remaining on the skin so they do not clog the pores. However, I always tell people that cleansing as though they are trying to remove every last trace of makeup can irritate the skin.

Use cleansing oil briefly on the T-zone, where sebum production is high. For the relatively dry or sensitive U-zone, use a gentle product such as a milk cleanser. Then, finish with a mildly acidic, low-irritation cleanser. This allows you to cleanse sufficiently while protecting the skin barrier.

Why does your skin look dull after a vacation? It is not only because of pigmentation.

Many people look in the mirror after returning from a summer vacation and feel that their skin looks duller and less vibrant than usual.

Most assume this is simply because their skin has tanned or their melasma has become darker. However, in many cases, photoaging—skin aging caused by ultraviolet rays—is also taking place beneath the skin.

Ultraviolet rays increase melanin production in the skin and may also gradually promote the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the dermis.

These changes accumulate little by little through repeated exposure to ultraviolet rays.

Immediately after a vacation, you may mainly notice that your skin tone has become darker. Over time, however, changes such as fine lines, reduced elasticity, and the appearance of enlarged pores may also emerge.

Therefore, when you visit a dermatology clinic for skincare after summer has passed and autumn arrives, I may recommend care and treatments that consider both pigmentation and elasticity as needed, including skin booster treatments that help restore the skin barrier and create an environment in which the skin can regenerate on its own. :)

Summer skin shows its results in autumn.

Many people may wonder whether their skin will recover on its own after summer ends.

However, as mentioned earlier, just as the skin-regeneration abilities of infants and young children differ from those of middle-aged, older, and elderly people, the skin’s ability to recover continues to decline as our bodies age.

That is why many people come in saying that their skin did not used to be this way, but now it marks more easily and its elasticity seems to be gradually declining compared with before.

That is why I consider autumn the “season for restoring your skin.”

How well the accumulated skin damage from summer is repaired, rather than simply carried forward, can become an important turning point that raises the baseline of your skin’s condition going forward.

If you can relate to what I have discussed, I recommend visiting a nearby dermatology clinic to have your skin checked and discuss care and treatments suited to your skin’s condition. :)

(It would be even better if you came to The River Dermatology. Just whispering, haha.)