Summer Products to Skip

A few weeks ago, I gave you a few of my must-have products for summer. Alas, there can be no light side without a dark side, and so I must also warn you against some of summer’s problem products. But hey, I could only think of four of them, so they’ll be easy to remember.

Sun activated hair lighteners. There are a couple reasons to leave this stuff alone. The biggest is that they’re very drying and don’t have any conditioners to counteract it. They leave the hair shaft open and exposed, making it easily susceptible to damage. They also don’t work unless you you have blonde to medium brown hair to start with - try using it on dark hair and you’ll either get no effect at all, or brassy orange tones. And even if your hair is light enough for it to work, the haphazard spraying makes for weird streaks, not natural (or even intentional) looking highlights. I don’t recommend any DIY hair color, really, but you’re better off with a box kit than with this junk.

Waxy lip balms. I know, I know. You are hopelessly devoted to your Chapstick. You can’t live without it. You know why you feel like you need it all the time? Because it isn’t actually helping. It might even be making your lips dryer. Most waxy balms are designed to act as a barrier, not hydrate. And many of them contain ingredients like phenol, menthol, or salicylic acid that are added to slough off dead skin cells, but don’t stop there and dry out the living tissue, too. Look for lip conditioners that list some sort of moisturizer (preferably natural oils) in the first three ingredients (BEFORE wax or parabens), and skip anything with added fragrance or any of the exfoliants mentioned above.

Lip plumpers. While we’re on the subject of abusing your poor, put upon pouter, let’s talk about how applying any lip plumping cosmetic is basically intentionally causing contact dermatitis. They work by using known irritants that cause swelling and redness. Just because it looks pretty when it’s your lips that are red and swollen doesn’t mean that it’s any better for you than an ugly rash somewhere else. That tingling, burning sensation? It means that stuff is bad for your skin and you should not put it on your face.

Organic sunscreens WITHOUT zinc oxide. Fish soaking up hormones from your sunscreen may well be a legitimate problem, but so is skin cancer. And the only organic ingredient that will actually prevent it is zinc oxide, which will always leave a white residue on your skin. That’s how it works - by physically reflecting the UV light away from your skin. If you’re using organic sunscreen and your skin does not have a visibly white cast, you are not protected. Period. You can either deal with looking like Casper for the sake of the fish, take your chances with cancer, or swim in a pool and use conventional sunblock. Those are your only options. Sorry, vain nature lovers.