Summertime means summer shine

Its late summer in the Northern Hemisphere and your skin is gushing like a West Texas oil well. "Any complexion, not just oily or combination skin can get much oilier during the summer," says Dr. Debra Wattenberg, a dermatologist at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. "Your skin takes a summer vacation, too."

"Heat jump-starts your oil glands, but the real culprit is summertime humidity," says Dr. Wattenberg. "It causes skin's natural moisture and perspiration to evaporate more slowly, leaving more oil on top."

Add this to the fact that skin sheds its topmost cells more sluggishly in hot weather, and your skin not only looks duller and greasier, it is. "In the summer, pores get clogged with oil and dead skin cells," says Shirley Weinstein, vice president of product development at Critique. "Gentle exfoliates, whether in rub-on slaughters or in night creams, help normalize skin by gently peeling off oily outer layers and encouraging natural cell renewal." These cutting-edge products, such as Avon Anew Perfecting Complex, Esteem Lauder Fruition Extra, and Critique’s Turnaround line, contain mild alpha-hydroxyl or salicylic acids to smooth skin.

Dr. Wattenberg prescribes oil-free and oil-blotting skincare products for the greasy months. "Moisturizing oily skin is overkill," she says. "But if you feel uncomfortable going without it, try an oil-free moisturizing gel, and use an oil-free facial sun block."

New York City complexion specialist Ling Chan adds, "The worst thing for summer skin is strong, alcohol-based toners and astringents. They might feel refreshing as they strip off surface oils, but your skin will overcompensate by producing even more oil. During summer's oily season, you must pamper your skin, but delicately," she says. "Your face should always think its spring.