“Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty” … this wonderful old track speaks for all our skin when it’s exposed to summer pollution.
Summer is great, but especially in built up areas, it can create challenges for skin protection.
Many of us believe that most premature skin ageing is caused by UV rays. And it is true that sun-rays contribute to skin damage and even skin cancer, but it’s only part of the story.
Pollution is found to account for up to 80% of skin ageing - far more than sun exposure. A 2021 study found a 10 ppb (parts per billion) increase in daily ground-level ozone exposure during warm seasons increased both internal and external health damage hugely.
Cue a rising interest in recent years for anti-pollution skincare.
What are the Effects of Pollution on Skin?
Several globally respected institutes, including the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and WHO (The World Health Organisation) have shared significant research into the effects of environmental pollution on the skin.
Shockingly, all concluded that pollution is responsible for up to 80% of skin ageing. 90% of us live globally in an area that does not comply with WHO air quality guidelines. Levels of air pollutants are constantly increasing, causing major health and skin-related problems.
The environmental exposure leads to increased aggression on the skin’s protective mantle and signs of damage as a result are rapid (Valacchi et al., 2012).
By 2030 an estimated 92.2% of us will live or work in an urban environment.
When you couple these challenges with the best of what summer promises: outdoor living, lunches in the park, evenings in pub gardens. It results in increased exposure to traffic, sun exposure and environmental aggressors that harm the skin.
Which Pollutants Most Affect Skin?
Outdoors you may be exposed to soot, acid and microparticles from the burning of fossil fuels. You will face additional damage in warmer weather and pollen can be an aggressor too for many.
Indoors, your skin faces attacks from carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and VOCs. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds, which are created by:
Tobacco smoke
Paints
Varnishes
Air deodorizers
Candles
Cleaning products
Dust
Fungi
Pet allergens
The Harmful Effects of Urban Pollution on Your Skin in the Summer:
When attacked by pollutants, your skin’s hypersensitive bacterial balance, also called its ‘microbiome’ changes for the benefit of harmful bacteria.
It creates ‘reactive oxygen species’, which are not friendly, straining the skin's capacity to create enough antioxidants to fight back. This in turn causes stress at a cellular level.
The molecular structure of many pollutants is also far smaller than your skin’s pores, allowing them to be absorbed into the dermal layer and do much deeper damage.
Pollutants also also affect the skin’s ability to:
Produce the right amount of sebum – leading to over or underproduction and greasy or tight skin
Collagen synthesis – affecting the general strength and elasticity of your skin (hello fine lines)
PH and Lipids – damaged acid mantle, which leads to redness and sensitivity
The Signs Your Skin Damage is Caused by Urban Pollution:
Skin that is overexposed and under protected will show signs of:
- Inflammation
- Irritation
- Sensitivity
- Dry patches
- Increase in eczema
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Eczema
- Allergies
- Acne increase
Alongside that, the sun exposure from summer leads to discolouration, melasma, burn damage and redness.
Anti-Pollution Skincare - How to Enjoy your Summer City Time and Protect Your Skin
Anti-pollution skincare is more of a regime than a specific product. While some moisturisers do contain specific anti-pollution agents, simply applying a daily anti-pollution moisturiser won’t do. Cleansing plays an important role alongside toning and protective moisturiser.
Cleanse to Support Healthy Skin Cells and Remove Grime
Your skin can benefit from a daily double cleanse in the summer, especially at the end of the day when the city grime peaks. We love using our gentle but powerful Silk Touch Cleanser for a first step.
It melts off makeup, and gently removes all traces of pollution and grime from the skin, leaving it cleansed but not tight. It transforms on the skin from a balmy gel to a milk-like consistency which you rinse off.
From here, we’d advise a second cleanse with a wash or rinse. Lemon and Tea Tree are especially good for tackling skin that faces over production of oil, whereas if the signs ofageing are your concern, Creamy Coconut Cleanser is a better option.
Tone
You might not want to tone, but on hot, humid days a facial spritz is a godsend. Go beyond water though and choose a tonic with soothing anti-pollution ingredients (natural antioxidants) that add a layer of protection throughout the day as well as mitigating the impact of grime and dirt.
Rose is a particularly brilliant choice for anyone with rosacea, redness and sensitivity (and it smells beautiful). Rose water contains protective botanical nutrients that will get to work underneath your moisturiser.
Protect With Anti-Pollution Moisturiser
First up, don’t be tempted to constantly slather your skin in layers of oils and protectants. This is for 2 reasons:
i) A light moisturiser that is rich in natural antioxidants is far better anti-pollution skincare than a heavy petroleum or silicone-laden cream that clogs your pores. (Even if it does make wonderful pollution-zapping claims.)
ii) While a good sunscreen is important, if you apply too high a factor and all the time, you won’t produce enough vitamin D
Our bodies create vitamin D to help with calcium absorption and skin health, so it’s necessary to have at least 20 minutes in the daylight, preferably early in the day before the sun's rays are too strong, to remain healthy.
Odylique Sunscreen is SPF 30, which is ideal (the difference between 30 and 50 is minimal) and it offers a powerpack of skin-caring minerals and nine organic antioxidant botanicals for unique triple protection for face and body.
This allows your suncream to protect both from sun and environmental damage, without being too sticky or leaving heavy white residue.
The soothing herbs support heat damage and soothe reactivity but the skin can still breathe. It is independently tested and proven broad spectrum UVA and UVB, plus its powerful antioxidants help scavenge free radicals and counteract the damaging effects of the sun.
An Anti-Pollution Serum Treat
Every day throughout the summer, even if your skin is on the oily side, it can help to use a skin serum.
An anti-pollution serum should be stacked with natural antioxidants. By their nature, many of these will also be naturally prebiotic, giving the skin’s microbiome extra help to cope with pollution.
Avoid the synthetic antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) which are known skin allergens. They are rife in anti-pollution skincare.
Natural antioxidants come from multiple sources: Rosehip oil offers pro-age protection. Sea Buckthorn is ideal for cell-regeneration and shoring up the good bacteria on your skin whilst it protects itself.
Our organic superfruit face oil is a blend of super-strength 100%organic rosehip oil, sea buckthorn and pomegranate, giving a feast of antioxidant vitamins and nature’s miracle phytosterols. It helps target dry skin as well as all aspects of skin ageing.
*Research has demonstrated that organically grown fruit has significantly higher levels of polyphenols – the powerful antioxidants that help protect the skin against free radical damage – than non-organic.
Looking for more advice on anti-pollution skincare? Contact our organic skincare experts here >