Isn’t summer all about being carefree? It doesn’t seem fair that a person would have to spend too much time dealing with skin care in the summertime when life should be filled with swimming, hiking, gardening and a million other activities that are million times more fun than taking care of your skin.

Well, depending on what type of outdoor activities you go in for, there may or may not be a need to devote a lot of time to taking care of such a task.

People who enjoy swimming and tanning might find more need to treat their skin to some serious moisturizing. Swimming (especially in chlorinated pools) can irritate the skin and dry it out. It is a really good idea to rinse off well after you get out of the pool and then take a few minutes to apply a moisturizing body lotion before you get dressed. You may want to shop for one that is quite a bit lighter than the heavy types of body lotion you use in the wintertime.

Those who spend hours laying in the sun in search of the best tan they can manage will also want to look at using a good moisturizing body lotion to stave off the dry skin that can come from those harsh sun rays. Those people who still want that dark tan despite the risks may actually want to re-consider their tanning practices these days.

Of course, overexposure to the sun can be very harmful to the skin and any amount of sunburn is a health hazard. Anyone who is sensitive to the sun or is fair haired with light skin should take special precautions when exposing themselves to a lot of sun. Most people these days are more likely to be shopping for the best sunscreen available than they are for tanning lotions for lying unprotected in the sun for hours on end. This is a trend that is gaining popularity as the knowledge about how harmful the sun can be becomes better known.

A good sunscreen is an absolute necessity and the higher the number the better. Many people find that the very strongest sunscreen is needed on some spots such as their nose while they can get away with a smaller number on the rest of their face and body. Some very light skinned and easily burned people buy the children’s sunscreen because they find it to be the strongest, most effective type.

Besides sunscreen, most people find a need for a heavy duty moisturizer for their feet in the summertime. Feet which are often found bare and unprotected in the summertime can get very dry and even cracked from this kind of mistreatment. It is a good idea to get a foot stone that you can file down the dry, calloused spots with before slathering on a thick cream to soften the skin. This is good to do right before bed when you can put a heavy application of cream onto your feet. Cover them with some thin socks and jump into bed. Overnight the cream will work its magic on the toughest skin and you will wake up with some very nice sandal feet in the morning

If you find that your hands suffer some of the same kind of mistreatment in the summertime that your feet do (from gardening and other outside activities) try this same kind of treatment on your hands. Use a cuticle trimmer to cut away the dry excess skin around your nails and put on a thick application of heavy cream.

So, get out there. Don’t spend too much time fussing over skin care when the summer activities beckon. Just make sure to protect your skin as much as possible from that sun and treat those dry summer feet to some heavy cream once in awhile. That’s it. Now, get out there.