Why After-Sun Care Matters
Many of you likely spent your summer holidays under the sun. A tan can make skin look healthy and beautiful, but at the same time it can rob it of elasticity and moisture. That’s why sun-kissed skin requires post-vacation care.
What UV Does to Your Skin
UV exposure lowers the skin’s water content and greatly increases transepidermal water loss (TEWL), leading to dryness and tightness (some reports note increases of up to 12.7×). At the same time, cohesion between corneocytes weakens, the barrier becomes disrupted, and skin reacts more easily to external irritants while losing moisture more quickly. Rising reactive oxygen species also raise the likelihood of redness, heat, and other inflammatory responses.
For these reasons, your immediate post-holiday routine should focus on calming, repairing the barrier, and retaining moisture so your skin can regain balance.
Step 1: Calm & Gentle Cleansing
To calm the skin, keep showers short with lukewarm water, and pat—don’t rub—when drying. Because flakes can lift and the barrier is compromised at this stage, a gentle, non-exfoliating cleanser is the safest choice.
SOONDING Coconut Jelly Pudding Cleanser contains panthenol and peptides to help maintain hydration even during cleansing, and it uses PHA, which works more slowly thanks to its larger molecular size. That makes it comparatively less irritating on tanned skin. PHA’s water-binding ability also helps ease that tight, dry feeling after you wash.
Step 2: Rehydrate with Soothing Toner/Essence
After cleansing, apply a toner or essence with soothing ingredients like aloe and panthenol to bring down heat and tightness.
SOONDING Coconut Rice Milk Toner features panthenol, ceramides, and niacinamide to raise moisture levels and reinforce the barrier, while rice extract—a natural humectant—helps improve suppleness and bounce. It’s also rich in antioxidants to calm redness and micro-inflammation triggered by sun exposure.
Step 3: High-Hydration Serum
Next, use a high-hydration serum to further settle and replenish the skin.
SOONDING Coconut Water Glow Calming Serum includes super cica complex (blended with 7 centella extracts) to help temper inflammatory responses, panthenol to flood the skin with moisture, and ceramides to strengthen the barrier. Niacinamide supports moisture retention and more even tone on top of that rebuilt barrier, creating a steadier, more comfortable environment for dehydrated, sun-stressed skin.
Step 4: Seal with a Barrier Cream
Finish with a cream to seal everything in and prevent moisture from escaping.
SOONDING Coconut Hydro Barrier Cream combines panthenol, ceramides, and niacinamide with hyaluronic acid to deliver hydration from the surface down, balance oil and water, and form a protective film that slows evaporation.
What to Pause for a Week
A few cautions: for at least a week after tanning, put the following on pause, then reintroduce gradually only after your skin feels calm again:
- Physical scrubs
- Peel-off formulas
- High-strength AHAs/BHAs
- Retinoids
Even If You Didn’t Vacation…
Even if you didn’t take a beach trip, the same principles apply whenever your skin has spent long hours outdoors. With consistent calming, barrier repair, and moisture retention, you can keep the glow of your tan while minimizing damage.
Do Your After-Sun Care with SOONDING!