I battle with my skin. It is a love/hate relationship. I actually receive a handful of compliments regularly about my skin but deep down I feel completely different than what others must see. I see dry skin that is riddled with sun spots. And the older I get, the dryer it gets! My 13 year old self would have loved dry skin, but my 27 year old self hates it! And I know all too soon I am going to look back at my 27 year old skin and only wish I had it! Since I know the importance of skin maintenance (thanks mom) I wanted to make sure I am doing all I can to protect it.

When I travel my skin goes bonkers. And it doesn’t help that it is summer (which already brings other issues) and that the water in Paris is extremely hard (drying my skin out further). Because I believe I can’t be the only one with these issues I decided to interview Julie Lata, Chief Beauty Officer at Skintastic (my favorite Dallas beauty spot). Since Skintastic has transformed my skin over the past few months to dull and lifeless to radiant and glowing (dying to get back to Dallas for my microderm) I thought it was only fitting to get her to spill some beauty dish. And she did not disapoint! Wait until you read #3, #10, and #11!

1. What SPF do you recommend to block sun? Do you have a favorite brand? You need at least an SPF of 30 but, I recommend SPF 50. My favorite brand and our top selling sunscreen here at Skintastic are by Elta MD 50 SPF sport.

2. Is it a myth that past SPF 30 you aren’t blocking any more sun? There is much debate over this, here at Skintastic we do believe more is better because it gives longer protection. It is proven that SPF-30 protects against 97% of UVB rays however the duration is just as important. We educate our patients on how important it is to reapply to get the best SPF. This is more crucial than just concentrating on one number.

3. My skin is always dry in the summer, any at home remedies? For those who are tired of spending so much time and half of their income on cosmetic products, banana and yogurt are nature’s gifts. Mix mashed bananas with yogurt to form a paste. Apply this paste on the dry patches for half an hour and then rinse off with warm water. The mixture not only moisturizes the skin, but also exfoliates dead cells.

4. What would be your favorite product to add moisture to summer skin? Hands down Teoxane RHA Serum. It hydrates my skin like no other. Backed by 10 years of research, Teoxane’s patented RHA Resilient Hyaluronic Acid technology uses a process to create skin Hydrostasis, a long lasting hydrating matrix on the skin’s surface. This allows the skin to maintain hydration while delivering nutrients to the skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

5. Do you recommend an eye cream if you are under 30? Yes, it is never too early. The earlier you start fighting against the aging process the easier it will be in the future.

6. What is your must have product this summer? Tan-lines and uneven color are always an issue in the summer for me so my must have product this summer is Laura Geller’s Baked Body Frosting. Baked Body Frosting is for whenever you want to show a little skin, and your skin deserves to be polished to perfection. A moisturizing, silky smooth powder that adds the warmth of bronze or pearly luminosity, to the body.

7. I also suffer from sun spots. Any tips on helping them and not making them worse this summer?  The best treatment for sunspots is Fotofacials. This is an Intense Pulse Light laser (IPL) that brings up the darks spots and they literally flake off. Amazing treatment for sun spots!

8. What would you have told yourself at 27 about beauty products or routine?  Use sunscreen every day. This is the easiest most basic way to combat the aging process. Studies show that 80-90% of onset aging is from sun exposure.

9. Stranded on an Island, what is one beauty product you can’t live without and why? I am going to go back to the Teoxane RHA Serum….It provides the hydration my skin needs to look bright and polished. I CANNOT live without this stuff! It has truly transformed my skin.   It not only provides the much needed hydration, but the resilient Hyaluronic acid helps to plump my skin reducing fine lines and wrinkles. People ask my age all of the time and when I say I’ll be 40 this year they can’t believe it. I credit this product with my youthful look. This is something I never get tired of hearing.

10. If there was one treatment (non-invasive) you could get this summer what would it be? Cool Sculpting. Even the most active people have those stubborn little problem areas that they can’t get rid of on their body. Cool Sculpting’s unique technology uses controlled cooling to freeze and eliminate unwanted fat cells without surgery or downtime. The procedure is FDA-cleared, safe and effective. The best part is it only takes an hour in most cases.

11. Any fun or quirky beauty secrets you have or can share? Keep misbehaving brows in check. Let’s face it brows are everything this season. A trick I like to do for my new thick brows is spritz an old toothbrush or a clean mascara wand with hairspray then brush brows and style them as desired. Even the most hard to tame brows will fall in line with this trick.

image via Refinery29