Ah, summer, at last: surfboards and swizzle sticks, swimmies and softball mitts … and skin that’s so burned, dry or broken out, you can forget about shaving. To avoid the latter -- yep, it’s avoidable -- we sought advice from two pros who’ve seen more than their fair share of damaged dermis. And if you, like us, insist on doing everything bad for you anyway, we’ve got recovery strategies so you can soon return to your favorite summertime activities -- and regular shaving regimen -- without having added years to your face.

Prevention, Prevention, Prevention
As the owner of the Alma G. Salon in Manhattan -- a favorite of celebs, including Ashton Kutcher and freshman “American Idol” judge Steven Tyler -- Alma G. is a firm believer in preventive measures to keep your skin in tip-top shape. Wearing sunblock is foremost among her precautions. “I recommend SPF 30 for your face and 15 or higher for everywhere else,” she says. “Apply it 15 to 20 minutes before you go outside to let it fully soak in. If you’re engaging in activities where you’re sweating a lot, reapply a couple of times during the day.”

Daniela Pranjic, spa manager of the Paradisus Punta Cana and the Paradisus Palma Real resorts in the Dominican Republic, encounters many guests who -- having been pent up all winter in North America -- zip off to the Caribbean for a quick dose of sun and sand only to come back looking like a roast. “You need to take it easy, especially in those first few days,” says Pranjic. Before you jeer at those clueless vacationers, note that the same applies to the early days of summer, wherever you live. To prepare for your first big spate of outdoor activities, Pranjic recommends drinking lots of water and juices. Clothing-wise, a hat and sunglasses are a must, and she also suggests UV-protective shirts.

Can’t wait to hit the pool? Go for it, but note that chlorine can deliver a one-two punch: stripping away your sunscreen and drying out your skin. To deal with the latter, just remember to re-lube after getting out of the water. You won’t need sunblock for a nighttime dip, but you might consider rubbing on some baby oil, which will repel the chlorine from your skin and thus keep it from drying out. And though chlorine kills germs in the water -- a good thing -- it’s not so good for your face. “It will make you more prone to blackheads and whiteheads,” says Alma G., “so it’s important to exfoliate after you’ve been in the pool.”

If chlorine is killing your complexion no matter what precautions you take, try going for a dip in the ocean instead. Although it’s still important to wear sunscreen, saltwater can work wonders for the skin. “It acts like a scrub and dries out irritations,” says Alma G. Surprisingly, blowing sand can also have benefits, acting as an exfoliant. But if you’re going to spend an extended period of time exposed to this ocean-side loofa, make sure to slather on a good moisturizer before and after, lest your skin become raw.

… and Recovery
OK, so you got carried away frolicking in the ocean with your summer crush and forgot to reapply your sunblock. And now you’ve turned a disturbing shade of fuchsia. Not to worry: Alma G. has a host of home remedies in her arsenal to soothe and rehydrate burning skin. Capsules of vitamin E, split open and gently spread over the affected areas, will expedite the healing process, as will aloe vera or olive oil. A slightly more time-consuming treatment Alma G. swears by is mixing whole milk and sweet apples in a blender to create a masque for the burned areas. Whatever you do, avoid the temptation to yank off the peeling skin that will inevitably appear a few days after your ill-fated rendezvous with the sun -- the new skin underneath will be extremely vulnerable, especially on your face. We know that’s a tall order, but find some bubble wrap to pop instead and leave your poor skin alone.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/kzenonkzenon

What would be the best place for a dermatologist to open a practice? At the base of one of the valley runs in our Alpine ski resorts. There’s no place on earth where you find more skin problems: sunburn, frostbite, dry skin, even acne from using the wrong cream. We consult with experts on how to avoid these conditions, so that you (and your skin) can enjoy your last skiing trips of the winter, problem-skin free.

 

Sunburn

It’s a popular mistake to use sun protection only when it’s sunny. “Even in complete fog, you should cream your face”, says Rita Absmeier, owner of the beauty salon Santa Margerita in Munich. At the very least she suggests using a light moisturizer, which usually has a protection factor of 4 to 15.

And if it’s sunny, this obviously won’t be sufficient. The German Industry Association for Skincare (IKW) in Frankfurt recommends a minimum protection factor of 30 to 50, especially when doing winter sports, as snow reflects the dangerous UV radiation. IKW deputy general manager Birgit Huber suggests analyzing your skin before you even enter the slopes. To do so, visit the website http://www.haut.de/service/hauttyp-bestimmung, complete the form about your skin and continue to an online map. Choose your destination and get the necessary protection factor for your individual skin type.

If you’re still not sure, better to err on the high end, Absmeier says. Many people underestimate what the sun can do to you in winter, because your natural skin protection is switched off. If you get sunburned in summer you’ll recognize it immediately, since your skin becomes hot. In the cold you don’t recognize it -- at least not until you enter your hotel. And by then, says dermatologist Dr. Patricia Ogilvie, owner of the private medical clinic Skin Concept in Munich, “It’s too late”. According to Ogilvie, it’s especially important to take care of the “sun terraces” of your face: the nose and upper parts of your ears and lips, which are very exposed to the sun. “On really sunny days forget your vanity and cream those parts with the strongest sun blocker you can find,” advises Ogilvie. “Even if the white color looks funny”.

Acne

Unfortunately many creams are greasy and therefore problematic for people with acne. “They block the pores and even help bacteria to grow”, Ogilvie warns, adding that a fat-free emulsion might be your best bet. Make an appointment with a dermatologist and ask him or her about your particular needs. But never ever forego sun care because you’re afraid of breaking out. Inflamed pores and acne scars react sensitively to the sun; without proper care, they rapidly produce brown pigments and become dark spots on your face. Which is really no better than a face full of pimples.

Hypothermia

If you don’t apply protective cream in conditions of wind, frost and snow, your skin will cool down rapidly. If it starts to hurt and turn red and/or numb, you have hypothermia. Hypothermia, in turn, rapidly leads to frostbite (recognizable by swelling and very red skin). This is obviously extremely dangerous. Go inside immediately and find a heat source to warm the skin. If that’s not an option, look for some kind of shelter and hold your hands to the affected area to warm it. (If the affected area is your hands, put them in your armpits.) Never ever rub the area with snow. Some guides recommend doing so, but it actually aggravates frostbite.

 

Dry skin

The cold triggers a host of reactions in the skin: small blood vessels under the skin contract; the surface of the skin gets less oxygen and fewer nutrients and reacts more sensitively; and the sebaceous glands reduce fat production. For all these reasons, skin suffers the most in winter.

IKW expert Huber recommends drinking at least 2.5 liters of water during an average ski day to avoid dehydration, forgoing long baths and showers (since hot water also dries the skin) and using appropriate care products. The richest creams are oil-based -- they’re the thickest, protect best against the cold and help defend the skin against wrinkles, which are fostered by frost. “If you’re looking for the best protection”, says Huber, “look for explicit ‘cold creams’.”

Water-based creams offer fewer protections against the cold, but they still help. The notion that they cause frostbite is a myth, based on the idea that they consist of pure water. If you don’t have cold cream on hand, or if you find it too greasy, water-based creams are better than nothing.

Unless you’re living in a media blackout, you know bedbugs are back. And not just back, but apparently everywhere: hotels, apartment buildings, the mall, the subway, the movies! Laments Dr. Dini Miller, associate professor at Virginia Tech and Urban Pest Management specialist for the state of Virginia: “The media is freaking out like crazy.” And so, probably, are you.

The fact is, bedbugs are, well, everywhere, and they’re not going away. But that doesn’t mean you should throw out all your furniture, or refuse to let family members visit, or spray yourself with toxic doses of alcohol every time you leave the house -- all real-world examples encountered by Larry Pinto, president of Pinto & Associates, a pest control consulting firm, and co-author of the book Bed Bug Handbook. We spoke to Miller and Pinto about what one should do, as Pinto puts it, “in a bedbug world.” Turns out a little common sense goes a long way in dealing with the critters.

Know Thy Bedbug
“I inspect places all the time for bedbugs and I have yet to bring them home with me,” says Pinto. In other words, just because they’re out there doesn’t mean you’ll get them. Adds Miller: “We will encounter them in our daily lives. That’s okay. We need to prevent them coming home with us.”

So how do we do that? Easy. Google “bedbugs” and learn what they look like in all stages of life (eggs to mature adults). Then keep an eye on your stuff. If you go to the movies, says Miller, “Don’t put your things in the empty seat next to you.” In fact, leave them in your car to begin with. If you have to bring your stuff along, so be it, but then inspect it before taking it home and dumping it on your bed. “Get in the habit of looking,” Miller sums up. “That’s the best intervention.”

Check the Bed
Hotels are ground zero in the bedbug wars. Does that mean you should cancel your trip? No. Getting bitten at a hotel is really not such a big deal. (It’s gross, yes, but as Pinto notes, “They don’t give you AIDS.”) The point is not to bring them home.

To that end, you should keep your suitcase in the middle of the floor or on the luggage rack -- check it for bugs first -- and then leave everything inside. If you must unpack, says Miller, you can hang your clothes in the closet (again, after checking it), but don’t use the drawers.

Before you do anything, though, strip the bed and look for bugs or fecal matter (little black spots) in the mattress, along the seams, where the mattress meets the box spring, where the spring meets the frame, and where the headboard meets the wall. “We’re talking two minutes maximum inspection,” says Pinto. If all is clear, relax. If not, change rooms (and if the second room is infested, change hotels). And it bears repeating: Whether the hotel checks out or not, always inspect your bags before bringing them home.

Talk to the Neighbors
Moving into a new pad can be tricky; even experts get stumped by an empty apartment. Still, there are a few things you can do. Pinto advises asking management (before signing the lease) if they’ve had a bedbug problem in the past and if so, how they handled it. They may lie, of course, which is why you should talk to tenants as well. You can also check The Bedbug Registry (BedBugRegistry.com) to see if your building has been cited. And if you’re really nervous, hire a bedbug-sniffing dog. It will run you between $300 and $400, but may be worth it if you’re moving in with friends and can split the bill.

Beware Free Stuff
There once was a time you could furnish an entire apartment from other people’s garbage. Now that bedbugs are the main reason people throw furniture out … not so much. But if your budget requires buying furniture secondhand, go ahead, says Miller; just make sure to transport it yourself, and check it thoroughly before bringing it inside. Even if it appears clean, Pinto recommends vacuuming the piece aggressively with a crevice tool and then throwing out the bag.

Don’t Panic If You Find One
So you’re checking your bag, and lo and behold, you find a bedbug. What now? Well, first, kill it. Then throw your bag, and all of its contents, in the dryer. “The dryer is your best friend,” says Miller. “You can put all kinds of stuff in there, and a hot dryer for 20 minutes will kill all bedbugs and their eggs.” If something can’t go in the dryer, then Miller advises spraying it intensely with alcohol (just not near an open flame, please). And if you find a bedbug in your home? We’ll say it again: Don’t panic. “If you catch it quickly, it’s easy to get rid of,” says Pinto. “Just call pest control and they take care of it.”

For you, getting nicks, bumps and ingrown hairs from shaving is as much a regular fact of life as the sun rising in the morning and Lindsay Lohan getting arrested sometime after it sets. The good news is, your shaving problems aren’t necessarily caused by your skin, hair or genes. Instead, the culprits are often just poor tools and technique -- which are simple to remedy. Here are the five most common shaving problems, along with advice from skin and hair experts on how to make them disappear. Too bad Lindsay Lohan can’t work the same magic with her police record.

Problem No. 1: Razor Burn
These are the patches of red, irritated skin that appear within minutes of shaving. They’re extremely sensitive and really hurt when you’re working up a sweat. Eliminating razor burn is simple; you just need to soften the skin before taking razor to face. “You should always shave after you take a shower,” says Martial Vivot, owner of Salon Pour Hommes in New York City. “The steam softens the hair and makes it stand up and softens the skin.”

Problem No. 2: Nicks
Wouldn’t it be nice to throw out that styptic pencil forever? Gushers are actually easy to avoid. The keys: Use a sharp razor, glide the blade gently across the face without applying too much pressure, and take as few passes over the face as possible. “The more passes you take over a spot with the razor blade, the worse it is for your skin,” says Ben Davis, owner of the Gent’s Place barbershop and spa outside of Dallas. As for your razor cartridge, Davis advises replacing it weekly. “You can’t use a cartridge for more than a week, or else it’ll get too dull.”

Problem No. 3: Ingrown Hair
This is when hair grows inside the follicles and beneath the surface of the skin. Doctors call it pseudofolliculitis barbae, but you just call it a pain in the neck. Literally. Preventing ingrown hairs is a many-step process. The preshave shower  helps quite a bit, along with always shaving with the grain of the whiskers and not against it. Davis also suggests using a shave brush (preferably made from badger hair) to apply shaving cream: “It acts as a natural exfoliant, brushing away the outer layer of dead skin. And when you use circular motions, it helps push the hairs on the face out and creates a better lather for the shave cream.”

Problem No. 4: Barber’s Itch
These are the red bumps that look like a rash or even infected pimples. Sometimes they’re caused by ingrown hair, but often they’re from staph bacteria that enter the follicles or the skin through small cuts on the face. Davis recommends the following: 1) Rinse your razor thoroughly with hot water before you use it; 2) Apply a citrus-based preshave oil to your skin before the shave cream, to act as an antibacterial agent; 3) Use an aftershave lotion when you’re done “to seal the pores so nothing enters your bloodstream.”

Problem No. 5: Dry Skin
Simple solution: “When you’re done shaving, always use a moisturizer,” says Vivot, adding that you should reapply it at night. “You’ll find that it will make your shaving easier in the morning.”

We can’t quite put a finger on it (probably because it’s soccer and you’re not allowed to use your hands), but a growing trend seems to have sprouted on the soccer field ... like the hair on your face.

It’s clear that throughout the history of “the beautiful game,” global soccer stars have found their brush with greatness accompanied by the brush on their mugs. Not prone to hyperbole, we’re saying that their cleverly appointed facial hair was not only their signature, but the factor that sealed the deal to their worldwide success. (And we say that with confidence, because we’re pretty sure we don’t exactly know what “hyperbole” means.)

In the annals of soccer greatness, many majestic mustaches and beards have adorned the lips, chin and -- in the worst cases -- ears of the game’s biggest names. Join us as we examine the evidence that is as plain as the hair on the faces of these soccer giants. Meet the all-trim team of soccer’s hairy Hall of Fame.

Rudi Voller, Germany
This brush-beaked German played 90 times for the national team during the 1980s and 1990s, racking up an amazing 47 goals, which included eight biggies during the World Cup -- all of which were scored with his signature magnificent mustache. Germans everywhere modeled their above-the-lip hair after their national hero, whom they affectionately called “Tante Kathe” (Aunt Katie) due to his mustache’s faithful companion: his long, curly and graying hair. (Our Aunt Katie prefers to go for light ash blonde, but that’s just how it is here in the crazy USA!)

Socrates, Brazil
The term “genius” is thrown around quite a bit in sports. But that word truly seems well suited for the man who was a genius at soccer … and style. (Hey, if you can’t give that moniker to a guy named Socrates, who sports a brilliant beard, who can you give it to?) His sweetly styled brush matched his panache on the pitch as he captained and starred in 60 games as a midfielder with spectacular soccer sensibilities on some of the greatest Brazilian teams of the 1970s and 1980s.

Roger Milla, Cameroon
This African legend is best remembered for roaring like a graybeard when he scored four goals to take his country to the quarterfinals at the ripe old age of 38. But he’s also fondly remembered for showing up for the 1982 tourney with a bodacious beard that became the fledgling team leader’s signature during the African nation’s heroic stand that saw them go unbeaten in the first round. With Milla’s leadership, Cameroon forced draws against established powerhouses, including the eventual winner Italy, before bowing out bloodied (and of course, bearded) but definitely unbowed.

Djibril Cisse, France
This Ivory Coast-born, Iberian bad boy has sculpted his scrub so many different ways we can’t figure out his strategy for the future. But for today, his game face is one of the most famous on the planet. One of his country’s biggest scorers, he still is better known for the singular style of his brush than for his play. Having said that, he was one of the stars of the troubled and disappointing French team at this year’s World Cup. But no one can say his beard didn’t show up ready to go for each and every game.

Alexi Lalas, USA
Landon Donovan’s getting all the action as the glamour guy of American soccer these days, but when our USA boys broke out on the big stage in 1990, the face of the sport in our country was Alexi Lalas. And that face was prominently plumed with one of the coolest goatees this side of Iron Man. Looking like a blend of Yosemite Sam and that dude from the Spin Doctors, Lalas had a style that matched his flamboyant play as he introduced the game to grunge and American soccer to the elite level in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup and in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympic Games.