How to nurture your skin when temperatures soar.
There’s plenty to love about the warmest months of the year. What’s not to love, though? The potential for skin catastrophes like heat rash, dehydration, sunburn, rosacea flare-ups, and more. Here, we’ve rounded up the best natural approaches to keeping summer skin nourished and hydrated.
ALOE VERA
Highly regarded as a potent sunburn remedy, fresh aloe vera is hands down the best summer skin saviour. Filled with antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, this spiny succulent is the most multitasking of all skincare ingredients. It’s soothing for every skin type, provides moisture to dehydrated skin, relieves rashes, and helps speed up healing of minor skin irritations. While we are most accustomed to using aloe vera topically, you can also add fresh aloe vera to your favourite fruit smoothie.
AVOCADO
Nutrient-dense, antioxidant-packed avocado is a go-to when skin is feeling dry and dehydrated from too much time spent in the sun. Slathering skin in fresh, ripe avocado and then rinsing with cool water after 20 minutes helps repair UV damage and rehydrate skin naturally.
CALENDULA
Calendula flowers (also known as Marigold flowers) contain an anti-inflammatory compound called bisabolol, which offers cooling relief when skin is stressed, overheated, or breaking out. Calendula is revered in many cultures and used around the world in holistic therapies specifically to calm allergic reactions, eczema, and chronic rosacea. Look for calendula officinalis in skincare formulas or try infusing dried calendula flowers in the carrier oil of your choice to create your own custom oil blend.
CUCUMBER
Imagine a relaxing day at the spa and your mind may evoke images of reclining in a robe with cucumber slices over your eyes. Cucumbers naturally contain vitamin C and potassium, plus they have unmatched hydration benefits thanks to their sky-high water content. It’s no wonder fresh cucumber is the iconic epitome of self-care and rejuvenation. For an easy DIY, try blending half of a chilled cucumber with a generous dollop of coconut yoghurt. Apply a thick layer to your freshly washed face, then rinse off with cool water and moisturise to seal in the skin-calming benefits. This is suitable for all skin types and helps reduce heat-related inflammation.
HYDROSOLS
For the ultimate cooldown on steamy days, plant hydrosols are lovely aromatic face and body mists that refresh skin on the go. If you’re not familiar, hydrosols are popularly used in skincare as facial toning mists. Most herbal or floral hydrosols are the beautiful by-product of essential oil steam distillation; however, unlike essential oils, hydrosol mists are water soluble and can be used frequently on the skin without dilution. Try lavender, neroli, lemongrass, rose, camomile, or helichrysum hydrosols.
Pro tip: Store your hydrosol spray bottle in the fridge and mist liberally whenever you need to cool your skin and senses – it’s so uplifting! What’s more, you can also keep facial massage tools like gua sha stones and jade rollers in the refrigerator before using on your skin to invigorate, depuff, and relieve redness.
SUN TEA HERBAL COMPRESS
Harness the power of the summer sunshine by creating a simple, DIY herbal sun tea. Add one cup of blended herbs (dried or fresh) such as camomile, lavender, and mint to four cups of filtered water in a large jar with a lid. Place the jar in a sunny spot for up to six hours. Then, in a bowl, pour the steeped tea over a clean washcloth and place in the refrigerator to chill. Finally, apply the cool, herbal compress to freshly washed skin. This helps to soothe skin irritations and aids in healing heat-related skin conditions like rosacea and prickly heat. While you’re at it, you can even pour yourself a glass of the sun tea over ice – it’s delicious with a splash of agave nectar.
Stay hydrated
Last but not least, remember to drink plenty of water all day long to help you stay hydrated, especially when spending time outside in hot weather. Ensuring your body’s internal temperature is regulated helps you feel less sweaty and reduces your level of skin dehydration (which happens naturally throughout the day via transepidermal water loss). Set a friendly reminder on your phone, carry a drink bottle with you everywhere, or add freshly sliced fruit to your water to incentivise yourself to drink up!
