From an £8 spray-to-wipe mist to instant cooling and redness reducing, this are the beauty editor approved products that really can make hot days feel more bearable
Some summer beauty products sound lovely in theory – all those glowy skin tints and coconut-scented body oils, just ideal if you’re spending July wafting around on a yacht in the med and diving into the cooling waters every so often. But actual heatwaves, in the actual UK (where we are simply not kitted out for long spells of sunshine and temperature smashing 30ºC on a daily basis), and when you’ve got real life things to do like going to work, getting the shopping and taking taking the dog out again, mean the beauty problems are far less glamorous.
Sweaty commutes, sticky thighs, flushed faces, hot swollen feet and bedrooms that still feel baking at midnight. It might not be cool, but these are the issues I really want to be able to address, so these are the heatwave heroes designed to tackle the bits of summer nobody really wants to talk about.
From cooling sprays and anti-chafe sticks to clever towels and sweat-wicking pyjamas, these are my hero products to have on hand when the temperature climbs.
For sweaty faces:
Mario Badescu Repairing Facial Spray with Hypochlorous Acid, £9
Some people glide through heatwaves looking serene and sun-kissed. Not me! If you also end up a sweaty, red-faced mess this product is a handbag hero. Hypochlorous Acid is anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial, and helps to soothe irritation, reduce redness and support skin’s natural healing process. It’s calming on heat rash and flare-ups (and even for just making spots look less angry) and you can just spray it directly onto your skin when you’re feeling sweaty and flustered.
Great for: City commutes in hot weather, and anyone who suffers with redness or breakouts
For overheated skin:
Aestura Atobarrier365 Hydro Soothing Cream, £26
Strengthening your skin barrier is all the rage right now, but this product has extra benefits that make it standout when the sun is shining. It actually cools on the skin when you apply it, physically dropping your skin’s temperature by up to 5.5ºC. Then it hydrates and boost your barrier at the same time. Perfect for overheated, tight feeling skin or sudden hot flashes (if you know, you know).
Great for: On the go cooling
For all-over cooling:
Luna Daily The Everywhere Spray-to-Wipe Cooling Water Lily + Fresh Citrus, £8
Not a deodorant per se, but definitely the sort of thing that can make you feel a lot fresher, this body spritz is designed to replace single-use wipes – so one little pack is equivalent to 100 wipes. You can use it anywhere on your body (no, seriously, anywhere), either sprayed directly onto skin or onto a tissue or cloth that you can then use as a wipe.
Great for: All the things you don’t want to admit to – under sweaty boobs or between your thighs if you get that awful chaffing
For hot feet:
Bare feet by Margaret Dabbs Cooling Foot Spray, £8
The first time you find your feet swelling up on a hot day is pretty unnerving, where your previously normal-looking legs suddenly transform into little tree trunks. Cooling and elevating is key to getting your ankles back but that can be hard to do in the middle of a busy day, so that’s when a cooling spray really helps.
Packed with ginger extract to promote healthy circulation and energise the skin, manuka honey to soothe and reduce inflammation, as well as destroying harmful bacteria, and aloe vera to refresh and revive – plus it helps to heal any little blisters or sore bit, soothe sunburn or itchy places.
Great for: Holiday feet – when you’ve walked too far in sandals and your ankles feel puffy and overheated
For instant cooling:
Kyno Sunny Bee Cooling Towel, £12.99
This is futuristic craziness that you really need to see in action to believe. Take this normal-feeling, dry towel, run it under cold water, ring it out and give it a snap – and suddenly it transforms into a chilled towel, that stays cool for an hour or so. I assumed it must be wizardry but apparently it’s the microfibres.
It comes in a little bag you can clip to your backpack if you’re travelling, and you only need to find a tap (or even a bottle of water) to activate it. There have been a few leaps forward in cooling fabric tech in the last couple of years that feel worthy of an episode of Tomorrow’s World, so take advantage of all of them if you’re overheating. To help you sleep, try M&S’s Cool Comfort™ Cotton Modal Pyjama Set, £30 which have cooling tech in the fabric to whisk sweat away from you and actively cool while you sleep.
Great for: Post workouts, taking on your run or even walking the dog
For an at-home cooling pep:
Revolution Skin Ice Globes, Cooling Facial Skincare Tool for Face, Neck & Eyes, £12
Lollypop shaped cooling rollers, I pondered long and hard about including these because it’s not rocket science that if you keep something in the freezer then pop it on your face it’s going to feel nice and cool, which is essentially how these work. But I wanted to highlight them for a few reasons.
Firstly, they are lovely to use, with an instant depuffing effect especially around the eyes (great first thing in the morning if you wake up with pillow face), and they are nicer than using an ice cube (the cheaper alternative) because they don’t melt on you. Second, the liquid inside does warm up again quite quickly, but holds a little residual cool, so you can take them with you on the go (they’re nice to roll down your neck behind your ear when you’re feeling hot and achy). And finally, if you have them in the fridge for when you get home, they are brilliant for rolling over patchy of prickly heat or eczema to stop you scratching.
Great for: calming itchy patches when you get back home
For skin chafing:
Woowoo Anti-Chafe Stick, £11.99
Chafing thighs feels like one of the last taboos but I know I’m not the only one who knows that sting. In hot weather I simply do not leave the house without a pair of my “anti-chafe pants” – these are my faves: they don’t roll up or down and are light and comfy even on hot days. Realistically, no cream or balm is as good as pants for preventing the rub, but for times when the chafe hits an area you can’t cover with little shorts, this balm works so well.
Great for: Thigh rub, under-boob chafing, sandal straps and any hot weather friction points you clothes don’t cover
