Your post-heatwave skin survival guide
Although there are plenty of things you can do to look after your skin during a heatwave, it’s just as important to continue your recovery once the temperatures have cooled.
After a prolonged spell of warmer weather, the focus should be on rehydrating your skin with gentle exfoliants and calming ingredients.
Here’s our guide to keeping your skin healthy even after the heatwave has gone.
Use lightweight moisturisers
During a heatwave, even if you’ve been taking plenty of precautions then it’s possible your skin will come out of it feeling quite dry and dehydrated. Try as you might, it’s very difficult to avoid getting dry skin during a heatwave.
But to avoid any lasting skin issues, it’s vital that you focus on rehydrating your skin once the weather cools. Look for products that describe themselves as light or lightweight, because heavy creams can block already-clogged pores.
The mesoestetic Hydra-Vital Light is a good example of a lightweight moisturiser that can effectively rehydrate your skin.
Vitamin C is your friend
Heatwaves are rarely good news for your skin - but luckily, vitamin C is. It has been clinically proven to protect against and reverse sun damage to the skin, particularly if it’s applied topically rather than orally. So make the most of that knowledge.
After a heatwave, incorporate vit C-based creams such as the 10% Vitamin C Self-Activating serum from ZO Skin Health. They are excellent antioxidants and will help to fight heat pigmentation, repair broken collagen and improve the appearance of dark spots.
Use cooling ingredients to soothe your skin
It’s just as important during a heatwave as after to use cooling ingredients to soothe your skin. Aloe vera is the go-to solution here, but you should also look out for products that contain things like cucumber or peppermint extract. They’re very light on your skin and will help to soothe any inflammation or soreness.
Word of warning: try to avoid products containing retinol, oil or sulfates, as these ingredients don’t tend to agree with inflame sun-damaged skin and may set back your recovery.
Keep using high-SPF products
Even once the high temperatures have passed, it doesn’t mean that the high UV rays have passed. And that means your skin is still vulnerable to damage - particularly at a time when it’s so fragile.
It’s why high-SPF products continue to be effective even after a heatwave. They can protect your fragile skin from further damage by creating a protective barrier around it, helping you avoid things like inflammation, pigmentation and dark spots.
You might consider something like the Daily Sheer Broad Spectrum SPF 50, which combines high-SPF protection with a smooth, matte finish.
Focus on gentle exfoliation
In the immediate aftermath of a heatwave, you should try to avoid exfoliation altogether. Your skin barrier has already suffered plenty of damage, so stripping away its protective layer will only exacerbate any skin problems you’re currently facing.
Instead, focus on rehydrating your skin with light moisturisers, using cooling ingredients and vitamin C-based creams to reverse sun damage. Then, a few days after the heat has subsided, introduce gentle exfoliants into your routine. Try looking for exfoliants that minimise surface oil and target sensitive skin, such as ZO Skin Health’s Complexion Renewal Pads.
Get a skin analysis to see where your skin is suffering
You can have a good guess about where your skin’s problem areas are after a heatwave, but if you want some more certainty then it may be an option to get a skin analysis.
Normally taking between 20 and 30 minutes, a skin analysis scans your skin to identify any issues, imperfections or flare-ups. Your clinician who carries out the analysis will then suggest some possible solutions, which may include skincare products or treatments.
In many cases it’s much cheaper than traditional skin treatments, meaning you could save yourself plenty of money in the long run by purchasing products or treatments that will actually fix the issues you’re experiencing.
Consider laser treatments
If your skin analysis does pick out some problem areas of skin - or you've just noticed them yourself - you might want to consider laser treatments for lasting, long-term transformation.
For example, the ADVATx Laser offers painless and downtime-free laser treatment for acne, rosacea, pigmentation and other dermatological issues. PicoSure Laser Skin Resurfacing can target skin imperfections without causing significant damage to surrounding tissues, whilst CO2RE Fractional Laser Resurfacing targets tiny fractions of the skin to treat the effects of sun overexposure.
