Every single heatwave, my skin does something that makes absolutely no sense on paper: my hands, which are normally clammy enough I can't even wear gloves in the winter, suddenly go bone dry; my legs, which usually only need a moisturiser top-up in winter, start feeling tight and papery by mid-afternoon; and my lips crack like it's the middle of January, not the height of summer.
If you're nodding along, you're not imagining it, and you're definitely not alone. Hot weather doesn't just mean more sweat and slathering on more of your best facial sunscreen - it can genuinely dry your skin out. It sounds counterintuitive, but a heatwave creates the perfect conditions for moisture loss. Here are the three products helping me this summer...
My top picks for hydrated skin
This is my go-to for keeping at my desk so I can top up regularly throughout the day. The pump makes it so quick and easy to reapply between emails without breaking my flow, and the formula itself is genuinely lightweight - it sinks in fast rather than sitting on top of my hands, so I'm not left with that greasy, uncomfortable feeling while I'm typing away. It absorbs beautifully and leaves my hands soft and properly hydrated, not just temporarily coated.
Given how much time I spend with a fan blowing directly on me, my legs need something that actually replaces moisture rather than just sitting on the surface, and this is the one doing that job for me right now. It feels genuinely quenching when I apply it - like my leathery, fan-dried skin is drinking it straight up. It's not remotely sticky, absorbs quickly, and stays lightweight rather than leaving that heavy, greasy finish some richer body lotions can have. It smells incredible too, which doesn't hurt.
I own a lot of lip balms, but this is the one I reach for when I'm out and about and my lips are too dry and flaky for lipstick to sit properly. It gives the faintest, most flattering pinky tint - I get compliments on it constantly, and people are always surprised it's "just a balm." Underneath the shine, it's genuinely nourishing: it leaves my lips soft and supple rather than just glossy, and the hydration lasts for hours, which matters when I'm not going to remember to reapply every twenty minutes.
Why does skin go dry in a heatwave?
Higher temperatures speed up water evaporating from the surface of your skin, and if you're sweating more, you're also losing fluid and salt that your skin needs to stay balanced - which is exactly why my normally sweaty palms flip into dry mode the second the temperature climbs.
Then there's what we do to survive the heat, which often makes things worse. I have a my best cooling fan blowing on me for most of the day at my desk, and while it's the only thing keeping me sane, constant airflow across the skin accelerates evaporation in exactly the same way it cools a cup of tea faster - it's pulling moisture off my legs before they get the chance to hold onto it. Air conditioning does something similar on a bigger scale: it strips humidity from the air in the room, which means it's also pulling moisture out of your skin, hour after hour, without you noticing until it's tight, flaky or uncomfortable.
Add in more frequent showers, higher SPF turnover, and lips left unprotected while everyone's focus goes on faces and shoulders, and it's easy to see why heatwave skin can end up needing more care, not less.
