Cool skincare solutions for the hottest days

Just as I switch up my wardrobe for the summer, my skincare line up changes too. And that includes what I put on my body. I have to admit, being in my 40s my skin is a little less firmer than I’d like. Hence I need my body lotion to work hard for its money, rather than just deliver soft skin and a nice smell.

But in the summer, you don’t necessarily want to be slathering on creams that leave your skin sweltering – especially if you’re layering suncare on top.

Enter cult British brand SBC, a gel-based bodycare range dubbed “skincare for the body” with ingredients you’d normally find in your facial serums. SBC Skincare has launched Prolagel Face & Body Firming Gel, £26, a multi-tasking formula designed to tone, firm, and repair damaged skin if you use it regularly. It stars 5 per cent proline, an amino acid naturally produced by the body that helps the skin build collagen and retain moisture, I’ve definitely noticed an improvement to my parched limbs. (Their Aloe Vera Gel, £24, makes a great after-sun treatment too.)

When it comes to facial moisturiser, Skin Rocks Ultra Light Moisturiser is currently floating my boat, and being a gel-cream, feels like the skincare equivalent of sporting a light T-shirt and shorts.

The brand was founded by Caroline Hirons. Beloved for her no-nonsense manner, she’s spent the best part of two decades teaching the internet how to wash its face. A few books and TV appearances later, she’s now launched her own skincare range. We were expecting great things and she didn’t disappoint.

This latest offering is clinically proven to reduce red spots, increases moisture by up to 151 per cent and is suitable for all skin types, including oily combination. It’s on the pricier side at £58, but you only need a small amount each time (it includes a handy guide on the lid).

The sun can make some of us prone to sensitivity flare ups, especially with issues like eczema, made worse with the heat and sweat. An underrated gem is SOS Serum Skincare, £17. Founder Bruce Green is a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry – so it’s safe to say he knows his stuff. (I’ve interviewed him many times and his knowledge is second-to-none.) This serum was concocted specifically to address sensitivity – he’s created an SPF version too, for those who want added sun protection.

Vitamin C booster by Me+ is one of Viola's top recommendations for facial skincare this summer. (Photo: Me+)[Missing Credit]

Packed with UV-fighting antioxidants, Vitamin C is a great ingredient to supercharge the effects of your SPF. You can opt for a serum (I highly rate Superdrug’s own brand Me+ Vitamin C Extra Strength Booster 30ml, £13) or try a supplement so your whole body benefits.

BetterYou Vitamin C Daily Oral Spray, £11.99, delivers a hefty dose of the stuff, immediately absorbed by the lining of the mouth (it has a tasty berry flavour to boot) and your skin – and general immunity – will reap the benefits. As well as helping to shield and repair cells from environmental stress, it reduces the appearance of dark spots and fine lines, as well as keeping skin bright and glowing.

While I’m religious about facial SPF – which should be applied every day, all year round – I’m particularly dogmatic in the summer months (the sun is the biggest cause of premature ageing, folks).

Ultra Violette's SPF 50 broad spectrum sunscreen is applied in a light mist. (Photo: Ultra Violette)[Missing Credit]

SPF spray formats are super easy and you can apply and reapply them when you’re out and about without ruining your makeup. When it comes to SPF brands, Aussies are to sunscreen what the French are to baguettes. Their SPFs are among the best in the business, living in a part of the world with high UV levels, they check their moles as often as the rest of us check our lipstick. Aussie brand Ultra Violette’s hardworking Preen Screen Reapplication Mist SPF50, £32, never leaves my handbag as a result.

Smita Aluwalia runs a boutique skincare clinic in north London where most of her clients are Jewish.[Missing Credit]

Having just turned 40, I don’t want to look 21 but neither do I want to look worn out. I can embrace age but there’s nothing wrong with, ahem, gilding the lily. Which might mean the odd bit of Botox and that good old powerhouse ingredient: retinol, every night (I get prescription Tretinoin, – the strongest form of the stuff – from getharley.com). But in the summer I skip it entirely. Reason being is that retinol makes the skin highly sensitive to sun damage, hence why you should only use at night and always apply SPF the next morning.

Instead, I’ve swapped it out for bakuchoil which some of you may recognise as a natural (and pregnancy-friendly) alternative to retinol. I’m loving niche brand Indē Wild’s 1% Bakuchiol Serum, £36, as it repairs and restores the skin barrier while dealing with dryness.

Inde Wild's Tripeptide Complex and Squalane restores the skin's barrier while helping combat dryness. (Photo: Inde Wild)[Missing Credit]

And if Botox is a no-no for you, then consider a non-invasive LPG facial. Smita Ahluwalia, who runs a boutique skin clinic in north London where more than nine in ten of her clients are Jewish, says LPG – which uses motorised rollers and gentle suction to massage the skin and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin – is particularly suitable for the summer months because it doesn’t use any heat. The treatment reduces puffiness and fine lines and, ahem, the signs of fatigue.

Beauty therapist Smita Ahluwalia carries out non-invasive treatments from her clinic in north London.[Missing Credit]

When on holiday, an SPF spray that works on wet skin is a no-brainer, particularly if you’re popping in and out of the sea or the pool. If you’re looking for trustworthy suncare, Ultrasun are pretty spectacular.

I’ve road-tested and reported on plenty of sunblocks in my day, and their peer-reviewed testing processes surpass industry standards, while their UVB and UVA filters are tested both in-vitro and in-vivo (in a petri-dish and on a person for those of us who didn’t take Latin).

Their new Family Wet Skin Spray SPF5, £32, is quickly absorbed, non-greasy and fun for all the family. (Well maybe not fun, but you might avoid the usual toddler tantrums.)

It’s not just little ones who are reluctant to slap on the SPF. This news will come as little surprise, but men aren’t wearing nearly enough sun protection as they should. Recent UK research shows only 8 per cent of men always use sunscreen while melanoma rates have increased by nearly a third over the past decade, with men facing higher mortality rates despite 86 per cent of cases being preventable.

Ultrasun's Family Wet Skin Spray SPF50 is a great option for high quality sun protection this summer. (Photo: Ultrasun)[Missing Credit]

Blokey SPF brand LifeJacket was created just for the chaps as a result. “There’s a lack of understanding from men concerning the importance of sunscreen in their daily lives,” co-founder Rob Sumner tells me. “Male skin cancer cases have exploded over the past 20 years and incidence rates are forecast to double over the next 20 years. We want to change that.”

Products like their SPF 50+ Mineral Sun Stick, £16, and SPF 50+ Sun Gel, £20, are a good bet – fragrance-free, with a light texture that won’t get stuck in body hair. (Not to mention ‘heavy duty’ packaging in a shade of reassuringly manly grey.)

Throw one your son’s travel bag as he heads off on Birthright.