Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Aug 27, 2026

How to protect your skin in the heat

How to protect your skin in the heat

As temperatures are set to reach as high as 35C across parts of England and Wales this weekend, dermatologists have issued a warning to people about skin conditions caused or aggravated by the heat.

Dermatologist Adeline Kikam told the BBC "extreme or high temperatures can have adverse impact on skin".

She says several skin conditions can develop, or worsen, during persistently high temperatures.

These include:

*  heat rash

*  sunburn

*  aggravated eczema (dry, irritated skin)

*  chafing

*  increased breakouts and spots

Heat rashes, tiny bumps or blisters in the skin, happen when there is an obstruction in the sweat ducts and inflammation.

They are more common during the summer because they are triggered by heat and humidity.

Dr Kikam says high temperatures can also worsen or aggravate eczema.

High temperatures lead to increased sweating, which in turn can make the skin even drier and the salt residue from the sweat can cause inflammation in the skin. This combination leads to redness, and general discomfort.

Spots and breakouts are common during high temperatures because there is an excess secretion of oil from our sebaceous glands. This combined with sweating and products like make-up can clog pores and trap dirt in the skin.

Sunburn is the result of long exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

If you have darker skin, and therefore more melanin, your body has a base protective layer to UV radiation and it might take longer to notice the symptoms of sunburn (redness and blisters).

"Damage to the skin is just not as visible, but you're still getting the damage," Dr Kikam says.

Dr Adeline Kikam warns conditions can develop, or worsen, during high temperatures


For those suffering from heat rashes, Dr Kikam says patients should remove themselves from hot and humid environments when possible and ensure they have access to good ventilation, by using fans and air conditioner - and keep the affected area of the skin dry.

The same goes for chafing - rubbing on the skin from clothing or other surfaces. Wearing loose clothing, ensuring your skin is dry and avoiding friction are the best ways to avoid it, says Dr Kikam.

For those suffering from aggravated eczema, it is important to keep your skin moisturised with neutral lotions, she adds.

For sunburns, Dr Kikam says everyone should ensure they are wearing sunscreen to protect themselves from exposure to UV radiation and avoid direct sun exposure for long periods of time.

She adds regularly cleansing your skin ensures you can minimise your risk of having breakouts, as you are avoiding product build up and keeping your pores unclogged.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Give Ukraine Classified Storm Shadow Blueprints for Domestic Missile Production
UK Graduate Job Vacancies Plunge 45% to Lowest Levels on Record
Iranian Hackers Shut Down British Power Plant for Four Days in Landmark Cyber Attack
Novak Djokovic Reveals Relentless Self-Doubt and Rejects Retirement in New Documentary
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Goods After Bilateral Trade Talks Collapse
Australia Combines Indigenous Fire Knowledge With Satellite Tech to Combat Catastrophic Wildfires
Father and Son Jailed in Scotland Over £900,000 Airport Cannabis Smuggling Operation
UK Fraud Reports Surge Sevenfold as Criminals Exploit QR Codes in Parking Meters and Phishing Emails
Brighton Thrash Aston Villa in Four-Goal Opening Half as Manchester City Trail Bournemouth
Erin Patterson Appeals Triple Murder Convictions After Hotel Mixed Sequestered Jury With Prosecution
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
×