Summer weather beauty hacks every woman needs to know

For me, summer is all about holidays, enjoying gorgeous weather and a cheeky Pimms here and there. It can’t just be me who’s noticed though that there are some aspects of the hot weather that can really put a dampener on your beauty routine. Whether it’s your hair attracting a bit more frizz than normal or your nail varnish bubbling up because of the heat, summer brings about a few challenges. This has been the hot topic on the salon floor this week, and my clients have been giving me the most crazy, but genius tips that they use to battle the beach beauty woes. I thought why not share them with you on this week’s blog? Remember, it’s not what you know…it’s who you know.

Dust your body with talcum powder when you hit the beach for a sand free getaway. I know you all know by now that talcum powder can act as a dry shampoo to absorb excess oil, it also works wonders at the beach for the same reasons. Once you’ve topped up your tan for the day, sprinkle talcum powder on your feet, legs, and anywhere else where you’ve got sand stuck to you. The powder will absorb the moisture on your skin from sweat and salt water (which is what makes the sand stick to you) and you’ll be able to wipe all of the sand off immediately. Say goodbye to finding sand in your car for the next month. Winner.

The safest way to tan and avoid UV rays is to avoid the sun altogether, but using self-tan lotions like St Tropez means that sometimes there will be mistakes. (It can’t just be me who’s forgotten to wash their hands after…hello orange hands) Apparently all you need to do to remove any streaky or overly orange patches on your skin, mix together baking powder and a bit of water to create a paste. Use the mixture to gently exfoliate your skin where you need to even out the tanner and you’ll be set!

Take it from someone who knows, the worst part of heat styling hair during the summer is sweating while you’re styling. We all know the struggle of blow-drying our hair, and essentially needing another shower once we’re done because of sweat down our backs. Yum. Avoid all of this with a simple hack: Spray deodorant to the back of your neck about 10 minutes before blow-drying your hair. It’ll have the same antiperspirant effect on your neck as it does under your arms. Just don’t try this one on your face…you’ll have to stick to your translucent powder for that one.

I thought I’d throw in a tip of my own too. Make sure you apply dry shampoo at night so your hair stays oil free for morning. Dry shampoo is a girl’s best friend year-round, but during the summer, it’s actually better when you don’t apply it in the morning. Spritz your roots with dry shampoo at night to let the product absorb oil (and perspiration) throughout the night. Giving dry shampoo a bit of time to work its magic will give you much better results. My favourite at the moment is L’oreal Fresh Dust.

As far as I’m concerned, Summer is my one chance to add some white to my wardrobe. I do find though that suntan lotion leaves yellowy stains on any white tops. Combine that with a few sweat stains and it’s not a pretty picture. Lemon juice has the solution. Squeeze lemon juice onto the stains before tossing into the washing machine. The acidity of the lemon will lift the sweat and lotion stains right out of your clothes.

Have you ever noticed how your nail varnishes change consistency in hotter temperatures? And nothing ruins a manicure like bubbles in your polish. During the summer, the heat can react with the ingredients in nail varnish to make it thicker and a bit gloopy. Store your nail polish in the fridge to keep it cool and to help you get a much smoother paint job when you do a manicure. If you can’t fit your entire collection in the fridge (because really, who could?) just put the colours you’ll be using, your base and top coat in the fridge for about an hour before you paint your nails for the same effect.

The amount of weird and wonderful tips that my clients have told me is just incredible. I’ve got lots more to share with you, so if you’ve enjoyed these let me know in the comments and I can make this into a little blog series for you. Enjoy the sunshine!