‘A godsend on a hot train’: your top tips for beating the heat this summer | Summer
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After record-breaking June temperatures, parts of the UK are in the throes of another heatwave. So with more uncomfortably hot days and sweaty, sleepless nights in store, we asked how you keep cool when the temperatures soar.
Some of you shared tips for keeping your homes cool, others on avoiding overheating on the go, and some on ways to exercise safely. From thermal blinds and fans to sunscreens and UV-protective hats, here are your, and our, favourite hacks to beat the heat – and some of them are free. (And no, none of you has any commercial links to these companies or products – we always check.)
How to keep cool in hot weather
Shut out the sun
Vertical blinds closed. All curtains are blackout. Air circulated via a through draft. Elizabeth
Ikea makes a nice, cost-effective range of thermal blinds, and they are doing a great job in my bedrooms. It’s a south/south-east facing house with the sun rising at 4am – that’s a lot of heat coming in. Karen
Room-darkening cellular blind
My “office” and lounge windows are southerly facing and get the sun until about 3.30pm, by which time my lounge temperature is 38C or more.
I bought some green sun shade screening and cut it to cover the windows and attached it using hoop-and-loop tape to the outside of the window frames.
The room is magically cooler, and it’s far better than simply closing the curtains. Andy
Sun shade netting
Hook-and-loop tape
Get a reliable fan
“Even though fans don’t change the temperature, air movement across the body ‘can massively increase the capacity for evaporation’, and evaporation is how human bodies stay cool,” says Alyx Gorman in her guide to staying cool during a heatwave.
Rated the best for cooling in Caramel Quin’s test of the best fans, “the Dreo has a six-litre water tank and can add a fine mist to the air”. Caramel was impressed with how well it cooled the air with relatively low running costs.
Dreo TurboCool misting fan 765S
Cool your air
Evaporative coolers – fans that use cold water to cool the air – are hard to come by right now, but Caramel Quin recently tested this portable version that’s still in stock. It’s USB-rechargeable, so can even be taken on camping holidays, and is small enough to sit on a desktop. Don’t expect air-con levels of cooling, and the noise it makes – while fairly quiet – can be a little irritating. But it dropped the temperature by just over a degree in Caramel’s tests, and you can even add ice to the water tank.
Morphy Richards Flexi Freeze mini personal air cooler
Cool yourself
I practise sitali pranayama (cooling breath) as part of my daily yoga practice. It works! Rachel Parker
When it’s a stinking hot day, put your undies in a plastic bag in the fridge – great to put on! Karen
Sali Hughes suggests using a cooling facial mist with a handheld fan: it “instantly cools a fractious face”, she wrote. This one from Laneige “has the consistency of coconut water and leaves a thin but unmistakable layer of moisturiser on the skin”.
Laneige cooling mist, 30ml
Never underestimate the power of a cool (not cold) shower. It will reduce your body temperature for a while. I always have one right before bed so I can feel cool while trying to drift off. Lily
Protect yourself from the sun
Chloe Mac Donnell recommends a canvas sun hat rather than a baseball cap for windier sunny days. This one from Decathlon has an anti-UV fabric to keep your head shielded if you venture out into the heat.
For more, check out 51 genius fashion and beauty tips for sticky days and sweaty nights
Forclaz women’s hiking hat
I love Tilley hats. I had one for 30 years, and they replaced it under their lifetime guarantee. William
Tilley Airflo sun hat
For full body shade, Alyx Gorman suggests using an umbrella or parasol. “Muji has affordable all-weather umbrellas. Just pick a light colour so it reflects the sun, rather than drawing heat down on your head,” she says in her heatwave guide.
All-weather umbrella
Don’t go outside without SPF
Never leave the house without applying face SPF. Sarah Matthews recommends Beauty of Joseon’s relief sun rice + probiotics, which has “high SPF50+ to protect against UVB, and the highest level of UVA protection, PA++++”. Sarah rated it best overall in her test of the best face SPFs, praising the fact that it sinks in quickly and leaves skin looking “healthy and perfectly primed for makeup”.
Beauty of Joseon relief sun rice + probiotics SPF50+, 50ml
For top-ups on the go, try a convenient spray SPF that can be used on top of makeup. Anita Bhagwandas highlighted this two-in-one SPF and setting spray in her guide to the beauty buys you should spend and save on. “The ultra-fine mist distributes evenly without soaking the skin or feeling greasy,” she says.
Elf Skin Suntouchable SPF30 setting spray, 60ml
Make sure to apply sunscreen all over your body to avoid sunburn. This is always important on sunny summer days, but even more so during heatwaves when temperatures soar. For a low-fuss SPF that can be used for both your face and body, Charlie Allenby recommends this one from men’s grooming brand Horace. “Horace’s SPF50+ protects against harmful UVA and UVB rays but isn’t chalky like the factor 50s of old – it feels more like a moisturiser,” he says.
Horace face and body sunscreen, 100ml
Keep cool on the go
I wrap a wet linen tea towel around my shoulders. Easily refreshed. No change of clothes is needed. I’m being more elegant when out today, with a wet silk triangular scarf. Vicki Macleod
after newsletter promotion
Free People triangle scarf
A portable fan is a godsend on a hot train or bus. This Marks & Spencer USB-rechargeable travel fan can be used handheld or folded for putting on a table for hands-free cooling.
“If you want power for a reasonable price, then the [Diveblues] Jetforce is the answer,” says Alan in his guide to the best portable fans. It provides “a refreshing breeze even at the lowest settings, but when you’re really struggling with the heat, crank it up all the way to level 5”.
M&S USB travel fan
Diveblues Jetforce portable fan
Wear cool clothing
Alyx Gorman suggests “[picking] clothes made from 100% cotton, linen or a blend of the two” in her guide to surviving a heatwave. “Lighter-coloured tops are preferable if you will be out in the sun, since darker shades absorb more heat. Uniqlo has reasonably priced linen shirts for women and men.”
Boden belted cotton midi dress
Uniqlo 100% premium linen shirt
Prevent chafing
Lauren Cochrane recommends using a dusting powder on the areas of your body prone to chafing after moisturising. This one from Lush combines coconut milk powder with cornstarch to soften the skin. “The Super Milk is a favourite,” says Lauren in our guide to tackling summer style and beauty problems.
Lush dusting powder
For an anti-chafe cream that also has a cooling effect, Charlie Allenby recommends the Assos chamois creme. Ideal for exercise, it will keep “everything supple and chafe-free – even after 12 hours in the saddle,” he says in his guide to summer cycling essentials.
Assos chamois creme, 200ml
Stay hydrated
Add electrolytes to your drinking water. It really helps with hydration. You can find recipes online for homemade electrolytes, or health stores sell them. Angela
SIS Hydro electrolyte berry, 20 tablets
“Pack a full water bottle before you leave the house, and drink more than you think you have to,” says Alyx Gorman. The Filter’s favourite water bottle is the Owala FreeSip (rated best overall by Zoë Phillimore, who put 53 to the test for her roundup of the best water bottles).
Owala FreeSip water bottle, 710ml
Exercising in the heat
“It’s not a coincidence that Australians are among the world’s earliest risers: we try to get up before the temperature does. On hot days, exercising, walking the dog and aggressively watering the garden are all best done just after dawn,” says Alyx Gorman in her roundup of heatwave tips.
“Running in the heat raises your heart rate as the body works to cool itself,” says Kieran Alger in our running Q&A, where he answered readers’ questions. If you plan to run in the heat, he suggests using “a combination of a hydration vest, electrolytes and salt tablets (Precision Fuel and Hydration products are excellent) to stay hydrated. I’d also run holding ice to help bring down my core temperature.”
Summit run vest 5l
For more tips, check out our running Q&A, where our experts answered your questions
When working out in the heat, opt for breathable or moisture-wicking underwear and socks to help increase comfort. Uniqlo’s Airism range is specially designed to be breathable and deodorising. Charlie Allenby also recommends Maap training socks in his guide to summer cycling essentials. They “[provide] ventilation on the tops of your feet and padded toes” to increase comfort.
Uniqlo Airism boxer briefs
Uniqlo Airism women’s seamless briefs
Maap training socks
Personal trainer Kate Whetsel recommends this cooling towel for training in the summer. You just wet it, and it instantly produces a cooling effect to provide relief in the heat.
Chilly Pad cooling towel
Find somewhere with aircon
When it’s really bad, find a cinema with aircon that does overnight or late-night films and install yourself in there. It’s how I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a Sydney heatwave! Karen
Sit in a Wetherspoon’s with a cold pint of Bud Light and the aircon turned up. Happy days Mike
For more, read our Shark ChillPill 3-in-1 fan review and the best fans to keep you cool
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