18 Soothing and Cooling Skin-Care Products to Chill Out With
Months of sunshine-filled outings, coupled with profuse sweating, definitely take a toll on skin. Breakouts, irritation, compromised barriers, rosacea flare-ups and unwanted pigmentation abound. So it's important to take a moment to cool everything off and focus on restorative, soothing treatments.
"Soothing and calming skin-care products can be great for those with rosacea, eczema or sensitive skin to help support the skin barrier, calm irritation and reduce redness,"says Dr. Courtney Rubin, a Los Angeles-based board-certified dermatologist and co-founder of Fig.1 Beauty. "Cooling skin-care products can feel lovely on the skin during the warm summer months, especially after a beach day."
While sticking your face in the fridge for a moment's respite from the heat is definitely compelling, certain skin-care ingredients can deliver more impactful relief. Board-certified dermatologist and Skincare Junkie founder Dr. Blair Murphy-Rose names aloe vera, green tea, colloidal oatmeal, cucumber, ectoin and centella asiatica (AKA cica) as some of her favorite skin-care ingredients with anti-inflammatory, soothing properties. Menthol or chilled cucumber can also offer cooling effects, she says.
Dr. Rubin incorporates niacinamide into her summer skin-care routine for a variety of reasons: "Niacinamide is calming and soothing to the skin, but also works to reduce excess oil production — which can be an issue in the summer — and helps to even out skin tone and combat dark spots," she notes.
Just as the colder months call for a product switch-up in favor of heavier creams and salves, Dr. Murphy-Rose recommends adapting a skin-care routine to the warmer weather by embracing lightweight moisturizers and avoiding oils and balms. She also advises focusing on applying lighter, thinner formulas, such as serums and mists, first, before layering a moisturizer on top. Her main summertime skin-care hack for staying cool? "Chilling products in the fridge can add cooling benefits to many topicals," she says.
For soothing and lasting hydration, Dr. Murphy-Rose recommends Skincare Junkie's Megadose Super Antioxidant Face Moisturizer and First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask. She also singles out Skinceuticals's Biocellulose Restorative Mask as a "favorite post-procedure mask for cooling, soothing and moisturizing compromised skin." Dr. Rubin reaches for Fig.1's Niacinamide Treatment, which is formulated with 4% niacinamide to help reduce redness, post-biotic ferments to encourage a healthy skin microbiome as well as copper, magnesium and zinc ions that support skin renewal and its natural healing process.
Below, we've rounded up 18 soothing and cooling skin-care products for maintaining refreshed, irritation-free skin all summer long.
111Skin Cryo Sculpting Kit, $135, available here
Milk Makeup Cooling Water, $28, available here
Sofie Pavitt Nice Ice Toner Pads, $68, available here
The Outset Cool Cream Smoothing Mask, $44, available here
Skin Gym Cryo Chill Ice Beaded Face Mask, $20, available here
Vacation After Sun Gel, $12, available here
Therabody Theraface Pro, $399, available here
Yse Beauty The Overachiever Brightening Eye Masks, $36, available here
Dune The Lifeguard Cooling Aloe Gel, $23, available here
Fenty Skin Cocoa Cleans'r Soothing All-Over Cleansing Bar, $15, available here
Fig.1 Beauty Niacinamide Treatment, $36, available here
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask, $24, available here
The Skinny Confidential Hot Mess Ice Roller, $69, available here
Cay Skin Deepwater Hydrating & Soothing Body Crème, $28, available here
Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Hydra-Gel Eye Patches, $55, available here
Skincare Junkie Megadose Super Antioxidant Face Moisturizer, $68, available here
Skinceuticals Biocellulose Restorative Mask, $130, available here
Sun Bum Cool Down Hydrating After Sun Lotion, $13, available here
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