Summer’s Calmy Army

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] The internet is all about bronzers, highlighters and beach ready pedicures but if only it was as simple as that. Whether it’s high days, holidays or just getting through the day, my list of the practicals certainly won’t give you a glow, a glossy lip or a tan but you’ll be glad you secreted them away for the inevitable summer SOS. Everything is available from Victoria Health so you’re not ordering from lots of different places.

Taking number one slot is the TemaBurn Aloe Wrap – what a genius product for taking the heat out of sun sore skin. Hey, it happens – I rarely sunbathe as such any more but can easily get caught out despite applying sun screen when I’m in the garden or out and about. This pliable, soothing and cooling hydrogel wrap can be cut to size to place over sun caught skin to both rehydrate and take the sting out with a blend of aloe vera, green tea and vitamin E. It’s also handy to have around for general household burns – steam, oven, irons etc. I forgot how dangerous being alive is. Find it for £19.95 HERE.

I’m not suggesting that a glass of Rose in the garden will turn into a bottle but goodness, it does slip down dangerously easily on a warm and barmy night. Combined with heat, it’s the perfect recipe for a banger of a hangover so replenishing your electrolytes can mean the difference between a metaphorically grey day or another joyful sunny day when you wake up. Electrolyte drinks are also useful post-exercise or when you haven’t kept up with your fluids on a scorcher of a day. It’s not carte blanche to crack open another bottle of Prosecco but if you do, you’ll probably be very glad of Electrolyte Fix Liquid, £13.95 HERE.

An itchy head in summer? Those skin saving hats can trap moisture and encourage a wonderful, damp environment for dandruff to thrive – it’s like sending fungus to Vegas: those microbes are going to party. Make sure you regularly remove your hat and let the air circulate around your head and hair, use a dandruff shampoo and keep DermaE Scalp Relief (just as good for a sun-hit parting), £17.95 HERE to hand. It uses apple cider vinegar and salicylic acid to treat irritated, itchy scalps and as an added bonus, acts as a volumizer for hair that goes flat in the heat.

Don’t start me on the annual summer wax where someone has to tackle the winter’s growth. I do my own with wax strips because I can’t bear the thought of the salon, but it’s not something I particularly relish doing and I also realise that eventually I will not be able to achieve the yoga-like positions required! I have lasered my legs and underarms so I’m talking about taming the bush – I’m all for keeping as much body hair as you want because it’s a personal choice but for me I don’t like an untidy bikini line. However, the redness! Oh my – it’s precision timing – waxing in good time for two week’s clearance, but giving enough time for the redness to pass (and don’t forget that tender skin is extra susceptible to sun damage) – call in Clinisoothe Skin Purifier, £15 HERE, to dab on sore post wax or post laser skin to ensure that there’s no insult to injury with inflammation. It will clean, soothe and protect while helping your skin to recover.

Hard to be chatty and breezy about a dodgy tummy but if you’re traveling far and wide, a course of pro-biotics would be a very sound idea. I take a probiotic supplement every single day and I think it’s one of the few supplements that has tangible benefits quite quickly. Victoria Health Mega Probio, £24 HERE, has exactly the right mix to not only prep the gut but to keep it steady – stomachs and bowels are tricky things – one minute they’re fine and the next they’re really not safe to be let out of the house.

I wish I’d had Moskinto when I went to Florence where the Italian mosquitos quite literally treated me like a five course dinner. I have never had such bites in my life – clearly I was just too delicious for them to resist. These little patches are to be stuck on as soon as you notice your bite to relieve the swelling and itching. Any itchiness should start to subside after 20 minutes or so and the patch will fall off naturally after a few days. They work because of a grid-like form that lets your lymphatic system drain off the bite. They’re £6.95 for 24 plasters HERE.

So, that’s it – prepped for all eventualities. None of these are beautiful or sexy but forewarned is forearmed, etc, etc and a well-stocked summer SOS bag is the most sensible of things to ensure that your days are sunny in one way or another.