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The heatwave essentials for keeping your cool this summer

As UK temperatures soar, make sure you’re cool as a cucumber with these hot weather must-haves

Louise Whitbread,Eva Waite-Taylor
Thursday 14 July 2022 15:02 BST
<p>From fans to bedding, these are our recommendations for everything you need</p>

From fans to bedding, these are our recommendations for everything you need

It’s hot – very hot in fact. And while many of us count down the days until the summer weather comes back around, there’s no denying that when it does arrive, as a nation, we’re ill-equipped.

The UK has been hit with sizzling temperatures this week, while the Met Office has warned temperatures could hit (and exceed) 35 degrees in some areas of the UK, with sweltering and possibly record-breaking highs into next week and beyond.

Sure, the golden rays feel glorious while basking outdoors (slathered in suncream of course), but when it comes to being inside, without air conditioning, the heat is certainly difficult to handle.

If you’re struggling with the heat, you’ll be glad to know that there are solutions out there, and we’re on hand to share the best tips and tricks that we always rely on for making sure we feel a little more comfortable during the hottest days of the year.

Whether you’re looking to invest in a cooling fan, want to opt for breathable bedding, or are looking for a face mist that’ll provide instant relief from the rays, you’ll find all this and more within our handy heatwave guide.

Read more:

The best fans

An obvious choice, but the right fan means saying goodbye to sticky, sleepless nights. We often put off buying one of these heatwave saviours until temperatures soar and they all sell out, so it’s time to act fast this year.

The Dyson purifier cool autoreact (£500, Argos.co.uk) beat all competition in our review of the best cooling fans. It “provided fast, powerful cooling and cooled our medium-sized living room in seconds”, praised our tester.

Better still, should you be concerned about it being loud while you’re sleeping, our writer was “seriously impressed with its low noise levels, even when we weren’t using the ultra-quiet night mode”.

For something a little more pocket-friendly though, we’d recommend Tower’s scandi 14in tower fan (£29.99, Amazon.co.uk), which was also well-reviewed.

It boasts “three different speed settings, 80-degree oscillation and a two-hour timer function”, which “were more than enough to keep us cool”. Its low weight also means you can move it from room to room with ease.

The best bedding

The fabric of your bedsheets plays an important role in keeping cool at night. Linen is perfect for year-round style as it's breathable, durable, lightweight and adapts to the seasons to keep you cool in summer and toasty in winter. Its naturally crumpled texture means it looks better wash after wash, without the need to iron it.

Linen also has an impressive range of eco-credentials: it’s made from the long fibres of the flax plant – one of the oldest continuously cultivated plants in the world, and a renewable source that’s fully biodegradable – so you can sleep soundly, snuggled up in your environmentally friendly bedding set.

In our guide to the best linen bedding, Secret Linen Store’s violet white set (from £85, Secretlinenstore.com) took the top spot thanks to its “timeless, vintage look”.

Our tester noted that it’s “beautifully soft and supple – and it looked and felt even more lived in after a few washes”, which is definitely good news.

Similarly, we’d certainly recommend investing in a summer duvet. Simba’s hybrid option (from £139, Simbasleep.com) reigned supreme in our review of the best because it offers the “best of both worlds” in that it cancels out the need for both a winter and summer duvet.

“Astronaut-inspired temperature regulation” is the technology behind this nifty bedding essential. “One side of the duvet – the patterned one – has a special feature and keeps you comfortable by absorbing your body heat if you get too hot on balmy nights”, noted our writer. Once your body temperature drops, it’s said to release the stored heat. The ingenious design sounds particularly useful for the upcoming heatwave.

The best nightwear

Lightweight pyjamas in breathable fabrics are a godsend to stop you from overheating. As an all-round multitasking material, linen is up to the job, as it dries quicker than cotton, so you won’t wake up with a soggy top.

Other options include silk, which if you’re willing to splash out on, is moisture-wicking and super soft on the skin. Bamboo is an eco-friendly alternative to silk that’s also more affordable, but it looks and feels almost the same as silk and is breathable, too. There’s also rayon, a man-made fabric created from cotton and wood pulp, which is also widely used to imitate silk.

This Nightire sweet clementine short set (£63, Nightire.com) was a firm favourite in our IndyBest round-up of women’s summer PJs. Our IndyBest Editor, Emma Henderson, noted that the set is made from bamboo, which is “environmentally friendly and moisture-wicking”.

The bottoms are “elasticated with a scalloped bottom and the shirt also has a top right pocket”, she added. The “subtle detail of an embroidered outline of a closed eye on either lapel, reminded us that these are to sleep in, but we’d happily wear them anywhere”.

Best of all, “they’re oh-so-silky to wear, we didn’t overheat in bed (even during a heatwave), and they wash well too”.

Stay hydrated

It goes without saying that when it’s hot, you should drink plenty of fluids to avoid getting dehydrated.

Plus, it’s a great opportunity to cut down on single-use plastic water bottles and switch to a reusable version which will prevent marine pollution, and of course, save you money. It’s a no-brainer.

In our review of the best reusable water bottles, the Hydro Flask wide mouth (£38.99, Amazon.co.uk) was a firm favourite thanks to it being ideal for a range of scenarios, including walking or hiking. It “keeps cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours and hot drinks hot for up to 12 hours”, according to our reviewer.

It’s also “lighter than most insulated water bottles, which again is perfect if you’re on the move as it won’t weigh you down”. Similarly, it “holds 946ml, you will hit your daily water quota without taking multiple trips to the tap”. It comes in a range of different colours, so you can stay hydrated in style.

Spritz skin with a face mist

When you’re sunning yourself outside or struggling to work at home, a spritz from a face mist is the perfect pick-me-up.

Not entirely just indulgent either, though scented ones can make a lovely treat. The Avène soothing thermal spring water spray (£9.75, Boots.com) is one we can’t do without.

Keep skin hydrated and soothed by liberally spritzing a face mist regularly

It soothes hot skin if you’ve spent too much time in the sun, takes the sting out of patches of eczema, is anti-inflammatory for sensitive skin and most importantly, cools you down when it’s too hot. It comes in handbag-friendly sizes all the way up to a 330ml jumbo size spray, which will last you months, no matter how liberally you spritz it.

Keep it by your bedside at all times and our top tip is to spray it onto the face and body, then sit directly in front of a fan. The mist will go ice cold with the cool air and instantly make you feel better.

Put your skincare tools in the fridge

Adapt to the hot weather by incorporating a facial massage into your skincare routine, using tools that will cool you down.

A little TLC can go a long way to alleviate stress and tension and using your hands and tools like a jade roller can help reduce water retention, sculpt your jawline, de-puff tired eyes and refresh lacklustre skin to make a makeup-free face feel rejuvenated.

This Herbivore jade facial roller is perfect for puffy skin and rolling on sheet face masks

A jade roller is a paint-style roller tool with a larger stone on one end for your cheeks, forehead and jawline and a smaller stone on the other end for under the eyes and around the mouth. Pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes before use to cool down overheating skin.

Celebrity aesthetician, Nichola Joss, who counts Meghan Markle, Gisele Bundchen and Kate Moss as clients, recommended the Herbivore jade facial roller (£29, Cultbeauty.co.uk), especially for puffy eyes from any sleepless nights. Gently roll it across your skin, working in small sections.

Keep your hair out of your face

There’s nothing worse than sweaty strands of hair getting in your way while you’re trying to work. If you have baby hairs or layers at the back that never stay tucked in with a hair tie, try a pretty hair clip that is fashionable and functional.

These Accessorize pearly snap hair clips (£10, Accessorize.com) featured in our review of the best statement hair pieces, with our writer noting that they are “delightfully Regencycore with their imitation pearl finish on gold-tone metal”.

“Larger than your average pair of clips, they make for the perfect statement hair accessory. Snapping firmly into place, the pair boast a tight grip and feel sturdy once in place,” they added.

Claw clips are also great for scooping up and keeping hair off of your neck in the heat, and in our best hair clips review we loved Tort’s Lora pink claw clip (£26, Tortware.com). Tort’s founder thought of the striped crimson clip as jewellery for your hair, and our tester very much agreed.

Get creative in the kitchen

Hot weather calls for ice cream, sorbet and lollies galore. Whip up frozen treats at home with an ice cream machine, many of which are versatile enough to create any number of desserts.

If you’re an ice cream obsessive, it doesn’t get better than the Cuisinart ice cream and gelato professional (£300, Cuisinart.co.uk), which took the top spot in our review, owing to the mouthwatering results it delivered. “Any real ice cream obsessive will love the fact there’s no need to pre-freeze a bowl,” our tester added.

Voucher codes

For the latest discounts on heatwave essentials, try the links below:

Looking for more heatwave recommendations? Read our review of the best cooling fans

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