After-Sun Skincare — What Your Skin Actually Needs

You spent the day by the pool looking incredible. Your swimwear was immaculate. Your skin, however, has been through it — chlorine, salt, UV, wind. The after-sun routine you use in the next twelve hours determines whether you glow or peel. Here is the honest guide.

Step One: Cool Down Properly

Skip the hot shower. We know it feels luxurious after a long beach day, but hot water strips your skin barrier when it is already compromised. A lukewarm shower with a gentle, fragrance-free body wash is all you need. Save the fancy shower gel for tomorrow.

Step Two: Hydrate While Damp

This is the step most people skip, and it is the most important. Apply a rich, soothing moisturiser to damp skin immediately after your shower. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume is the gold standard — it repairs, soothes and locks in moisture without feeling heavy.

For your face, a hyaluronic acid serum followed by a calming moisturiser works wonders. Avoid anything with active acids — no glycolic, no retinol, not tonight.

Step Three: Treat Any Burn

If you caught too much sun (it happens to the best of us), pure aloe vera gel is your friend. Not the bright green stuff from the chemist — look for 99% pure aloe with no fragrance or alcohol. Keep it in the fridge for extra relief.

What to Avoid

Retinol: Wait at least 48 hours after significant sun exposure before reintroducing retinol. Your skin is already sensitised.

Exfoliating acids: AHAs and BHAs can cause irritation on sun-exposed skin. Give it a rest for a day or two.

Fragrance: Your favourite perfumed body cream? Not today. Fragrance can irritate sun-stressed skin and cause hyperpigmentation.

Tight clothing: Loose, breathable fabrics only. Your skin needs to breathe. A beautiful linen cover-up from Melissa Odabash works perfectly for evening.

Our After-Sun Essentials

1. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 — the repair hero

2. Pure Aloe Vera Gel — for when you overdid it

3. CeraVe Moisturising Cream — barrier repair while you sleep

4. Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen — for tomorrow morning

5. Silk Pillowcase — less friction on sensitive skin overnight