Summer is a great time, isn’t it? It’s the time of the year we’re trained to look forward to since childhood. It’s a season we associate with having fun, going to summer camps, it’s the time off from school and prime vacation time for adults. It’s when we travel, hang out with friends all day, and live out best life free of chores and serious responsibilities. At least that’s what we remember about summer, but it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. Summer is also the time we sweat 24/7, feel disgustingly hot and sticky most of the day, our legs get stuck to benches, car seats and we spend hours tossing and turning in bed because we can’t fall asleep due to the heat. Not to mention the constant struggle of keeping our makeup from melting off our face and our hair from looking like Hermione’s in the first Harry Potter movie. Yeah, these things happen too, but we magically forget about for most of the year only to get a nasty surprise come summer months. And since it’s summer we thought it would be a good time to give you some hacks to fight the summer heat, they might not magically fix all your problems but at least they’ll keep you sane and make your life a little bit less hectic this summer.
1. First things first – the most obvious way to cool down is to go swim in the sea, ocean, public pool or any water park that is near you.
2. Another equally effective and fun way to cool down is to have a water balloon or water pistol fight with your friends.
3. If you only have one AC and it doesn’t cool down the whole apartment effectively, try placing fans strategically to propel the cool air around your home.
4. A cool hack for those who don’t have an AC is to just get a bunch of cold bottles of water or a bowl of ice and put it in front of the fan, so it’ll blow cooler air at you.
5. Remember that opening your freezer and putting your head in for a couple of minutes is not just something they do in the movies for comical effect, it actually is an effective way of cooling down a bit.
6. You can always pop into the movies, a local mall or even the frozen food section in the local supermarket to cool down when it’s too hot outside. Pro tip: ice-skating rinks also work in the summer.
7. There’s no shame in living on ice-cream, popsicles and iced coffees when the weather gets too hot.
8. If you do choose to cook at home, avoid turning on the stove or the oven, it’ll only get your home hotter. Instead cook in a crockpot or a grill. Better off have an outside BBQ instead.
9. A quick way to cool down is to run your wrists under a cold tap or run an ice-cube on your wrist.
10. Close the shades on your windows if you face a sunny side. It’ll help you to prevent your room from becoming too hot.
11. Keep your moisturizer and all your beauty products in the fridge. This way, when it’s time to put all that stuff on, it’ll also provide a cooling effect.
12. Deodorant isn’t just for your armpits. Put it in other strategic areas too. That means if you want to avoid chub rub, put it on your thighs, and if you’re a busty lady, put it in the underboob area too.
13. Alternatively you can get Lush’s silky underwear dusting powder and use it pretty much all over your body to keep it dry and your skin velvety soft.
14. Put dryer sheets everywhere, inside your shoes, in your wardrobe, stick some to your fan if you want. They’ll keep bad smells at bay and also make your home smell nice and seem fresh and clean.
15. Use sunscreen religiously. You don’t want to get a sunburn. Seriously, not only is that stuff painful, but it makes your body all itchy, icky and warm and you’ll be radiating heat. No one wants that.
16. Keep your laptop on the table, or get a special cooling stand. You don’t want it burning your thighs.
17. Don’t blow-dry your hair in the summer, it’ll make you feel miserable. And it’s kinda counterproductive. Your hair will get dry, but since it’ll make the room warmer and you’ll sweat and need to shower again. It’s a vicious circle. Just let your hair air dry.
18. Speaking of hair. If it gets frizzy, try a hair mask made of 1 avocado and 2 teaspoons of honey and olive oil. It’s supposed to make your hair all smooth and shiny and prevent it from frizzing up.
19. Some people swear by the Egyptian method of keeping cool at night. They make their sheets damp and cover themselves with them when they go to bed. That way the sheets dry by morning but you stay cool at night. But if you’re against wet sheets, just try putting them in the freezer an hour before bed, or get yourself a chillow.
20. And lastly, if you’re an adult or at least of age, put the wine in the fridge, and once it’s cool, wrap the bottle in tinfoil, this way it’ll stay cool while you have it out on the table and enjoy a much needed drink on a hot summer day.
