By TDD Contributing Writer

Whether or not you realize it, your skin is a living, breathing organism. As is true with plants and animals, certain climates affect our skin differently—and those impacts may also vary depending on skin types. One such example is high humidity. If you’re in a humid climate, your skin might have a higher sebum production, which leads to clogged pores and breakouts.

There is, however, a simple fix:  tailoring your beauty routine, especially if you have acne-prone skin or deal with eczema in the summer. While it’s true that high humidity can prevent your skin from getting dry, it’s still important to protect your skin from that same humidity.

For some, humid climates may mean that there is an increase of bacteria living on the skin, which can also lead to breakouts. Luckily for us all, I’ve unlocked the best skincare routine for humid weather, and I’m sharing it with you below—because summer is coming.

Best Skincare Routine for Humid Weather

Step one: Thoroughly cleanse your face in the morning and at night.

I used to religiously wash my face in the morning—so much so that a dermatologist told me I was over-cleansing and unintentionally drying out my skin. Speaking from personal experience, though, this is difficult to do when you’re experiencing high humidity levels—yes, even if you have dry skin. When there’s high humidity, your skin can get irritated and, as previously mentioned, it can also clog your pores. This fact makes it extra crucial to cleanse your face twice a day.

A note here, though: I generally don’t recommend (or like) cleansing skin twice a day. However, I’ve noticed that my skin gets very sticky when I’m in a humid climate, and it feels so much fresher and cleaner when I wash my face as soon as I wake up in the morning as well as when I’m about to go to bed later at night.

Step two: Use a face mist.

A face mist helps keep your skin hydrated by fighting dryness and helping the other products absorb better. When your skin is in humid conditions, it’s constantly sweating—which might make your face feel sticky and icky.

That’s precisely why facial mists are your best friend when you’re in high humidity. I personally love using a facial mist for two reasons. Firstly, because the action itself feels glamorous and, secondly, because my skin genuinely drinks it right up and feels refreshed AF right after I mist my face.

In humid weather, particularly, I find that my skin thanks me even more for the extra hydration since it’ll be (probably profusely) sweating as soon as I step outdoors. My favorite product is the Heritage Rosewater & Glycerin toner, which I’ve been using for almost five years. It smells fresh, is super lightweight, and has amazing hydrating properties. It’s certainly an affordable product—but if its price tag were steep, it’d be a beauty product worth the splurge.

Step three: Exfoliate.

Another simple step that can help take care of your skin in humid weather? Exfoliating. I know that might sound a little too easy, but please hear me out: Doing this will help remove dead skin cells, which accumulate more in high humidity because of that extra sebum production we talked about earlier. When your skin is producing too much sebum, it tends to sit on the top layer of your face—which is unideal because it could make your skin look dull. Exfoliating is the antidote (thank me later!).

Step four: Apply sunscreen.

Regardless of what the weather is like—cold, hot, cloudy, or humid—you need to protect your skin from UV rays that have been linked to skin cancer. The best way to do that is, hands down, to apply a sunscreen that has at least SPF 30. 

If you’re wondering why you would need to wear a sunscreen if it’s humid, just think about how hot it is and how powerful (read: harmful) the sun is during those times.  That’s because nothing (except SPF) really blocks the sunlight or rays from affecting your skin—not even clouds.

Step five: Stay hydrated.

One of the best things you can do for your skin despite the climate? Drinking water! When you stay hydrated, you’re allowing your skin to be more elastic, which can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. And that’s important because you’re sweating a lot when it’s humid, which means that your skin is releasing a lot of the water that aids its hydration. 

Of course, you can, yourself, stay hydrated from the inside out by drinking water throughout the day. Or, if you’re trying to just hydrate your skin, reach for a bottle of hyaluronic acid. You honestly can’t go wrong.