Beauty and wellness are feeling the heat and responding accordingly.

With high temperatures continuing to progress, companies are becoming more innovative to meet consumer demands for solutions across most categories.

According to Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai, since consumers have become increasingly knowledgeable across categories, they are now also demanding efficacious solutions that provide comfort in the midst of extreme heat. These innovations are taking the shape of cooling mists, thermoregulating clothing, ice-based skin care products and even changing outdoor activities, wellness services and beauty treatments.

In the middle of summer, many are most concerned with sun exposure because it’s often most noticeable, particularly a sunburn. However, there are several other effects to be concerned about when faced with high heat. 

“Heat actually has a lot of detrimental effects physiologically, including [on] cardiac, pulmonary, kidney, electrolytes, almost any system,” said Dr. Scott Braunstein, double board-certified M.D. and chief medical officer at Sollis Health. 

He emphasized that while the body can regulate to the proper temperature, it can only do so much in extreme heat. There are many stages of how heat negatively impacts the body, Braunstein said. People may first experience muscle cramping due to the sodium shifts in the body caused by sweating. They could also experience rashes due to heat exposure. On the more severe end, people may feel lightheaded or may faint. Heat exhaustion results in “extreme sweating, dizziness, nausea, fatigue.” Heat stroke, the most extreme result of high heat exposure, includes “neurologic changes, which could be confusion or disoriented slurred speech or their balance is off,” Braunstein said, noting this could be life threatening. 

While high heat impacts everyone, Braunstein said there are certain populations that are at an increased risk, including those with pulmonary issues, cardiac issues and those on certain medications like GLP-1s, which can cause dehydration and electrolyte loss.

Heat illness is typically a more acute issue, but ongoing exposure could harm the kidneys, particularly for those who are already at risk. To stay safe in extreme heat, Braunstein said daily preparation is crucial and he recommends starting with understanding the heat index. 

“[It] takes into account the actual ambient temperature plus the humidity percentage, and that combination gives you a heat index score, which is actually more reflective of how dangerous the heat is,” he explained. 

He recommends using the Osha-Niosh app, which showcases the heat index score for each hour of the day and provides specific advice for handling the heat at different levels. Additionally, Braunstein recommends hydrating before, during and after heat exposure, alternating between regular water and electrolyte-infused water, remembering that alcohol and coffee both dehydrate the body. He also said to opt for loose, breathable clothing with fabrics like cotton or linen. 

Brands like ThirdLove and Rani Lounge are looking to take this concept of breathable, cooling clothing to the next level. ThirdLove, in particular, recently launched its TempSync collection, a line of intimates that provides temperature regulation via fabric technology from 37.5 that uses natural volcanic minerals to evaporate sweat. 

“It’s designed to keep you at the perfect core temperature,” said Ra’el Cohen, cofounder and chief creative officer of ThirdLove. “If you are outside and it’s hot, it anticipates when [your body is] going to start to sweat as your heat starts to rise and cools you down more rapidly than anything that’s breathable could ever do.” 

Meanwhile, Rani Lounge, founded by sisters Neelam and Serena Virani, employs Filium technology in its loungewear, which makes the fabric water resistant so that sweat will stay on the skin and quickly evaporate during sleep. 

“The fibers allow air to flow through it, versus polyester. It’s also going to absorb moisture,” said Serena Virani. “You are going to be uncomfortable because you’re going to overheat, or it’s going to trap a lot of odor.”

According to Braunstein, this type of sweat evaporation is crucial for cooling the body’s core temperature. To further do this, he recommends misters that provide both a water spray and fan for ultimate cooling. 

In addition to these types of misters, a slew of products are hitting the market to address many heat-related concerns, most notably in skin care. Sun protection has become the most mature. Therefore, a crop of SPF complementary products or new takes on SPF are becoming more common. For example, there’s Zure Solaris, an elevated post-sun-care brand. Then there’s Dermalogica’s latest BioLumin-C Heat Aging Protector SPF 50, $79, which in addition to sun protection addresses “the damaging effects of heat and oxidative stress,” via a ThermaRadiance complex, according to Dr. Bob Bianchini, vice president of technology and development at Dermalogica.

“Rising temperatures are accelerating demand for climate-adaptive skincare,” he said. “[The] industry is developing novel scientifically valid solutions to meet these increasing challenges.”

While sun protection has become the most crucial category, extreme heat can also lead to skin damage. 

“Whenever your skin is heated up, it causes inflammation, and if you are prone and susceptible to things like hyperpigmentation or melasma, or if you have inflamed, hot to the touch, painful acne, that inflammation can lead to dark marks,” said Sofie Pavitt, acne-focused aesthetician and founder of Sofie Pavitt Face. 

Pavitt said the main goal should be to keep the skin as cool as possible, a task many brands are trying to take on. For example, Sofie Pavitt Face has its Fridge to Face Blemish Defense Mist, $38, which addresses redness and cools the skin via a cooling agent, and its Nice Ice Toner Pads, $68, a frozen solution to reduce inflammation. Meanwhile, Ameon offers a variety of frozen essences for different skin concerns. Furthermore, facial mists have become one of the most viral categories with brands like Rhode, Cocokind and Eadem tapping in. 

In the face of extreme heat, it may seem like certain categories could take a hit, particularly cosmetics or heavy creams. But while aestheticians may recommend opting for lighter products in the summer, experts say that these categories likely won’t see a decline in demand. 

“Consumers want to impact their lifestyles as little as possible, even despite changing elements outside, so I can’t think of anything that might be negatively impacted,” said Lafontaine, noting that consumers are more likely to add products like cooling mists or additional SPFs to avoid changing the rest of their routine. Therefore, products like setting sprays, such as the viral One/Size On ‘Til Dawn Setting Spray, $18, which now also comes in an SPF version, are promising additive products particularly in the summer. 

Increasing temperatures are also impacting how providers think about their services. For example, Pavitt said she is regularly performing her Cryo Recovery Facial, $265, to bring down the heat and inflammation. Kristyn Smith, aesthetician and founder of PractiseNYC, shared given the changing temperature and level of humidity “the skin is in a constant state of adaptation, which can lead to inflammation.” She noted that these conditions often lead to dehydration. Therefore, she is regularly using a hydrating alginate mask, which thermoregulates the skin’s temperature, and iontophoresis, a machine that uses electric current to deliver moisturizing ingredients deeper into the skin. 

Other in person services are also adapting to the changing climates, most notably wellness retreats, many of which are located in tropical destinations, and travel overall. In 2024, the Global Wellness predicted that climate-adaptive wellness would be one of the biggest trends going forward. Similarly, Booking.com predicted that “noctourism,” or nocturnal tourism would be one of the biggest travel trends of 2025. 

“There’s a huge uptick in stargazing programs and celestial events with astronomers,” said McGroarty, adding that some offer nighttime hikes, yoga and more. Resorts like the Four Seasons Bora Bora and Zulal Wellness Resort in Qatar currently offer this sort of programming. 

Experts predict that as temperatures remain high, wellness resorts, particularly those located in tropical destinations will be forced to adjust their programming. For example Kokomo Private Island Fiji offers a massage with shells, which can either be heated or cooled, per spa director Naomi Gregory. According to spa director, Jessica Sanchez at The Spa at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, providers are trained to detect signs of heat stroke amongst guests. Additionally, the Global Wellness Institute reports that places like Canada and London are becoming more popular travel destinations thanks to the more temperate weather. Indoor activities like pickle ball and rock climbing have become popular, while people are also returning to cooling activities like wild swimming, particularly with the reopening of the Seine.

While beauty, wellness and apparel are three of the most obvious categories responding to climate change, others are following suit. McGroarty pointed to the importance of climate-adaptive architecture that uses cooling materials and even wearables that detect and warn against higher temperatures.

Lafontaine added: “It’s not just typically traditional beauty and wellness products that we think of that are seeing the benefits of this. When we think about categories, home and home furnishing, like air purifiers, those have become a lot more heavily adopted, specifically in states that have wildfires like California.” 

As more categories, from home to architecture to beauty and wellness, aim to find solutions for the heat, experts say it will influence every industry going forward.

“Inevitably, everything is going to change because of the rapidly blazing, burning up world,” said McGroarty.