Even if they are benign and totally harmless, heat bumps can be embarrassing because of the itching they cause or their sometimes unsightly appearance. Why do they appear during summer? What care should you take and apply? How do you get rid of these heat bumps on your face and body quickly? We answer your questions.
How to Get Rid of Heat Bumps on Face and Body.
Published on July 31, 2024, by Maylis, Chemical Engineer — 4 min of reading
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What Are Heat Bumps?
Also known as miliaria, heat rash is a mild dermatosis. This common and easy to heal skin condition tends to disappear naturally after 24 to 48 hours. Heat bumps can appear as transparent blisters that look like water droplets or as red spots. They usually occur during the summer months because excessive sweating can occur in the heat. Heat rash is then caused by the obstruction of the sweat ducts. It is a natural reaction of the skin to evacuate the perspiration that gets blocked under the epidermis. They are sometimes called “sweat spots”; they are not contagious. This phenomenon can affect every individual, but is particularly common in infants and young children. Heat bumps appear mainly on exposed areas (face, neck, chest, hands, feet...) and folds such as the armpits or groin.
What Care Should I Use to Treat Heat Rash?
Although heat rash usually disappears naturally in less than two days, the mild itching and irritation sun rash causes can be treated at home:
Use aloe vera.
Native aloe vera gel has a soothing and healing effect on heat bumps. It contains several antiseptic agents, including lupeol and cinnamic acid, which help calm itching and get rid of heat rash. Moreover, it provides an immediate sensation of freshness and exerts a repairing activity by inhibiting certain mediators of the inflammation like the prostaglandin F2, via the way of degradation of the arachidonic acid by acting on the cyclooxygenase. It can be applied directly after the shower on the concerned area, in the form of a cataplasm.
Apply a gentle exfoliation.
The exfoliation allows evacuating the sweat accumulated in the epidermis. Be careful not to be too abrasive so as not to over-inflame the areas already weakened by heat bumps. At Typology, we have developed four scrubs based on exfoliating micro-grains derived from the grinding of apricot kernels. The face scrubs are less concentrated in abrasive particles than the body scrubs, in order to respect your skin. The radiance face scrub with rose hip oil and organic carrot macerate evens out the complexion and gives it luminosity. It is particularly suitable for dull skin, lacking radiance, as well as for dry and uncomfortable skin. The regenerating facial scrub is to be preferred if you wish to attenuate the appearance of the first signs of aging. It gently exfoliates and unclogs the pores. The nourishing body scrub allows softening the epidermis. It is particularly suitable for dry and uncomfortable skin. The toning body scrub contains organic green coffee macerate (draining) and organic lemongrass and cedar essential oils (anti-cellulite). It is recommended to smooth, firm and tone the skin while reducing the orange peel appearance.
Moisturize.
A good hydration is essential for a nice skin and to get rid of heat bumps on face and body quickly. Therefore, it is recommended to drink a lot of water and to treat the sun rash at home with a moisturizing cream of a light and non-greasy texture on the affected area.
Note: Some grandmotherly healing remedies recommend applying baking soda powder directly on the heat bumps to open the pores and facilitate the evacuation of sweat. However, we would like to point out that no scientific data has validated this application.
Source
HAMMAN J. H. Composition and applications of Aloe vera leaf gel. Molecules (2008).
