Balancing Hormones in Summer: The Role of Sun, Skin & Stress

Summer: the season of longer days, lightness, movement… and let’s be honest, sometimes stress, heatwaves, late nights, and sugar overload. But did you know that summer can deeply impact your hormonal balance—both positively and negatively?

In this post, I’m sharing how summer affects your stress response (aka your adrenals and cortisol), why your skin health matters to your hormones, and simple daily practices to stay balanced through the season.

☀️ The Stress-Hormone-Summer Connection

Your hormones don’t exist in a vacuum. They respond to your environment—and summer has a lot of environmental factors at play:

• Increased heat can stress the body, triggering your adrenal glands to pump out more cortisol.

• Overstimulation from social events, noise, sun exposure, and disrupted routines can dysregulate your nervous system.

• Poor sleep due to light evenings or high temps directly impacts hormone production (especially melatonin, which impacts cortisol, which impacts sex hormones… see the domino?). Your adrenals repair between 11-12 and if you aren't asleep for this window they won't get to help themselves.

🔁 Chronic overstimulation → nervous system stress → adrenal dysregulation → hormonal imbalance.

🌿 Cooling the Nervous System = Cooling the Hormones

One of the most powerful things you can do in summer?

Support your parasympathetic nervous system—the rest-and-digest mode.

This helps regulate cortisol, which in turn supports:

• progesterone (hello, calmer moods!)

• balanced estrogen (less PMS & inflammation)

• thyroid function (goodbye, sluggish days)

Try this:

• Cool foot soaks with Lavender + Peppermint oil

• A post-swim mist with Vitamin C + Aloe + Geranium to calm skin and prevent inflammation - see the DIY in my latest e-mail

• Breathwork or legs-up-the-wall in the early evening before bed

• Prioritise morning sunlight for circadian support

• Eat the rainbow including watermelon - excellent for hydration, containing electrolytes, antioxidants & B6 and so your body has what it needs to create balance.

• Hormone balancing oil blends - on sale this month (July 2025)

🧴 Skin Health = Hormone Health?

Your skin is an endocrine organ. Yep—it's not just a barrier. It interacts with hormones and produces some itself, like vitamin D and melatonin.

But it’s also a pathway for:

• Toxin absorption (from conventional sunscreens, synthetic fragrance etc - when we say putting 'fragrance' on the skin disrupts your hormones we aren't kidding.)

• Detox (sweat is a detox route, which can be compromised by blocked pores or too much product)

• Overheating, which signals stress to the body.

• Switching to low-tox skincare, choosing shade + clothing over chemical sunscreen, and hydrating with electrolytes are powerful hormone-supporting moves.

• Showering before AND after swimming to reduce chlorine exposure (it messes with hormones)

💡 Small Summer Habits = Big Hormone Shifts

Here are 5 simple shifts to try:

1. Hydrate with intention: Add lemon, cucumber, or a pinch of sodium bicarb if salt is too harsh.

2. Use peppermint oil to stay cool—on pulse points or in a cooling spray / compress.

3. Protect sleep: Keep rooms dark, cool, and limit screen time late in the day.

4. Plan rest into your week. Summer doesn’t have to be go-go-go.

5. Support detox with lymphatic drainage, body brushing, or dry sauna sessions (if not too hot outside).

   
   

👣 One More Thing

If your hormones feel off in summer—you’re not imagining it. Your body is responding to external cues. The great news is: with small, intentional shifts, you can feel clearer, lighter, and more stable in both body and mind.

📥 Want the DIYs mentioned above?

Grab the summer low-tox guide here — with recipes for:

• Cooling foot soaks

• Chlorine-neutralising body spray

• Hormone-safe sun tips

• Summer diffuser blends

Let’s help your hormones love summer again. 💛