What I love about summer: cute white dresses, breezy linen shorts and BBQ parties with family and friends. What I’m less excited about as the seasons change: overheating. Thankfully, cooling lotions and their gel, spray and serum counterparts exist, and are here to save the day. Cooling skin products come in many forms, but can be characterized by their formulations that bring a soothing sensation to the skin, leaving you feeling refreshed no matter the temps.

So what makes them such a powerful tool on sweltering days? “Cooling products work by using ingredients that trigger nerve endings in the skin,” says board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Corey L. Hartman, Founder of Skin Wellness Dermatology in Birmingham, AL. “The ingredients don't lower the temperature of your skin; they instead work by creating a cellular response that sends a signal to your nerves responsible for regulating temperature that the skin is not hot, thus feeling cooler.”

In an effort to find the best cooling lotions out there, I tapped Dr. Hartman to share his top picks, and I scoured the market to find the brands most beloved by shoppers online. All products included are highly reviewed, contain ingredients that will bring that refreshingly cool feeling to your toasty skin, and promise to provide your skin with the relief we all crave when summer heat becomes a little too much to take. So read on for the best cooling lotions, gels and sprays to ease any heat-related discomfort in the summer months to come.

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Dr. Hartman suggests keeping an eye out for products that include cucumber, peppermint, menthol, eucalyptus and aloe vera, as these will all bring that cooling sensation to the skin.

Gold Bond Medicated Extra Strength Body Lotion is PureWow’s pick for best cooling lotion, based on how well it cools and revitalizes dry, itchy skin. Aloe and vitamin E make it soothing, it’s pretty affordable and it received our derm’s seal of approval.

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