If your skin tends to flare, redden, itch, sting or break out the moment summer arrives, please know you’re not alone. I hear from so many people who say things like, “My skin was fine all winter… why does it fall apart the minute the weather warms up?” It can feel frustrating, especially when you’re doing your best to look after yourself. But in many cases, summer skin sensitivity isn’t random – it’s a message. And the more we learn to interpret those messages, the more empowered we feel in our own body.

Let’s look at a few of the most common drivers, and what your skin may be trying to tell you.

A heavier liver load

Our liver quietly processes an enormous amount every single day – everything from alcohol and medications to environmental pollutants, certain skincare ingredients, your own hormones, medicated hormones and more. During summer, this load often increases without us realising. There are more social occasions, more alcoholic drinks, more sweetened iced coffees, more sunscreen, and more fragrance… and all of this creates extra work for the liver. When the liver becomes “overwhelmed”, it may struggle to process substances efficiently and the body looks for other ways to “offload” them. The skin is one of those pathways and it can also show signs of the consequences of not having been able to offload them efficiently.

This can show up as:

• redness or flushing
• breakouts or congestion
• eczema or irritation
• dryness that doesn’t respond to oil or moisturiser

Skin issues are never about blaming ourselves – they’re invitations to support the body upstream.

What helps: You don’t need a perfect way of eating. You simply need to create little moments of ease for your liver. Think leafy greens, brassica vegetables, fresh herbs, lemon water, reduced alcohol intake and prioritising whole, unprocessed foods where possible. Even one supportive meal can make your liver’s day easier.

The stress–skin connection

Stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, have a surprisingly big impact on our skin. When we feel rushed, pressured or overwhelmed, the fight or flight response stays switched on. Blood flow is directed away from digestion, which means fewer nutrients are absorbed from food, plus this redirection of the blood supply can contribute to bloating. Over time, this can lead to lower levels of skin-supportive nutrients like zinc, iron, vitamin A and essential fatty acids.

Cortisol also influences oil production, inflammation and skin barrier repair – which is why periods of stress can contribute to breakouts, dermatitis or rosacea flare-ups. And summer, for many people, is deceptively stressful. December often feels like the world is speeding up – more events, more driving, more noise, more expectations, less sleep.

What helps: Slow breathing. Time outdoors. Even a five-minute pause. Choosing to say yes or no from your truth, not obligation. Your stress hormones respond instantly to a shift in your breath; longer exhales than inhales that whisper “you’re safe”.

Gut health plays a bigger role than most people realise

If your gut isn’t absorbing nutrients well, your skin will be one of the first places you notice it. Alcohol, holiday eating and less sleep can all irritate the gut. When this becomes a pattern, the skin often reflects the internal irritation – because the immune system and the gut are so closely linked. Symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhoea or reflux often go hand in hand with skin reactivity.

What helps: Gentle, consistent support. Eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, choosing whole foods when you can, adding fermented foods, taking breaks from alcohol and staying hydrated. Including more antioxidants. Grapeseed extract has some excellent research behind it for skin health and was one of the reasons it’s a hero ingredient in Skin Nutrition [add link to SN]. These small steps help calm the gut, and when the gut calms, the skin often follows.

Your skin isn’t misbehaving – it’s communicating

It’s easy to think skin issues are superficial but the skin is highly intelligent. It’s always responding. To what you eat, how you sleep, your stress levels, your liver load and your emotional world. If your skin is speaking more loudly in summer, it’s not to frustrate you. It’s simply saying, “Something needs a gentler or different approach”.

You don’t need to overhaul your life. But you might need one small shift repeated: a little less alcohol or a total break for a set period, a little more water, five slow breaths before eating, a few magnesium-rich vegetables on your plate, two earlier nights a week. These tiny changes often help your skin settle – because you’re supporting the systems that support it.

Please remember: your face tells the story of your life. Every line, freckle and flush belongs to someone who has lived, felt, loved, grieved, laughed, survived and grown. There is beauty in that. If your skin is struggling right now, treat it with the same gentleness you would show a dear friend. And let that gentleness ripple inward – the nervous system, the liver and the gut all respond beautifully to kindness.

Your skin is not betraying you. It’s guiding you. And when you listen, it often softens in return.