Glam Slam: How To Stay Cool When It’s Hot

First Published: July 18, 2012 1:01 PM EDT Credit: Access Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Ryan Patterson and daughter Harlow in front of Sugar Bakeshop in Charleston, SCThis is me. This is me (and my daughter) in South Carolina in the middle of a heat wave. I keep picturing those old “This is your brain on drugs” PSA’s when I look at this.

It was 98 degrees with a heat index of over 110 degrees. And we’re not talking a dry heat, we’re talking full on humidity.

Here are a few ways to keep cool when the going gets hot:

1. SHOW SOME LEG: Shorts and dresses are your best friends. I didn’t even pack a pair of pants. Why take up precious space in my suitcase? I wore shorts and cute summer dresses 24/7. If your legs aren’t your favorite body part, skip the shorts and do a longer length dress or skirt. Love the natural “air conditioning” you get from either.

2. WEAR COTTON: I spent my week wearing cool, breathable cotton. I purposely didn’t pack some cute silk shirts, due to the heat. However, I did bring one polyester/rayon dress and regretted it because I was burning up in all those synthetics. Cotton really does make a huge difference.

3. GO LIGHT: Wear light colors. They are cooler than dressing in my favorite head-to-toe black! Plus, the lighter colors are better at camouflaging sweat than dark ones.

4. TOP IT OFF: A woven straw hat is a godsend in the summer. It’s still cool, but keeps the hot sun off of your face and also hides bad hair that goes crazy in humidity!

5. SPLURGE A LITTLE: Eat lots of ice cream. And popsicles. Any anything else that will help you cool off. Here I am at an adorable bakery in Charleston, SC where we stopped numerous times to get homemade ice cream and popsicles. Yummy!

-- Ryan Patterson

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