Florida skin care: humidity, sun and salt

What skin care should you use in humid weather?

Air that holds this much moisture changes what skin wants. The National Weather Service's 2025 report for Melbourne shows 74% average relative humidity and a mean temperature of 73.9°F, almost a degree above normal. Heavy creams that feel right up north can sit on the skin here and mix with sweat.

The AAD's guide to moisturizers is simple: gel for oily skin or hot, humid weather, lotion for normal or combination skin, cream for dry skin. In Brevard, that can mean gel in the humid months and lotion once the air dries out in winter. Look for non-comedogenic on the label if you break out.

Sweat is the other half. The AAD advises blotting it with a clean towel rather than rubbing, and changing out of sweaty, tight clothes soon after a workout or a yard-work morning. For heat rash, it suggests light, loose cotton.

Do you need sunscreen every month in Florida?

The EPA's UV guide uses Miami as its Florida example: a midday UV Index around 4 in winter and 10 to 11 in summer. It also notes that UV peaks from April to August and declines in fall, but on the EPA's scale anything from 3 up already calls for protection. On the Space Coast, that covers most of the year.

Clouds do less than they seem. The EPA says thin or broken clouds let most UV through, and puffy fair-weather clouds can even raise it by bouncing rays down. A quick test from the EPA: if your shadow is shorter than you are, UV is strong, so seek shade.

For the face, the AAD recommends broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, water resistant if you will sweat or swim, reapplied every two hours and after swimming or sweating. A wide-brimmed hat does work no lotion can.

What do salt water and sand do to your skin?

Ocean water is not the skin treatment it is sometimes sold as. Cleveland Clinic says salt water can temporarily take oil off the skin, but repeated or long exposure without rinsing can dry it out, weaken the skin barrier and set off eczema. Its advice after a swim at Melbourne Beach or Cocoa Beach: rinse with fresh water as soon as you can, then put moisturizer on while the skin is still damp. Ceramides support the barrier and hyaluronic acid adds hydration.

Sand adds to the sun, too. The EPA estimates sand reflects about 15% of UV and water about 10%, so an umbrella on the beach is shade, not full protection. Sunscreen still goes on underneath it.

A Space Coast routine, morning to night

Built from AAD, EPA and Cleveland Clinic guidance listed under Sources.

What changes for darker skin tones

Florida light matters for every skin tone. The AAD recommends a tinted sunscreen with iron oxide for darker skin, because iron oxide blocks visible light, a cause of dark spots, as well as UV. It also suggests a shade that blends in, to avoid a white cast.

Summer breakouts and irritated skin can leave post-inflammatory dark marks, and the AAD says those can take 6 to 12 months to fade. Keeping skin calm in summer is part of keeping tone even.

Finally, skin checks. The AAD notes that in darker skin, skin cancer can appear in places that get little sun, such as the palms, the soles and under the nails. A regular self-exam belongs in a Florida routine whatever your skin tone.