Summer Hair & Beauty Essentials: Protect & Revive

Jack Miskell

Tress S.O.S.

Chlorine and salt water can suck the life out of hair. Resuscitate strands with Avon Advance Techniques Instant Recharge Treatments ($8.99 for a four-pack, avon.com), single-use tubes ideal for your gym bag or beach bag. Potent concentrations of marine extracts offer salon-strength deep-conditioning results.

Jack Miskell

Hair-Color Helper

Water (from a shower or swim) swells the hair shaft and breaks up dye molecules. Wash with Nexxus Dualiste Color Protection + Intense Hydration shampoo ($11.99, drugstores). It deposits a water-repelling layer onto the cuticle that stays put after you rinse, keeping your hue true.

Jack Miskell

Makeup Eraser

Even long-wear formulas of mascara, liner, and lipstick can break down in steamy summer conditions, causing embarrassing streaks and smudges. Stash the L'Oreal Paris Clean Artiste Makeup Corrector Pen ($10.95, lorealparis.com) in your handbag. Like an eraser, it wipes away minor mishaps with a flick of the wrist.

Jack Miskell

Do-It-All Lotion

Show off your toned, sexy legs with Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs ($9.99, drugstores). One application keeps them silky for 24 hours, adds a touch of golden self-tanner, and contains herbal extracts that help buy you a day between shaves (less stubble!).

Jack Miskell

Wrinkle Destroyer

Rx retinoids, creams derived from vitamin A, are proven to wipe out lines, but they can be irritating. Olay Professional Pro-X Intensive Wrinkle Protocol kit ($62, preorder at drugstore.com on May 18) is just as potent, minus scaling and stinging. The sunscreen, night cream, and wrinkle treatment combo is made with peptides and retinyl (a less irritating form of vitamin A), smoothing skin as effectively as a pro-strength product, say sponsored clinical studies.

Jack Miskell

Blemish-Blocking Base

Shelve the spot treatment! Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Makeup ($13.99, drugstores) contains 2 percent salicylic acid, which exfoliates pores, plus a benzoyl peroxide-like oil dissolver that zaps bacteria to treat, prevent, and hide the evidence of acne.

Jack Miskell

Natural Perfume

With at least 95 percent of its ingredients coming straight from the earth, Wholearth Organic Perfume Spray ($65, wholearthbeauty.com) is the first-ever USDA-certified organic fragrance. Each scent (there are three) is made with essential oils of flowers and fruits, not synthetic notes, which get more potent as the mercury rises. Result: an aroma that smells light all summer.

Jack Miskell

Radiance Reviver

Brighten sun-induced freckles in a week (according to company-sponsored studies) with Murad Environmental Shield Active Radiance Serum ($89, murad.com). Exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids dissolve dead surface cells on contact, allowing the super-potent vitamin C (50 times the strength of previous products) to penetrate and fade spots. Apply it twice a day to see speedy results — and top with SPF.

Jack Miskell

One-Minute Manicures

Forget slowpoke polishes. These lacquers dry in under 60 seconds (we tried them!), thanks to solvents that evaporate four times faster than usual: N.Y.C. Quick Dry Polish in East Village (blue) and Madison Avenue (red), $1.99; Rimmel London 60 Seconds Vinyl Shine Nail Polish in Camouflage (green), $3.32; and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Color in Lightening (yellow), $4.95; drugstores.

Jack Miskell

Longer-Lasting Sweat Stopper

A cocktail of skin conditioners and the max level of sweat-blocking aluminum zirconium makes Secret Clinical Strength Waterproof Antiperspirant/Deodorant ($9.99, drugstores) the first formula that doesn't dissolve with H2O. Pits stay bone-dry whether you're running or surfing.

Jack Miskell

Frizz Fighter

Summer doesn't have to mean bad-hair days. Minimize poof and protect your tresses from mane-taming flatirons and dryers with John Frieda Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat ($6.49, drugstores). The tools' heat causes vegetable proteins and silicone polymers in the product to bond, forming a weightless barrier around each strand of hair to block humidity.

Jack Miskell

Itty-Bitty Fuzz Buster

Miniature squares of Sally Hansen Naturally Bare Waxing Strips for Faces & Little Spaces ($6, drugstores) let you banish small patches of hair (on your toes, under your belly button) on the run, without any mess. You'll be smooth for up to eight weeks.

Originally published in Ladies' Home Journal, June 2009.