'Queer Eye's' Jonathan Van Ness Swears by this Essential Oil to Cool Off on Hot Summer Days
Jonathan Van Ness is ever so much more than just Queer Eye's grooming expert (though that alone is enough for an impressive résumé). He's a celebrated hairstylist and colorist, a card-carrying member of the comedy community, and a master of the mustache-to-beard-stubble ratio. That penchant for facial hair — not to mention shoulder-length hair — has surely led to feeling a little overheated on sweltering summer days, so he's come up with a super-easy way for anyone feeling icky-sticky to get and stay cool.
When the Fab Five recently visited Today, Van Ness offered a tip that anyone in the western hemisphere on the verge of July can benefit from: "So when you have your blow dryer and you're just, like, sweating and it's summer and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, I just don't even know I'm gonna, like, stay not-wet-looking,' if you take a little bit of a peppermint or a spearmint oil compilation — Aveda makes an amazing blue oil — you just put a little spot of it on the back of your neck and a little bit on your wrist. It will keep you cool like little wintergreen fairies are blowing on the back of your neck for like an hour." Spoken like a true Jonathan Van Ness.
The specific Aveda oil of which Van Ness speaks is the Cooling Balancing Oil Concentrate, which comes in both a quarter-ounce rollerball format and a 1.7-ounce bottle. It features blue chamomile and menthol in addition to peppermint, and it promises to not only cool skin but also ease muscle aches. If you prefer spearmint, try Now Foods' 100% Pure Spearmint Oil.
Van Ness is no stranger to how seasonal changes can mess with your skin's comfort. He spoke to Allure earlier this year about his struggle with and acceptance of psoriasis, including how it can worsen with climate and weather shifts. "Winter is always bad and changing seasons, and then when I started going back and forth from New York to L.A., that messed with it, too," he explained. "I have it really bad on my elbow right now and sometimes when she's like that, nothing is going to do anything. She's just like, 'This is my truth.' And that's that."
More ways to handle the heat this summer:
How to Tell If Your Sweaty, Itchy Skin Is Actually Heat Rash
The Surprising Deodorant Trick That Keeps You Smelling Fresh All Day Long
Now watch Jonathan Van Ness and the Queer Eye guys try nine things they've never done before:
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