Heatwaves, as we know, are getting worse.

Heatwaves are projected to be 30 times more frequent, and last 92-200 times longer by the century's end. One study from last year said that 90% of the Indian population is vulnerable to heatwaves, with experts noting “The heatwaves in India and the Indian subcontinent have become recurrent and long-lasting.”

The skin, as the body’s largest organ, plays a vital role in protecting us from the heat by way of thermoregulation. First, it takes the temperature of our surroundings and sends signals to the body to begin thermoregulation, a process by which the body adjusts for external temperature conditions to maintain a steady body temperature. An overheated body leads to the heart overworking and causes renal failure, lung impairment, and ultimately heat-strokes and death. And so the skin, through a process called vasodilation, brings blood close to the skin’s surface to dissipate heat. Sweat production, and evaporation from the body, also helps keep it cool.

That means that in a growing climate emergency, the skin is our first line of defense. But are we paying attention to it the way we should?

Skin is political. But that’s not how we’ve been treating it. Beauty and skincare e-commerce oligarchies grow at our expense, and have diverted our attention away from looking at skin as an organ system that is vital to protect from a public health perspective.

Take the fact that heat also increases the likelihood of chronic inflammatory dermatoses and infectious skin diseases. Black, Hispanic communities as well as migrants and unhoused populations are at higher risks of climate-related skin diseases, according to research. In India, skin-specific stats are scarce – but 60% of construction workers, 78% of street vendors, 50% of daily wage workers, and 100% of women workers in the informal economy experience heat stress, with some facing near-death experiences as they spend anywhere from 4 to 9 hours daily in direct sunlight.

However, the expanding market for beauty and skincare products seems to be providing solutions for the wrong kind of skin problems. The estimated size of the Indian skincare market as of 2024 is US$ 3,310.5 million. This is projected to grow 14.6% to US$ 12,934.2 million in 2034. “The beauty industry is booming, especially with urban Indian consumers, and attracting both national and international exhibitors. Our vision is to open 500 salons by 2029 in India driven by Tier 1 cities while exploring Tier 2 cities, expanding from our current 213 salons in 51 cities,” Samir Srivastav, CEO, Looks Salon Group, told The Hindu. “The growing demand for international beauty products is fuelled by the rise of e-commerce channels and their integration with physical stores. Social media plays a crucial role in shaping consumer preferences, Spoorthy Shetty, CEO, BBlunt (Mama Earth Group) India, added.

It also doesn’t help that these are heavily polluting industries, indicating that our growing skincare obsession might be making the problem worse. Polyethylene is a common microplastic found in beauty products, and skincare like exfoliators, cleansers, and more. Plus, the personal care and beauty industry produce 120 billion units of plastic packaging, according to one study in 2022. The fact that 10-step skincare routines are par for the course today, involving several products per person per day, including non reusable sheet masks and exfoliators. The more we create routines optimized for self-care instead of collective preservation, the more out of touch we become from the planet.

So far, then, the skincare industry has focused exclusively on the outward appearance of skin. It assumes a certain type of consumer: one who is not exposed to the heat, doesn’t face the risk or consequences of prolonged sun exposure, and whose life is optimized around performing a type of appearance that suggests affluence and wellness. Amid news of the heatwaves, social media and digital content platforms are rife with information on how to cool one’s skin using aloe vera, menthol, and buttermilk to prevent irritation and damage.

What is our anxiety about our skin’s appearance during climate change telling us? It would seem that the heat has inadvertently forced us to contend with the futility of skincare routines claiming to protect beauty and youthfulness at a time when neither are even in the realm of possibility for many who are at risk of death from the heat. In other words, the heat forces us to reckon with the morality of an image-conscious society, and (ironically) holds a mirror up to it.

Caring for your body, and your skin, is not a bad thing. But with where we are on the planet, caring for how our skin looks and ages while the sun scorches us is a symptom of a deeply unhealthy cultural relationship with our bodies. We care more for how we look while we wither than for not withering. It signals a nihilism that is deepening the chasms between people.

The way out of this isn’t more SPF but less heat, divesting from polluters and politically organizing around the right to be free from this torment.