Yoga and skin health: is hot yoga ruining your skin? 

Is hot yoga bad for your skin?

Credit: Getty

Strong Women


Yoga and skin health: is hot yoga ruining your skin? 

By Jennifer Burns

3 years ago

2 min read

Devoted practitioners rave about the skin-healing benefits of working your body in 40°C heat, but should people with certain conditions be more careful? Writer and yogi Jennifer Burns investigates.

For me, stepping into a hot yoga studio after being outside on a numbingly cold day is the next best thing to getting away for some winter sun. It’s not just that it’s gloriously warm; working your muscles in 40°C heat offers loads of perks, says Sarah Davies, hot yoga teacher and owner of Sweat FIIT

Stick with it and you could find yourself benefiting from better moods, higher energy levels, improved sleep and greater flexibility in your shoulders, back and hamstrings.

“The heat loosens up the muscles and ligaments and allows for a deeper stretch and a more effective full-body workout,” says Davies. “The compression and release we do in the postures will affect not just your muscles, tendons and ligaments, but also every major system, organ and gland in your body.”

When it comes to our skin, however, the benefits are more variable. I really, really wanted to be part of the hot yoga tribe. After my first class, which was held in an inflatable dome-like studio, I went home to find the capillaries in my face had burst. My cheeks and forehead were covered in red, pinprick-sized dots that took almost 10 days to disappear. I never went back.  

What happens to your skin when it’s exposed to heat? 

“Your blood vessels open, so you get increased blood flow,” says Dr Malvina Cunningham, consultant dermatologist.

“The skin is a major organ that is part of the thermo-regulation of our bodies – so it regulates the temperature of our body. And one way it does that is by dilating blood vessels, therefore losing more heat and water through the skin. That’s why you’re looking red and flushed.”

Hot yoga can be a powerful skin tonic 

For some, practising in the heat has been attributed to keeping the skin supple and healthy.

“They might find that the increased circulation they’re getting, and also doing the exercise, is beneficial for the skin and improves the skin’s complexion,” Dr Cunningham tells Stylist.

In Davies’s experience, the effects of hot yoga on the skin have been overwhelmingly positive.

“Many report improvements in their complexion and a ‘glow’, and I’ve seen this first-hand,’ she says. “And I’ve only had improvements in terms of what my skin looks like. I literally don’t use moisturiser. I remember when I first started, somebody said to me: ‘Have you had a facial? Like, something’s different.’ When Covid hit and I stopped practising in the heat, I started getting dry skin again.”

(Since practising hot yoga), I literally don’t use moisturiser. When Covid hit and I stopped practising in the heat, I started getting dry skin again.

Sarah Davies

She says she hasn’t heard negative side effects from those attending her classes.

“Only one student has reported that the heat was making her red – out of over 2,000 who have come to our studio,” says Davies. “And she stopped. My advice would always be that if something’s not working for your body, then you need to stop and find what does work.”

High temperatures can aggravate some skin conditions 

However, practising in the heat for some can do more harm than good. “If you’ve got sensitive or rosacea-prone skin or inflammatory skin conditions, then a burst of heat like that can be quite detrimental and cause rashes,” says Dr Cunningham.

Prolonged heat could potentially cause other issues too. “If you’re overdoing it, then there is evidence that repetitive heat can cause inflammation and injury to the skin and can lead to pigmentation. So there is that small risk, but as the evidence is not very good, it’s not something that I can absolutely say.”

Despite only having had positive experiences herself, Davies says that potential negative after-effects could be due to a particular kind of environment. “The studio might not have a professional heating system. With wall heaters, there’s no fresh air coming in – but you need humidity so that your skin can sweat.

“I actually used to practise at one of those inflatable pods and I started getting rashes and blotches on my skin. My skin has completely changed now that I practise at my studio.”

Bad skin reactions can be caused by a lack of fresh air in hot yoga studios, as well as the general heat.

According to Davies, that’s because she installed a £15,000 system that warms the room but also has a humidifier set to 40% humidity. It pumps 30 litres of fresh oxygen per person, per second, into the room.

“If you don’t have that fresh air coming in, it’s not hygienic enough; there is a greater chance that bacteria is lingering in the studio because the air is trapped,” she explains. 

That sounds quite grim, but remember, not everyone will be impacted by a dry room. Practising in humidity, however, can be especially beneficial to those with eczema, says Dr Cunningham: “If you’ve got a very humid environment, it will improve eczema. And that will be different to a yoga class where you just have dry heat.”

Davies told me that she’s seen this in her time as an instructor as well: “One of my students had severe eczema and, since practising, has now come off his medication.

“His skin has cleared up, and he’s a completely different person.”

Reducing the risk of negative side effects 

Go make-up free

“I wouldn’t go in with make-up or use anything harsh on your skin beforehand,” says Dr Cunningham. “Take your make-up off with a gentle cleanser. Afterwards, shower, cleanse your face and put a light moisturiser on to repair and rehydrate your skin, because that’s also lost water from that heat process.”

Use gentle skincare

 “I also wouldn’t use any harsh skincare after with acids, because your skin is going to be a little bit irritated and a little bit stressed. I’d just let it rest.”

Wash your face after class

Davies suggests getting cleaned up as soon as you’re done: “Because the pores have been open and the bacteria are sitting on the skin, you need to shower as soon as possible,” she says. “Even if it’s just a 30-second quick blast to remove any dead skin cells.”

Is it worth going back to another class?

When asked if I should give hot yoga another go to see if my skin reacts differently, Dr Cunningham says that, in my shoes, she’d try it again.

“Maybe a little less often and have a cool shower afterwards,” she recommends. “The overriding thing is exercise – doing something for your body and soul. As long as you’re not overdoing it, I think it’s brilliant. Why not?”


For more yoga content, check out the Strong Women Training Club.

Images: Getty

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