Rainy Season Skin: A Wet-Weather Routine

Cameroon's rainy season is a complete reset for your skin. Humidity climbs above 90% on some days, the temperature drops a little, and everything that worked through the dry months suddenly feels wrong. Foundation slides, moisturiser feels suffocating, breakouts climb, and pores look bigger than they did three weeks ago. The fix is not abandoning your routine. It's adjusting it.

What rainy-season humidity does to your skin

High ambient humidity reduces transepidermal water loss, which is good for hydration but bad if you're using heavy occlusives. Sebum production tends to climb because of the warmth, sweat sits on the skin longer because the air is already saturated, and the combination clogs pores faster than at any other time of year. Bacterial growth accelerates in warm, damp conditions, contributing to breakouts.

Lighten your moisturiser

If you've been using a cream or balm through harmattan, switch to a gel-cream or even a hydrating serum-moisturiser hybrid. In peak humidity, some people need only a hydrating toner and SPF — no separate moisturiser at all. Listen to your skin: if it feels tight at midday you need more; if it feels greasy you need less.

Double down on niacinamide

Niacinamide is the rainy-season MVP. It regulates sebum, refines pore appearance, calms inflammation, and tolerates layering with almost everything else. A 4–10% serum used morning and night will visibly change skin behaviour within four to six weeks.

Cleanser switch

The richer balm cleanser you used in harmattan can stay for the evening double-cleanse, but switch your morning to a low-pH gel cleanser. Wash off the night's sebum and any humidity-trapped grime before continuing your routine.

SPF, even when it's grey

It's the single biggest mistake of rainy season: skipping SPF because it's overcast. UVA penetrates clouds at almost full strength. Daily SPF 50 stays in the routine, and reapply more often if you're outdoors and getting wet — water reduces sunscreen effectiveness even when it's just a humid drizzle.

Acne management

If breakouts climb, add a BHA cleanser two to three times a week, swap to a non-comedogenic moisturiser, and resist the urge to over-cleanse. Stripping the barrier in humid conditions backfires immediately.

Body care

Heat rash, fungal acne on the chest and back, and chafing all spike during rainy season. Switch to a gentle body wash with salicylic acid, dry off thoroughly, and use lightweight body lotion or a body mist instead of heavy creams.

Hair behaves differently too

Frizz, flatness, and scalp oiliness all change with humidity. A clarifying shampoo every two weeks, anti-frizz serums, and lightweight leave-ins keep things in check.

Find rainy-season picks — gel-cream moisturisers, niacinamide serums, BHA cleansers, and lightweight SPF — at justask, Carrefour Macon, Douala.