Safety in the sun

We all enjoy being outside on sunny days; it makes us feel good.

Without protection from the sun’s rays, just a few minutes of exposure each day over the years can cause noticeable changes to the skin. Freckles, age spots, spider veins/redness on the face, rough and leathery skin, fine lines and wrinkles, blemishes and not forgetting skin cancer can all be traced to sun exposure.

The best beauty tip anyone can ever give you is to wear an SPF sunscreen every day, even when it is grey and cloudy outside as the damaging UVA and UVB rays can penetrate cloud and glass.
It is important to choose a sunscreen that protects against both as they can both damage your skin.
UVB rays are the rays that cause tanning and sunburn. Sunburn cannot only be very painful and look awful but is very dangerous for your skin as it increases your risks of developing skin cancer.
UVA light penetrates deeper into the skin than UVB light and can cause premature ageing including wrinkles, age spots, pigmentation and loss of skin elasticity.

Sun care tips:

– Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen daily with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 20 or higher and even when the sun is not out.

– Sunscreens wear off the skin with normal usage, so re-apply at least every 2/3 hours and after swimming, exercise, heavy perspiration and towel drying.

– Sunscreen should be applied at least 30 minutes before going out into the sun

Choose sunscreens that absorb the UV radiation, as well as physical blockers such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that reflect or scatter UVB and UVA rays rather than let them pass through the skin. The best ones to buy need to contain both ingredients to deflect & absorb, to eliminate as many rays as possible.

– Cover up between 11am – 3pm when the sun is at its strongest

– Wear clothes that will protect you in the sun, tightly woven fabric and a sun hat covering the neck, ears and back of the neck.

– Wear sunglasses to protect the skin around the eyes