Use a broad-spectrum physical sunscreen (i.e, not a chemical one) which will protect against UVA and UVB rays, on your face, décolletage and hands every day, rain or shine. Put it on all your loved ones too. It sounds annoying but it won’t be in the long run. A physical sunscreen protects your skin from the sun by deflecting or blocking the sun’s rays, with titanium or zinc oxide. A chemical sunscreen works by absorbing the sun’s rays. Some chemical filters can scatter sun rays, but still mostly just absorb them. Sunscreen goes on over your other skincare, so after moisturiser but before makeup. Many foundations have sun protection built right in, which is great. Exposure to sun is the one thing that can age your skin the most. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply then UVB and are primarily responsible for premature skin aging and wrinkling. UVA rays also cause skin damage at the cellular level. UVB rays damage the outer levels of the skin and play a key role in the beginning of skin cancers. So take this stuff seriously.
This year I used a lot of Sun Bum sunscreens, which I happened to find on holiday.
Sun Bum is a fairly new company from Florida whose sunscreens are broad spectrum, paraben free, water resistant for up to 80 minutes, hydrate with Vitamin E and aren’t tested on animals. The products are recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation. They also make an excellent hair sunscreen, cos hair gets damaged by sun exposure too!
For facial sunscreen I really like Kiehls Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50+ – Sun care which is virtually weightless. You can even get men to wear it; it’s so “not there” they can’t seem to find any objection to it haha. I also like Sonya Dakar’s MicroVenom SPF 30 “age-reversing” sunscreen with properties of synthetic snake venom and Apple Stem Cell technology.
Don’t forget! Some sun exposure is good for us and allows the body to build up Vit D which is essential for good health. Twenty minutes of daily sunlight without sunscreen is allowable!
To be safe in the sun, here are some recommendations from SUNBUM:
- Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going out into the sun
- Reapply every 2 hours, or right after swimming or sweating. If you know you’re going to be swimming or sweating, use water resistant sunscreen to keep you protected for longer
- Use SPF15 or higher to help reduce risk of skin cancer and don’t forget ears noses, shoulders, chest and neck
- 90% of UV rays can get through and fry you on cloudy days
- Reflection off snow and water can increase exposure by 50%. Snowboarders and water-skiers take note!
- UV levels increase 4% for every 1000ft in altitude
- In the hottest months, try to limit your time in the sun when it’s hottest, which is between 10am and 2pm. Perfect for a nap time anyway! Staying in the shade (i.e. the cabana) reduces exposure by 50%!
FASHION as FUNCTION….Fab clothing also protects you! I always wear an enormous 70’s style sunhat and the biggest sunglasses known to mankind. In fact I wear sunglasses all year round to protect the skin around my eyes from sun damage. Make no apologies for that xo
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