My mother once told me to stay out of her bathroom and away from her cosmetics. So what did I do? Every moment she was out of the house I was up to my little ten-year-old elbows in her $200 miracle in a bottle. I’m going to presume that like me, you don’t like being told no you cant. So instead of preaching abstinence, here are some hints that coupled with a little common sense will keep you happy and healthy out in the sun.
* Stay out of the sun between the hours of 11am and 3 pm. This is when the suns rays are at their strongest and most dangerous.
* Apply your sunscreen 30 minutes before you go out into the sun, and reapply after you get out of the water or after exercise.
* Sunscreens usually have a shelf life of about 12 months – always check the expiry date on the bottle before hoping its going to protect you from the sun. anything older – chuck it out. The sunscreen, not your other half
* Remember to always put sunscreen onto dry skin, as the sunscreen has to adhere to the skin’s surface cells and it does this more efficiently when the skin is dry.
* Facial moisturisers with sunscreen in them are not water resistant and might not be protecting you if you start to sweat.
* Always ask someone to smooth your sunscreen onto those hard to reach places like your back. However if you just had a fight with the other half they are probably not a good choice unless you want a bright red streak down your torso (Yes, i did this once – evil I know).
* Sunscreen deteriorates after it is applied, so to ensure you’re totally protected always re-apply sunscreen after every two hours spent in the sun.
* There are two types of sunscreens. These are Absorbers (e.g. cinnamates or PABA) that soak up UV rays and prevent them from reaching the skin, and Blockers (e.g. zinc oxide, titanium dioxide), which form a physical barrier to reflect UV rays away from the skin (think zinc). If your skin is sensitive to some chemicals you might find that the blockers are the best ones for you.
* While anything between SPF15 to a SPF30+ sunscreen is recommended as sufficient protection, new research indicates that anything higher, such as SPF40 that uses 30% more chemicals, only gives 1% more protection.
* If you are worried about oily Sunscreens – don’t. They now come in lighter formulas that wont leave your skin sticky. I recommend you check out the Nivea.com.au sun care range; inexpensive and very good.
* Areas often forgotten but needing as much protection as the other obvious burn spots are the eyes, so don’t forget to wear a hat and sunglasses whenever you are out in the sun.
* Funky clear glass, or slightly tinted designer sunglasses ARE NOT enough protection from the suns damaging rays’.
