Preparing for More Exposure;
Tips to Avoid Sun Damage
Here you can find various tips to provide sun protection to your skin from the harmful and damaging rays of our playtime in the summer days.
Shade Should Be Your Friend
A sun kissed glow might look lovely, but our mid to late day sun is not a friend to our skin. Consider spending more time in the shade rather than the sun. The days following sun exposure may leave you looking radiant and glowing, unfortunately the damage to the delicate layers of skin can happen before we realize it. As we age, sun damaged skin can lead to a leathery appearance, often with hyperpigmentation marks of varying degrees of color.
While the sun is helpful for Vitamin D production, that is best utilized in the earlier part of the day, definitely before the sun is at high noon. If spending an entire day outdoors, try to spend as much of the midday portion in shady areas. Save exposure time to the earlier or later parts of the day. If shade isn’t an option, please read on to see some other considerations.
Eat Your Sun Protection
Wait….whaaat??? Yes, foods can offer sun protection from the inside!!! It’s not a replacement for sunscreen, especially on the days where prolonged exposure happens. However, in their own different ways, they offer various protective, reparative and/or restorative properties from the inside. My licensing doesn’t allow me to personally elaborate on this so here is a brief summary of a fascinating article written with medical oversight in ‘Healthline’. There’s a link to the full article at the bottom of the page. Definitely worth your time reading, plus it contains several super easy recipes to incorporate these foods into your daily routines. *
Blueberries are high in antioxidants and they can work to fight the damage happening internally from the sun, they also are high in Vitamin C which is great to support skin health and reduce wrinkles.
Watermelon is high in lycopene (higher than tomatoes) which absorbs UVA & UVB radiation. It needs to be in your system for a few weeks to increase the amount available before it does supportive work for you.
Nuts & Seeds which are high in omega 3’s like walnuts, flax, hemp and chia seeds work to supply essential fatty oils to the body which we cannot produce ourselves. They are extremely anti inflammatory and help with the integrity of skin health.
Carrots & Leafy Greens contain beta carotene which our body uses to convert to itamin A which is important for skin health. Leafy greens also contain antioxidants like zeaxanthin and utein which help protect against wrinkles, sun damage and skin cancer.
Green Tea contains a flavinol which is like a superstar for the skin as it helps to prevent collagen loss (our most abundant protein which gives our skin the firmness and strength). Green tea also protects the skin from UVA light and can potentially prevent cancers and reduce tumors.
Cauliflower contains an alpha amino acid called histidine which activates UV radiation absorption mechanisms within the skin. It also contains antioxidants that fight off oxidative stress, which contributes to wrinkles.
*Please take all nutritional information as educational, not intended to treat or cure any disease. Discuss with your doctor significant changes to your diet, or health. Do not consume any of these if you have any allergies to them and especially if you have any medical or medication related contraindications.
Physical Sun Protection
Non invasive, no need to weed out ingredients, just keep the skin covered…sometimes easier said than done, I get it, but long sleeves, lightweight scarves and wide brimmed hats can do wonders to protect you from the premature aging that the sun can provide. Consider using an umbrella when out for a walk or at the beach, it can provide a hugely protective advantage to your skin too. Naturally cover all the bare spots with sunscreen but when possible, go for some of these options:
Hats are essential to protect your face, neck, decollete and scalp. The wider the brim, the more sun protection you get! Baseball caps are great to keep shade on your face and sometimes down your neck to your chest. Make sure to apply sunscreen to the back of the neck and especially to the ears, we tend to forget that delicate skin a lot and baseball caps don’t offer any protection.
Sunglasses can really help to not only protect your vision but also to prevent you from squinting which will lead to unwanted lines around the eyes and forehead. The larger the frame, the more shady protection you can give to the skin around the eyes as well.
Scarves are perfect to keep the delicate area of the neck and decollete protected. Try to keep a lightweight scarf in the car or in your bag so you have it available for those unexpected times like when driving in the car and the sun is glaring on your chest. That delicate skin is going to show your age much faster than your face as it is thinner and usually goes unprotected, often bearing the majority of damage from our random moments of exposure.
Sleeves & Gloves especially when gardening or driving can be extremely protective. Keep in mind that the backs of hands will also show age spots, usually before the face, since they are an area that rarely receives coverage. Pay attention to where your hands are when you are in your car and driving~do the backs of your hands or arms end up exposed to the sun?
Long pants or longer shorts are certainly going to help provide a layer of protection to the legs, not always ideal, especially on hotter days or time at the water but an option for protection.
Sunscreens: Mineral or Chemical
Mineral and chemical are the two primary types of topical sunscreen products available, but they definitely are not equals. As far as sun protection, chemical seems like the easier choice often with longer protection and no white look to it, however it is not the safer choice for you or your loved ones…
Chemical sunscreens like oxybenzone (a hormone disruptor) or octinoxate (causes allergic reactions and is known to be a marine wildlife killer) are commonly used in products labeled as ‘safe’ for our use. They should be avoided for you, your friends and loved ones and mostly for our Mother Earth. If you need to use it, try to avoid coming in contact directly with fresh outdoor waterways as it is toxic for many water loving creatures, save the rinse off for the shower where it can go through a treatment facility.
Mineral sunscreen is usually made of Zinc or Titanium or a combination of the two. It provides an actual layer of physical barrier protection on the skin that keeps the harmful rays from penetrating, which is why it usually goes on white or may sometimes come tinted. Mineral sunscreens are the healthier option of the two. It is safe for our skin and it is safe for Water and the creatures that depend on it. Both of those minerals are also very supportive for skin health. Zinc especially, offers healing benefits to the skin which can be helpful for sensitive or acneic skin.
Verify Products for Safety
When choosing a sunscreen, and you are unsure of what to look for on the labels, check out Environmental Working Group’s ‘Skin Deep’ site for safe sun protection products. There you can enter a product you are looking at and see how safe it is for you and the environment. Products and ingredients are listed on a scale of 1-10: 1 is clean and safe for everyone and everything; 10 is something to definitely avoid as it will be highly toxic, most likely cancer causing and extremely disruptive not only to your skin but to our ecosystems.
If products used rate anything higher than a 4, see how your skin reacts. If you see any signs of redness or irritation, best to back off and see what happens when that product or ingredient is avoided. Try to keep products and ingredients rating under 4 for your best health. The lower the rating the better.
There is a link at the end of the article to the EWG site. It’s extremely helpful not just for sunscreens but for all of the items used for skin care or makeup. If you are already experiencing issues or imbalances to your skin, check all of your skin and body care ingredients to see what might be causing issues topically.
Additional Considerations
If any type of exfoliation has been done; a mild home facial scrub; chemical peel; microdermabrasion; laser resurfacing; waxing; hydra-facial…depending on the exfoliation performed, it is best to avoid direct exposure to the sun following the treatment. Being out without a hat, shade or sunscreen the day of or after any of these treatments could lead to hyperpigmentation and even scarring if it was a heavier exfoliation like a chemical peel, microdermabrasion or laser resurfacing.
With the deeper exfoliation services, your skin care professional should provide guidance to how many days to avoid direct exposure depending on the level of exfoliation that was done. The deeper the layers of peeling involved, the longer time to repair the tissue before exposing it to the sun or elements. If a higher level of peeling is desired, consider waiting until Autumn or Winter, especially if you are extremely active outdoors in the Summer to avoid potential damage.
Waxed areas exposed to the sun without protection, like upper lip, cheeks, eyebrows and legs are subject to damage, especially the day of the service. Always best to provide a physical layer of protection and a layer of sunscreen would be an added bonus.
Medical/Medication Contraindications
There are numerous medications and medical conditions that are contraindicated to sun exposure. If your doctor or pharmacist has informed you of any reason to avoid the sun, it will be best to take all protective measures possible to protect your skin whenever you are outside. Damage can often happen faster and affect the skin (or body) at a deeper level. Best to follow doctors advice.
While there are some conditions that do receive benefit from early morning or later day sun exposure, please confirm with your physician whether that is a safe option for you and your skin.
ABCD & E’s of Skin Cancer
Keep these letters in mind when looking at your skin. Any variations to spots you normally have should be checked by a doctor. These are not absolute signs you have skin cancer, but they do need a professional opinion to determine for sure. Have them checked sooner rather than later, meaning don’t wait till next spring~go some time in the next month or two. If you see it changing much in that time frame, let your doctor know and they can advise you from there. This is a summary an article you can refer to by the American Academy of Dermatology if you want pictures for reference, the link is at the bottom of the page.
A=Asymmetry-one half of a spot is unlike the other half
B=Border-the spot is irregular, scalloped or has a poorly defined border
C=Color-the spot has varying colors from one area to the next such as shades of tan, brown or black or areas of white, red or blue
D=Diameter-while melanomas are usually greater than 6mm in diameter or about the size of a pencil eraser, they can be smaller when diagnosed
E=Evolving-the spot looks different than most or can be evolving in size, shape or color
If you have naturally darker skin, there is more melanin present to protect the underlying layers from damage. This does NOT mean that by tanning, you are ‘building up’ layers of melanin for better protection. It also does NOT mean that darker skin doesn’t need sun protection. It means that the more fair skinned you are, the more likely your skin is to show damage later in life through age spots and hyperpigmentation. Risks for skin cancer is higher for fairer skinned bodies, however, darker skinned bodies can get skin cancer too.
Have Fun!
Hopefully this has helped you feel prepared to better enjoy your time in the sun while keeping your skin safe from the damaging rays of our summer sun! Thank you for taking time to read this. Please share the information with anyone you feel can benefit.
Here are the links to the websites referred to in this article:
Healthline discussing foods to protect from sun damage.
Environmental Working Group to read more detail on ingredients.
American Academy of Dermatology Association for the full article on skin cancer recognition.
If you are looking for product recommendations or support for sun damaged skin or issues of imbalance with your skin please feel free to book a complementary Discovery call with me. There is no charge to determine if what I offer for skin support is what you are looking for.
I look forward to connecting!
