Summer is officially here and you know what this means. Tan lines, beach body, and Instagram worthy photo moments are also getting your attention. You should be able or at least want to tweet #SummerVibes, #BeachBodyReady, and #VitaminSea. Excited that summer is here?
But are you ready to face the heat?
Enjoying the sun and the sand along your feet comes with great responsibility, especially, on the main subject of your Insta-feed, your skin. It is not only to feed your followers with aesthetic and captivating photos of the scenery and your experience but most importantly, you should feed your skin with its needed attention and protection.
Benefits and Risks of Sun Exposure
Exposing and enjoying the heat of the sun can both cause an advantage and disadvantage to your skin, as the cliché saying goes, “everything that is too much is bad for your health”. Going out and experiencing the beautiful scenery along with the sun’s heat in moderation can give you benefits such as:
- Boosting the intake of Vitamin D
- Reducing blood pressure
- Improving cardiovascular health
- Improving mood by releasing Endorphins
- Relieving chronic pain conditions
These make not only the skin benefit vitamins and hormones but also the different aspects of your body as these affect the receptors throughout the body including bone health, heart function, and inflammation. Don’t forget that there are also risks or disadvantages of too much sun on your skin and these are as follows:
Sun Problems
- Sunspots or also known as solar lentigines
- Skin Cancer
- Damaged skin cells
These are caused by having too much UV radiation reaching the Earth. There are two radiations which affect the skin namely UVA and UVB. The former penetrates more intensely into the skin while the latter indirectly damages the DNA. These can also damage collages and increase the aging of the skin.
Protecting your skin from the sun is important. This is because too much sun can damage your skin intensively. It can cause skin diseases to rise and generally speaking, it can deteriorate your skin cells; slowing down the replenishment of healthy skin cells, but with the proper application of protection your skin will enjoy this summer!
5 Easy Ways to Protect Your Skin from the Sun
There are various ways of protecting your skin from the sun this summer but these 5 things listed below are some of the ways which can help you nourish and shield it from the harmful rays of the sun. Here are some of the ways:
1. Always apply SPF lotion or cream on your skin
Make sure to have at least SPF 30 for a broad spectrum sunscreen.
- This can help protect your skin from both UVA and UVB. Apply sunscreen at least 15 to 30 minutes before going outside not just when you are going to swim but also in regular sunny days.
2. Limit your sun exposure from 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM because the sun’s rays are most intense in these hours.
- Pay attention to UV index which can be found in news reports.
3. Do not stay too long on direct sunlight. Seek shade or wear long sleeves and pants, hats and sunglasses to protect your face, eyes, and neck.
4. Always stay hydrated. Water can help moisturize the skin in hot weather conditions.
- You can also use moisturizer on your skin to help on dry skin and reduce dry patches after a day at the beach.
5. Consult your dermatologist regularly.
- To make sure that you are in good shape, consult your dermatologist regarding the status of your skin to avoid further damage and diseases that are not known at first sight. It is better to consult than to assume.
There are many ways on protecting your skin but the point is, you should not take advantage of the results of today for the consequences of tomorrow as the results of not taking good care of your skin and health can show in the future years. It is better to ask an expert such as a dermatologist regarding on what you can do if skin diseases rise. Overall, the sun can be an enemy or a friend, it is on how you treat the light it gives.
Always remember to protect your skin to have a better summer that won’t come back to haunt you decades from now!