Tag Archives: sun protection

Let’s talk about Sunscreen

Posted in Lifestyle Lessons by

1471393_S.jpgSpring is upon us and the time to be spending time enjoy the sunshine outdoors is also here!  But as great as it is to bask in the sun and work on that tan, the sun can do a lot of damage to the skin that’s definitely not worth it.  Your mom wasn’t just telling you to wear your sunscreen at the beach because she’s a buzz kill who hates a good tan.  She was 100% looking out for you.  But what’s the actual deal with sunscreen? Is it really that bad to get some rays from the sun?

Today, let’s talk about what sunscreen is, how it works, and why it’s so important to put on your skin EVERY DAY!

How does sunscreen work?

Sunscreen seems like this magic shield that you slather on your body and just like witchcraft you’re protected from the sun, but there actually is a science behind how sunscreen works!

Inorganic chemicals such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide reflect UV rays while organic chemicals like octyl methoxycinnamate and oxybenzone absorb UV radiation (from UVA and UVB rays) through chemical bonds.  As these rays are absorbed, the sun screen breaks down and releases heat. This is why sunscreen doesn’t last all day.

What is SPF?

2372366_S.jpgSPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, which basically means how well protected you will be from the burning rays of the sun (Also called UVB rays) and extremely damaging UVA rays (the ones that penetrate deeper into the skin and cause skin damage).  Both types of rays can lead to skin cancer.  Sunscreens labeled “broad spectrum” protect against both UVA and UVB rays.

The higher the SPF number, the better protected you are.  And SPF of 15 will protect you against about 93% of rays, and 30 can protect from about 97%. Nothing is said to protect against 100% of rays, but professionals recommend using a minimum of SPF 30 in almost all cases.

Who should wear sunscreen?

Everyone should wear sunscreen!  If you’re going to go out in the sun, even just for ten minutes, you should apply sunscreen first!  And if you’re going to be outside for an extended amount of time, you should reapply every 1-2 hours, especially if you feel like you can feel your skin beginning to grow warm.  That means you probably aren’t well protected anymore!

But don’t I need vitamin D?

Sure, you’ve probably heard that the sun can give you a healthy dose of vitamin D that your body needs to function properly.  But in reality, you can get a healthy amount of vitamin D in your body by diet alone.  And if you’re not, talk to your doctor about adding in a vitamin D supplement to your diet.  There’s no need to expose yourself to harmful UV rays just to get a little vitamin boost.

Should I wear sunscreen every day?

Yes. Despite how tan you want to become for the summer, leaving your skin unprotected is doing more harm than looking tan is doing good. Prolonged sun exposure can cause permanent sun damage.

2117350_S.jpgSo when trying to convince you that you should be applying sunscreen, let’s first talk about what a sunburn can do to you.  First of all, even though a sunburn eventually goes away, it can actually do permanent damage to cells and blood vessels.  Studies have shown that sunburn can cause skin to become dry, wrinkled, and permanently discolored.  So that beautiful tan you’re trying to get is going to turn into a permanent dark spot if you aren’t careful. And not to mention that it could possible turn into skin cancer, which although curable can lead to permanent scars and permanent discoloration. Plus, treatment can be long and expensive.

But what if the skin doesn’t burn?  Long term exposure to the sun can also cause damage to your skin.  In fact, sun exposure can actually speed up the aging process.  You know all those women who you see who still look 30 years younger than they actually are?  They probably used a lot of sunscreen to protect their skin (and a good moisturizer).  Similarly, sunscreen can help keep your skin tone even and helps to prevent facial brown spots and skin discoloration (which is all the reason I need to wear sunscreen. No more freckles please!).

And let’s be honest here guys. We haven’t been very nice to our planet.  Our ozone layer, which has protected us from the harmful rays of the sun, is getting thinner and thinner.  And with that, our time going outside without being exposed to damaging rays is being depleted.  Even when the sky is overcast, we’re being exposed to harmful rays from the sun.  Now’s the time to start taking precaution when going outside.  Put your body first and put some protection on your skin.

What if you want to tan?  You absolutely can work on getting a tan and be healthy.  Using a sunscreen of SPF 30 can allow some rays to tan your skin while protecting you from most of the harmful rays.  Just make sure you reapply at least every 2 hours to make sure you are fully protected.  Remember, your skins health is more important than how tan you can get.

Are you a sunscreen user?  Let me tell you, since I’ve started noticing more and more freckles appear on my skin, I’ve started adding sunscreen into my daily routine (at least on my face), even if I’m just going to work inside.  You never know when you’re going to be exposed to harmful rays! And I definitely put sunscreen on before every run I go on!

Let me know in the comments below if you use sunscreen every day or if you’re going to start.  I definitely think it’s time we all start making sure we’re taking care of ourselves!

Until next time,

Kat

Sources and further reading:

American Academy of Dermatology.  Sunscreen FAQs.  https://www.aad.org/media/stats/prevention-and-care/sunscreen-faqs

Cleveland Clinic.  Sun Damage: Protecting Yourself.  https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/5240-sun-damage-protecting-yourself

Everyday Mysteries.  How does Sunscreen work? https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/sunscreen.html

 

Surviving the Heat

Posted in Healthy Habits by

sunIt’s only mid June and we’ve already been experiencing those hot, muggy days of summer.  In fact, where I am, we’re experiencing the hottest summer in years.  The temperatures have been in the 90s, the sun has been beating down, and at times it seems unbearable to be outside.  And when you work outside for 8 hours a day, like I do, and the sun and heat is unavoidable, it’s pretty easy to overheat, or suffer from heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

It’s important in this kind of weather to know about heat exhaustion, the symptoms and what you can do to prevent such problems.

What is heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion is when your body overheats due to high temperatures or strenuous activity and is not able to regulate and cool itself efficiently.  The results of heat exhaustion may be as mild as heat cramps or as severe as heat stroke, which can be fatal.

Thankfully, heat exhaustion is preventable; however it is easy to overlook the oncoming symptoms of heat exhaustion.  Many people think that an hour in intense heat without drinking water might be fine, but they soon find they are sweating more and more and growing more exhausted.  That’s why understanding the symptoms and prevention of heat exhaustion is so important.

In hot weather, your body cools itself mainly by sweating since the evaporation of your sweat regulates your body temperature. However, when you exercise strenuously or otherwise overexert yourself in hot, humid weather, your body is less able to cool itself efficiently.

As a result, your body may develop heat cramps, the mildest form of heat-related illness. Signs and symptoms of heat cramps usually include heavy sweating, fatigue, thirst and muscle cramps. Prompt treatment usually prevents heat cramps from progressing to heat exhaustion.

You usually can treat heat cramps by drinking fluids or sports drinks containing electrolytes (Gatorade, Powerade, others), getting into cooler temperatures, such as an air-conditioned or shaded place, and resting.

When heat exhaustion progresses you may notice more severe signs such as goose bumps, intense sweating, dizziness, loss of equilibrium, headache, or nausea.  When you start experiencing these symptoms, it is highly important to get to a cool place and rehydrate.

What to do to prevent heat exhaustion:

If you can’t avoid being out in the heat, you should do everything that you can to prevent the onset of heat related illness.  The best thing that you can do is drink plenty of water—constantly be drinking water.  If you think it’s enough water, it most likely isn’t, so keep drinking.  Secondly, you should be making sure to replace sodium and chloride in your system, since they are lost in your sweat.  The best way to be doing this is to be replacing electrolytes in your system.

What exactly are electrolytes and why are they so important?

Electrolytes, found in drinks such as Powerade or Gatorade, are charged ions that conduct electrical activity through the body.  In the human body, they maintain fluid balance, muscle contractions, and neural activity.  Water is drawn to areas where electrolytes, mostly sodium and chloride, are most concentrated.  This means that electrolytes play a crucial role in maintaining the equilibrium of water in the body, especially during times of heavy sweating, when water is lost from the body.  You lose electrolytes when you sweat, specifically sodium and chloride, so it is important to replace them when you are in the hot sun or working out.

That’s why drinks such as Gaterade and Powerade are marketed towards athletes who sweat in large amounts.  That is also why people who are not working out or sweating should not drink these sorts of fruit drinks.  Adding extra electrolytes to your system can actually dehydrate you.  So only use these drinks when you’re sweating often (Ace, Dugdale 2013).

In this hot weather, it’s important to stay hydrated and stay safe.  If you can avoid being outside for extended periods of time, make sure to do so.  If not, make sure that you are drinking plenty of water.

Until next time,

Kat

Sources:

Ace.  Electrolytes: Understanding Replacement Options.  http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/715/electrolytes-understanding-replacement-options/

Dugdale, David C. (2013).  Electrolytes. Medline Plus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002350.htm

Sunburn Care 101

Posted in Lifestyle Lessons by

sunburnSummer time is finally here.  It’s time for lazy beach days, late night campfires, and family vacations.  But amongst all the fun comes the downside of summer as well—harsh sun that can irritate skin and leave areas forgotten by sunscreen scorched and painful.   Sunburn is one of the worst parts of summer and not only is it painful, but it can also leave you feeling self conscious and afraid to wear certain clothing items.  Not to mention the every lingering fear of dry flaking skin and blisters.

But there are plenty of things you can do to quickly eliminate sunburn heat and redness.   Sure you can slap some Aloe Vera lotion for soothing on the spot, but is that the only thing you can do?  Definitely not.  There are actually a lot of different things you can do to reduce redness and burn from the sun.  Today I want to share with you my method to quickly eliminate sunburn.

Moisturize

Moisturizing is probably the most important step to controlling sunburn.   Since over exposure to the sun dries the skin due to the destruction of lipids (which form the outermost layer of your skin) the best thing to do to keep the skin underneath healthy and moisturized.

Applying an oil such as avocado, almond, coconut, or even kukui nut oil helps to keep skin moisturized and promotes healing of the area.  Kukui nut oil is specifically labeled to help skin that has been damaged by the sun, and it is definitely my favorite thing to use.

Shea butter also has great healing properties and is a super moisturizer.  It’s very effective when it comes to soothing pain from sunburn and it also helps to heal the area and promote healthy skin filling in where the dead skin once was.

shea butter

Shea Butter has many healing properties and can be great sunburn relief. Photo: lifecellproducts.com

Aloe Vera also works well to soothe skin, and in a lotion form it is able to also help keep skin moisturized.

When I am facing a nasty sunburn, I like to first use a generous amount of oil on the area (I use kukui nut oil) and work it into the affected area for 2 to 3 minutes.  I then use a significant amount (if you think it’s too much, it probably isn’t enough) of Shea butter and work that into the skin.  I like to keep my Shea butter somewhere cold so that way it provides an extra bit of relief when I use it.  I do this two times a day, sometimes three if the burn is more red and painful.

Medicate

Sunburn causes inflammation of the skin, so it is a good idea to take a medication that will help with the inflammation and the pain such as ibuprofen or Advil.  This will also help with redness and soreness.  Keep in mind that Tylenol will only treat the pain, so it’s not as useful.  A dose of Advil twice a day should help significantly reduce redness and irritation.

Stay hydrated

As important as it is to keep your skin hydrated while you are working on healing, it is also important to keep yourself hydrated.  Sunburn draws water from other parts of your body and leaves a risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion, so it is very important to stay hydrated while you work to reduce your burn.  It’s also a good idea to be drinking extra water in the summer months to avoid heat exhaustion when you are out and about.

Keep it covered

As much as you might want to wear that tank top by the pool side the day after you get a bad burn, extra exposure to the sun could make your burn a lot worse.  Exposing the same skin to the sun could cause a minor burn to become more severe and could set back any attempts towards healing you’ve already started.  The best thing to do is to keep the area covered until the burn has mostly healed, or to stay out of the sun if you want to have those areas exposed.

Exfoliate

Once the skin stops feeling sensitive to the touch and the redness has gone down significantly, it’s not a bad idea to exfoliate the skin.  Since the burn has left a lot of dead skin, you want to get that out of the way to let the healthy skin underneath come through.  This is an especially good idea if your skin is starting to peel, however even if it’s not, the dead skin is still probably present and exfoliation is needed.

I find a cheap, homemade sugar scrub using coconut, avocado, or almond oil along with kukui nut oil (or lavender oil is said to be extremely healing) highly useful and gentle enough that it removes the dead skin without causing irritation and still leaves the skin moisturized.  A small amount of sugar scrub goes a long way for this, so don’t feel the need to work at your skin until it is irritated and red.  Also, again, make sure you only do this once the skin is no longer red and painful.  You should only have to exfoliate once or twice total to remove all the dead skin and you certainly should not exfoliate more than once a day.

Finally, continue to moisturize the skin a few days after the redness has reduced to ensure that the skin is healthy.  This should reduce your sunburn significantly within just a few days, however all skin varies so some methods that work for me might not work as easily or quickly for you.

What do you do when you have sunburn?  Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time,

Kat