We are constantly being told to protect ourselves against the sun, with an ever increasing level of SPF sunscreens on offer. We are also being told we need vitamin D from the sun for our health. So how do we do both? In this blog post I dive into the risks and benefits of the big orange ball in the sky, and how best to approach sunscreens.
Why do I need sunshine?
Sunshine is vital for health and can boost mood. It also helps our bodies to produce vitamin D, a hormone essential for immune health and the function of many other systems in the body. In fact, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a wide range of health disorders including cancer, autoimmune disease, depression and high blood pressure. Vitamin D is difficult to obtain through the diet and so vitamin D supplements are increasingly prescribed. However, there have been several recent articles published about vitamin D supplementation and how its efficacy has been shown to be questionable (see example here). The only other alternative for obtaining vitamin D is via the sun. But how can do I this without getting burnt or increasing my risk of skin cancer?
How does our skin deal with the sun?
For the most part, our skin is not designed to withstand long periods of time in the sun. When we do, our body creates melanin, a pigment which gives the skin its color and helps protect the skin from some forms of sun damage (think tanning and pigmentation). In a nutshell, the darker your natural skin tone, the more melanin your skin contains, the less likely you are to burn. When you do get sunburnt, DNA damage occurs in the skin cells. Under normal circumstances, a healthy body repairs this DNA damage and you’re none the wiser. However, under certain circumstances this DNA damage can lead to some types of skin cancer, particularly basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Okay so I’m pretty fair skinned and feel I need sunscreen, but there are so many levels of sunscreen. How do I figure out which one I need?
This all depends on how much time you’re planning on spending in the sun. SPF numbers can be misleading as there is not a massive difference between SPF 15 and SPF 50 when it comes to UVB rays (see below).
In my opinion, if you’re only spending a limited amount of time in the sun on any given day, SPF 15 is all you need. However, if you’re heading to the beach or off on a bushwalk, which means you’ll be spending hours in the sun, grab the SPF 30 or 50.
How do I get my vitamin D from the sun without increasing my risk of skin cancer?
Even the Cancer Council states that “the best source of vitamin D is UVB radiation from the sun”. Their recommendation for maintaining adequate vitamin D levels is to spend a few minutes outdoors on most days of the week when the UV Index is 3 or above (such as during summer). Sun protection is recommended when spending extended periods of time outdoors, especially when the UV index is at its highest.
What level of sun protection does your Protect + Clarify Daily Face Lotion offer?
Our Protect + Clarify Daily Face Lotion has been formulated to protect skin from UV rays with a level of zinc oxide designed to meet SPF 15 standards. This means it’s perfect for daily use. It’s also important to note that this level of zinc spreads on invisible - no more ghost face.
Basically, I made it for the women and men like myself who spend most of their day in the office but are constantly being told we need some level of sun protection, even if we only spend 15-30 minutes in the sun. It also has other benefits including:
Do I need to wear sunscreen every day?
Yes! And it's so easy with our Protect + Clarify Daily Face Lotion. When I apply it first thing in the morning, it feels so good because I know I'm giving my skin the protection it needs to prevent damage from the sun, helping to reduce any damage I've already done (back when I didn't used to wear sunscreen daily) and helping my skin appear hydrated and healthy. It's a no brainer.
Learn more about Protect + Clarify Daily Face Lotion
Sunscreen is something that we all know we're supposed to wear on a daily basis and it gets especially drummed into us from a beauty perspective as the best way to maintain the youthfulness of our skin. The thing that bothers me is that there is a lot of misinformation about the level of SPF required and the benefit to skin. I'm here to bust those myths!
Keeping our skin healthy shouldn’t be a difficult or complicated task. However, there are some really simple mistakes that we all make from time to time that can be detrimental to the health of our skin both short and long term. Here are the top 5 mistakes I commonly see:
1. Over cleansing
This is perhaps the most common skincare misstep. We all seem to think that squeaky clean skin is healthy skin but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every time we cleanse our skin, we’re not only stripping it of dirt, food and make up, we also remove naturally produced oils in the skin, as well as some of the microbiome (the good bacteria, microorganisms etc) that helps maintain our skin’s barrier.
The skin on our bodies is often neglected as we tend to focus on our face and figure our bodies will just look after themselves. Big mistake!
Because our skin is our largest organ and most of what we put on it gets absorbed, choosing high-quality products for the body is so very important. They need to be 100% natural and as organic as possible, to avoid causing skin reactions, disrupting our hormones, and not adding to the toxin burden on our liver.
There are also some simple things you can do to look after your body that will reduce dryness, stop eczema from flaring up and keep it glowing.
