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I love the summer sun! But even more than I love the sun, I love protecting my skin. It is such a tragedy that something so wonderful and beautiful as the sun is our skin’s number one enemy when it comes to skin cancer and early wrinkling. I’m not afraid of aging, but I want to do so gracefully.
I have always been fortunate that I tan a lot faster than I burn and if I go without sunblock I get really dark very fast. So people ask me all the time why I don’t allow myself to tan. Although tans look great in our society, even a tan is a visual sign of skin damage. When your skin tans it means that your DNA has been mutated: in other words, you have damage on a cellular level and this damage is what causes cancer and premature wrinkles. The darker you get in the sun, the more damage is occurring. Which is why I do my best not to let myself get to that level these days (even as pretty as our society thinks it is). The lighter your skin is naturally, the more susceptible you ar
e, but no matter your skin tone, if you hang out in the sun without any UVA and UVB protection, you are putting your health at risk.
So what can you do? I would never recommend staying inside or away from the sun. We need the vitamin D and life is too short to coop ourselves away from the sun because of fear. However, you can protect your skin every single day.
Year round, even on cloudy and winter days, I wear a natural skin lotion with an SPF of 15-30. I put it all over my skin before getting dressed in the morning. It is not enough for all day coverage, but it is something to get started. I also worry about chemicals that are in lotions. It wouldn’t do any good to get sick from lotions while trying to protect my skin from the sun. So I always make sure I use all natural and organic sunblock lotions. I love the Alba Botanica Very Emollient Daily Shade Lotion 
.
If I know I will be outdoors that day I will cover up with a heavier sunblock lotion (again organic and natural) of at least SPF 30.
For my face, every day I use a natural moisturizer with spa 15-30 before applying any make up. I will use Badger Damascus Rose SPF 25 Face Sunscreen
if I will be out in the sun all day and I always carry around a bottle to reapply as the day goes by or after swimming.
It may sound a bit excessive, but most of us put lotion on every day anyway, so it is barely an extra step to take. I will also use lip balms with SPF and occasionally make up with additional SPF too.
My favorite summer sunblocks:
- Pacifica Face Sunscreen with Beneficial SPF 30
- Badger SPF 35 Sport Sunscreen Cream
- Pacifica Sun + Lip Care SPF 30
- Alba Botanica, Kids Sunscreen SPF 45
- Badger Damascus Rose SPF 25 Face Sunscreen Lotion
The key to to apply every day and make it into a natural part of my routine. I have been doing this routine for about 12 years now, so it is just a small habitual part of my day that I do not even think about at this point. It comes as naturally to me as brushing my teeth or getting dressed in the morning.
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My fiancé does not tan at all: he burns, no matter how much heavy duty sunblock we put on him. We bought him a UV long sleeved shirt for beach days and we seek shade during the hottest and brightest hours of the day. Living with Matthew has gotten me into the shade a lot more during sunny days. If you visit the beach, bring an umbrella. Your skin will love you for it.
Thankfully, my other summer love has been trendy these days: sun hats.
And at the very end of the day, I cleanse my face and spritz on some Rosewater Spray
, which has the benefit of healing skin from the sun and it is so refreshing. I also treat my face with an organic overnight cream or an organic skin oil with Vitamin E, which also combats skin damage from the sun.
Eating healthy, staying active, and drinking plenty of water also assists your body in healing from too much sun. Antioxidants in tea, especially green tea (hot or cold) also repair damaged skin cells.
Don’t avoid the sun this summer, but do put your health first.
