What is the best way to protect my skin from the sun?

Believe it or not, the weather is about to take a turn for sunshine and high temps. I know it is hard to believe considering it is already June and we are having another rain storm this weekend. But do not dispair, there will be a change in the weather by this coming weekend. That usually means we all want to head to the beach, the park, or any other open outdoor space we wish to explore. We are all excited to be through the days of chilly winds and cold rainy days and long for a bit of glorious sunshine.
In our excitement and enthusiasm to bask our faces and get a little sun kissed, don’t over do it! You never want to cook your skin. It’s just not atractive!

Being very fair skinned and having suffered from sun burn many many times in my life, I can speak from experience. Now that I am older and wiser, I understand that some skin types need special care in order to protect them. My sisters never needed it and they could run and play all summer long and while they got darker, they never seemed to burn. Me on the other hand, if that sun got one glimpse for longer than 20 minutes without protection, I was toast!

Every year, without fail, I get asked about sun screen. Sunscreens are chemical agents that help prevent the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. They are considered to be an OTC drug and fall under the FDA CFR 21. At Très Spa, we do not make sun screen. Why, well for a couple of reasons. One, we do not make drugs and anyone making a Sunscreen should be following FDA regulations on drug manufacturing. Two there are lots of companies out there that offer the latests in scientificly developed screens that are designed to protect the skin and not rinse off in the water. These companies are manufacturing a drug that is required to go through a series of rigorous clinical testing before being approved. The process is very extensicve and very costly. Too costly for a small independent company to afford.

So if you must go out in the sun here are some tips worth repeating.
The best sunscreen is to stay covered and out of the direct rays of the sun. Since that is not likley to happen, then try your best to avoid the sun at it’s most potent time of day ( about 10am to 4pm). If that is not possible, then please for goodness sake buy a sun screen that is high in UVB and UVA protection!
What is the best one to choose? Select a sun screen that has had clinical testing. Do not rely on special interest groups to tell you what is and isn’t “safe”. Especially when they are not peer reviewed! Again, Sunscreen is considered a drug and is required to undergo extensive testing and clinical trials before it can be sold as a drug. Here is a great resource to help guide you in searching for screens to protect your skin in the sun: http://www.skincancer.org/Sunscreen/

So what do you do if your already sun burned? Nothing can be done to reverse a burn, the best you can do is to help the skin stop cooking (that is the heat you feel) and to replenish the skin from the nutrients that just got radiated out of it.

• Replenish from the inside! Drink water, juice, or even sports drinks.
  
• Cool off the outside! The purpose of bathing after a burn is to help stop the cooking process that is the cause of the burn. Take a cool bath as soon as you possibly can. Adding Oatmeal and Buttermilk can also help but stay away from salts or bubbles. Oatmeal can help sooth irritated skin and milk creates a protien film to also soothe the skin. No bath, then take a long cool shower. If you use bar soap, use a handcrafted one as these are naturally superfatted (you knew I would say that right). Better still if your handcrafted soap has milk and ground oatmeal. If you don’t have a handcrafted bar soap, shame on you, just rince with the water only.
  
• Moisturize moisturize moisturize!!!! You need to make sure your skin doesn’t go dry. Peelling is going to happen, but you do not want a dry peel. Use a moisturizer that is designed to penetrate the skin. Try our apres Soliel body oil, our Sanctuary Body Butter, or our Santuary or Romance body lotion.
  

If you are feeling light headed, nausious, or headachy, you may want to seek a doctors care. Also, if you have a fever, you may want to see a doctor or at least consult with an advise nurse. Remember, the best treatment for sunburned skin is to not get burned in the first place!

To learn more about Très Spa or to shop our on-line store, visit us at http://www.tresspa.com/

You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page.