I thought it might be time to get back to information that is more relevant to the time of year and to step away from the stress and anxiety of everything else going on right now. Let’s focus on the weather change and with that, here comes the sun. What kind of sunscreen is ok to use?
Do you love the sun?
I do. I’m fortunate enough to live in a place that has over 300 days of sun. It affects my mood and I find because we don’t get too many dreary days, I miss it when we do. The sun is mood altering, that’s for sure.
Has the sun gotten a bad wrap? Hmmm. You know, from an anti-aging perspective, it can prematurely age our skin. And it has been linked to skin cancer. But you can’t hide from it, we do need it.
Vitamin D is such a big deal. I wrote about it last year and you can find that article here if you do want to understand everything it does for us. It’s a bit hitter for us in terms of our health. But yet, we spend all summer long bathed in Sun Screen, limiting our exposure and exposing ourselves to chemicals in these products that also don’t benefit us.
And, if you have Hashi’s, you are already struggling to absorb Vitamin D. Clearly not helping yourself if you are a big sunscreen user.
But what about the risks?
Well, I say everything in moderation.
And I have a caveat. My skin does not like sunscreen, even the cleaner stuff. I break out in little bumps so I don’t use it at all. However, I can’t just be out in the sun for hours and hours on end. I too will burn. So when I say, use sunscreen in my approach, ‘mI just covering up with longer sleeves and some kind of a hat to keep it off my face.
Here is my approach.
- I try to get at least 20 min per day at different times of the day. The rays are different at different times. Don’t want to get the same rays every day.
- If I’m going to be outside for an hour or two, I don’t bother to cover up. Now I know, some people burn very quickly. Burning is not a good thing so if you are going to be outside for longer than 20 min, you might have to cover up or use a sunscreen. Burning over and over can lead to skin cancer. Please be careful but do get your sun.
- If I know, I’m going to be out in the sun without a means of shelter for several hours, applying sunscreen or covering up is necessary. If you are like me, the burn is delayed. I can be out in the sun for hours and never change color. 3 hours after I head inside is when the redness shows up and by then it is too late. I just know this, so I make sure I’m prepared to cover up after I’ve reached the max sun exposure, I know I can tolerate.
- Not all sunscreens are made the same. They are full of gluten and chemicals. So, do your homework. I have a couple of links to some information on cleaner and gluten free sunscreens.
Are you ready for a little bit of summer? I know I am. It feels like it has been a long winter.
Do your body a little favor and get out there, soak up that D vitamin. Your body will feel better for it.
Have a great week. Chat more next week.
