I’ve been reeeeaaaallllyyyyy busy…..
But you’ll be pleased to hear, I’m back just in time to peck your heads about looking after your skin in the sun. Trust me when I say, if I look after your skin with you, and you return from your holidays sunburnt, they’ll be trouble !
We all love a tan, a healthy sun kissed glow to give us confidence, making us look slimmer and more relaxed. But do you know the how’s and why’s of a sun tan ? It’s worth a little time and research to find out how our skin works in the sun and how best to care for it to prevent damage.
Our skin contains billions of Melanocytes
All designed to produce Melanin
Imagine if you will, an upside down spider. Peacefully resting, still and calm, until a child comes along with a magnifying glass and toasts it alive…..
This, my dear readers, is what you are doing to your skin if you don’t look after it in the sun ! The poor Melanocytes have no chance to awaken and start to produce the Melanin that’s needed to protect and tan your skin. Resulting in that lovely lobster glow us Brits are renowned for.
Try this instead… Get out in the sun by all means, but give your skin the chance to acclimatise to it. Give the poor spider a chance to wake up, stretch its little legs and get the melanin pumping.
My experience over the years, looking after ladies who sun worship, has taught me a few truths to remember.
A little care and attention will leave you with a beautiful and long lasting tan.
Hammering the sun, hour after hour with no thought of damage will leave you looking like a leather handbag.
Kids face says it all really !
Lets talk SPF !
Sun Protection Factor
“A relative measure of how long a sunscreen will protect you from UVB rays”
If you’re anything like me, on the kind side, an English Rose, on the cruel, Just dug up, this means a SPF 30 will give me around 200 minutes in the sun before I start to burn. This is totally reliant on 2 main factors.
How regularly and how thoroughly you apply your SPF. A good amount, applied careful and with attention, every 2 hours should keep you safe.
Now are we ready for a monumental scrap, here are the contenders …
In the blue corner….. AFTERSUN..
And in the red corner ……. BODY MOISTURISER…
There is a difference here, and quite an important one.
After sun is designed specifically to allow heat to escape the body
A word on Prickly heat….
Caused by sweat gland becoming blocked..
Best way to block sweat glands….. A heavy, oil based body moisturiser and no sign of an exfoliator for miles !
Allow me the time to write another post on Exfoliation on holiday…. But I’ll leave this here for the time being…
You can’t rub your tan off… It’s not on the surface ☺️