7 Effective Ways to Protect Your Skin from Sun Damage

It is a fact that the sun can damage your skin even though you just simply want to get a tan complexion. This is because you’re likely to get melanoma (skin cancer) from spending too much time under the sun. If these facts don’t scare you, then you’re either genuinely courageous or you just don’t care about your skin health.

Either way, staying out in the sun for long hours without the necessary protection will hurt you. It may not eventually take effect in the short term, but it will definitely in the long run. People who are too much expose on sunshine are at risk of developing a certain type of cataract or a benign growth in the eyes also known as pterygia. Other risks include non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) and malignant melanoma in the long run. In the short and medium terms however, there’s the real risk of the following:

• Sunburns
• Heat exhaustion
• Dehydration
• Brown or red scaly spots
• Skin wrinkling

All of which aren’t pleasant at all. These are largely caused by the ultraviolet A and B rays (UVA and UVB) of the sun. This is why it’s essential that you must protect yourself while you’re out in the sun. This article will provide some of the vital tips to stay protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Stay Indoors

This might not be possible as you still have to go out for business and work. You also need to go out at times for recreation and errands. However, what we’re actually saying is that you should avoid direct contact with sunlight for prolonged hours. Always bear in mind to avoid being out in the sun between 10am and 4pm. This is the times when the sun is at its hottest and the ultraviolet rays are at their highest intensity level.

This is basically important if you’re trying to avoid having melanoma or other non-melanoma skin cancers. But, seeing as we all need our daily dose of vitamin D, you can still actually enjoy the sunlight from 8 until 10 in the morning. This is the optimum time to enjoy natural vitamin D.

Cover Up by Wearing Sun Protection Clothing

Most people don’t even know what sun protection clothing is. Actually, they have been around for a while. These clothing materials are designed in a way that they provide excellent protection from the UVA and UVB rays. This type of sun protection clothing simply prevents the absorption of the UV rays in the first place.

Standard clothing materials do not have the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) to prevent the body from the sun’s UV rays. So, it’s still possible to suffer from the harmful effects of the sun by wearing ordinary clothes. But with sun protection clothing that has a UPF of at least 15, you can be sure that the body parts that are covered will be totally protected from all UV rays.

Wear Sun Protection Hats

Most people apply sunscreen to certain parts of their bodies but neglect some parts that are usually exposed to the sun. These include their hairlines and the facial part that consists of the nose ears and neck. Studies have shown that most skin cancers often occur around the head, face and neck. For this reason, sun protective gears are created such as the sun protection hats.

These sun hats are great protection for the facial area and the head’s hairlines. They are specially made of materials that can help block the sun’s UV rays. These hats are effective at keeping people’s face and head protected against the harmful UV rays.

Sunscreen Creams are a Necessity

Sunscreen creams have been around for ages and are known to be effective in protecting people from sun related problems. Most sunscreen creams or lotions contain sun protection factor with different intensity level that suits to various skin needs.

Sunscreens work by providing a layer of protection on your skin. Thus, minimising the impact of direct sunlight on your skin and creating a barrier between your skin and the sun rays. People with melanoma on their hands and shoulders often have them partly because they didn’t apply their SPF creams generously on those exposed areas.

If you’re fond of wearing short sleeves or leaving your shoulders bare, creams with a sun protection factor of at least 15 are a necessity. Make sure to apply them in copious amounts to ensure maximum protection. In addition, making it a habit to apply sunscreen creams with SPF 15 or above daily might save your life.

Wear Sunglasses

As mentioned earlier, prolonged exposure of the eyes to sunlight can result in some types of cataracts and benign growths in the eyes. So, it’s essential to wear sun glasses with UV protection that filter out the UV rays. Look specifically for sunglasses with an SPF 15+ sun protection. These types of sunglasses are designed to protect your eyes.

Protect Your Feet and Under the Chin

Many people routinely ignore their feet and under the chin when they are out in the sun. This is because they just assume that these parts of their bodies are already protected by wearing wide-brimmed hats. However, this is not true. The sunlight and its rays often reflect off the beach sand. The part of the body that is mainly affected is under the chin. It’s because that’s where sun rays often hit. Ignoring this particular part of the body is kind of like the dragon’s soft spot. The same goes for your legs and feet.

Whether you’re fortified with sun protection clothing, sun protection hats and sunglasses or creams, but if you leave these parts of your body exposed, your skin could still suffer some sun damage.

Avoid Anything that Enhances the Absorption of Sunlight

This includes tanning lotion or anything meant to enhance your skin. Slathering on tanning oils is like oiling yourself up using cooking oil. Yes, we understand that you crave for that gorgeous look. But running tanning oils and lotions just to fast track that kind of look sounds like frying meat.

Sunbeds and tanning booths are just as bad. Surely, they don’t heat up like you do when you suntanned. They equally contain potent amounts of UVA rays which are actually more penetrating than the UVB rays. With the sunbeds, you are essentially switching one cancer producing medium to another. So better be wary of this before it’s too late.