If you can’t remember the deciphering UVB and UVA icons and SPF values, focus on the more straightforward rules for being safe in the sun. Let’s find out how to protect your skin from ultraviolet.
Don’t try to save the product
A big mistake is to save sunscreen, making do with a minimum (especially if the product is expensive). The cream should be enough to cover all exposed parts of the body and face. Apply it 20 minutes before sun exposure so that the chemical filter in its composition can have time to “turn on” and for the cream to begin to act.
UVB and UVA
Every season pleases us with new cosmetic novelties. For example, a couple of years ago, there were new products that could be applied directly to wet skin, and this summer, there were many new products with a matting effect. Choose broad-spectrum sunscreens that promise UVB and UVA protection (the appropriate abbreviations should be listed on the packaging).
Keep a stick in your purse
Today, the need for sunscreens is as obvious as a red, burnt nose on the face when this simple rule is neglected. It needs special attention.
The skin in this capricious area tends to be oily, so the effect of the sunscreen product fades rather quickly. Sticks traditionally work well in high-risk areas. They are convenient to use without attracting too much attention (and easy to keep at hand).
Always protect yourself
Cloudy days in the summer are no reason to avoid using a day cream with SPF. Moreover, in such weather, the rays of spectrum A are hazardous, causing severe diseases and contributing to skin aging.
Consult your doctor
High blood pressure medications, hormonal birth control pills, and antibiotics increase tissue sensitivity to the sun and increase the risk of burning and sunburn. If you are traveling to hot places while taking medication, choose products with the highest possible SPF (at least 30).
Soothe your skin
Sometimes the face gets covered with red spots in the sun. This is not so much a burn as micro-inflammation – a specific reaction to ultraviolet light – which is quite easy to remove. It is enough to take a capsule with evening primrose oil, pierce it and apply the contents to clean skin for the night.
Thanks to the high content of essential gamma-linolenic acid, which restores the water barrier and reduces redness, there will be no trace of annoying problems in the morning.
Body
Cool down in time
If you feel like you’re on the verge of heatstroke, think about soft drinks: an ice-cold Diet Coke can be an excellent cooling factor. Let’s reassure the adherents of a healthy lifestyle: it is unnecessary to drink it. It is enough to put a jar on your neck and wait until it warms up.
It is the neck that sets the tone for blood flow, so this area is of primary importance for lowering the temperature.
Use thermal water
Rinse the face and the body with thermal water: it will make the most potent thermoregulator – your skin – work at full strength. It works as follows: part of the liquid is absorbed instantly and lowers the blood temperature in the moistened area. The mineral fountain is best directed at the pulse areas: the neck, the inside of the knees, and the back of the wrists.
Treat burns the right way
If you still get sunburnt excessively, the skin urgently needs help. First of all, cool the burned area: take a cool shower or apply a wet, cold compress (avoid ice, as it can only increase skin damage). Then the burn site can be treated with a regenerating and healing agent that accelerates the process of skin regeneration and restores its protective barrier, soothes, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and prevents the development of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Such products usually contain panthenol and thermal water. Do not use ointments and powders, as the temperature of the burnt tissues decreases much more slowly under them. You cannot lubricate the burn with cologne or alcohol either – this can cause a painful shock.
Forget about peeling
Shortly after the skin has calmed down, the peeling phase will begin. Trying to help it with peeling is the worst thing you can do in this situation. You will have to endure, no matter how unaesthetic the appearance, and let everything take its course: let the scales peel off naturally. Concentrate on keeping the skin well hydrated with products containing ceramides.
For a better understanding of these processes, here are 12 sunscreen myths debunked by skin doctors:
Hair
Discipline the split ends
A mixture of salt and bleach is what makes the hair look like straw. To mask damage, take a styling cream or wax hair pomade and apply it to the ends of the strands. This will smooth out the problems. After a “hot vacation,” arrange a spa ritual for your head and take a serious restorative course ─ you can find treatment programs for any budget in the salons.
Maintain color
Strands playing with sun glare are still one of the fashionable hair trends, whereas light and lifeless strands are a mauvais ton. Therefore, do not forget about tinted shampoos. Violet color neutralizes unwanted warm tones, while gold pigment removes the unpleasant green reflection that often manifests itself after interaction with the mineral salts of the pool water.
Use protective spray
When going to the beach or the pool, use a hair spray with UV filters: it will not absorb salt and chlorinated water like a sponge. After returning to the hotel or apartment, rinse your hair well and apply cosmetic hair oil to restore its vitality.