With summer comes freedom, road trips and beach trips with your family or friends. Exciting as this season may be, make sure to not leave home without some beach essentials in tow. Exposure to the sun can cause sunburn, skin aging or wrinkles, eye damage, and even skin cancer.
Sun damage to the body is primarily caused by invisible ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and prolonged exposure can lead to harmful effects on your skin. Reduce your risk of any skin-related problems by:
• Limiting your time under the sun, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense.
• Apply sunscreen liberally to all uncovered skin and use the ones with broad-spectrum of SPF 15 or higher, even on cloudy days. Reapply it at least every two hours and apply more often if you’re swimming or sweating.
Just as the sun can damage your skin, it can also affect your hair and scalp. Avoid taking on a lot of damage by keeping your hair, scalp and follicles healthy and growing strong even under the sun through:
• Wearing a wide-brimmed hat to protect not just your hair, but also your eyes and skin from the sun’s UV rays.
• lathering up on some zinc oxide sunblock cream into your hair or smother your hair in a moisturizing mask to protect it from chlorinated and salt water.
Another part of your body that is on peril are your eyes. An exposure under the sun increases your risk of developing eye problems. There are certain sunglasses that can help protect your eyes, but remember to:
• Choose sunglasses labeled with a UVA/UVB rating of 100% that gives you the most UV protection for your eyes.
• Use polarized sunglasses that reduces glare and other harmful effects from UV light.
• Take into consideration those styles that are large or those with wraparound-style frames, that can cover your entire eye-socket.
