Keeping Your Skin Safe From the Sun

Grace Staver ‘21, Staff Writer

Summer is just around the corner. Long days with the bright sun shining with a UV ray measure of 10-12 daily can make for great beach days, but can also damage your skin easily if not prepared properly. Here are some simple ways to safely protect your skin from the harsh UV rays.

Cover Up

In order to prevent painful and damaging sunburns to the face, it is as simple as wearing a hat, shirt, sunglasses, walking in the shade, and bringing an umbrella to the beach. These simple decisions can lead to the biggest difference in your skin’s health.

SPF

It is important to wear SPF on a daily basis. Products with an SPF of 50 are encouraged in order to get the safest coverage from the sun. Make sure to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after wetting your skin. Also, lotion sunscreen is recommended over spray sunscreen in order to absorb into the skin and block the UV rays. Additionally, apply sunscreen generously to the skin under your eyes and on your lips, as this skin is the most sensitive skin on your body; these sunscreens can be the most penetrative and cause the most peeling. Finally, do not wear any tanning products. These contain a severely low SPF and therefore are not as protective of your skin and can allow permanent damage.

What To Do When You Get a Sunburn

Sometimes, no matter how much you thought you re-applied sunscreen, you may still get sunburned. When this happens, you must take good care of your skin and allow it to heal. Firstly, apply aloe vera to the affected areas of the skin. Allow this to soak in and do its job, continuously applying when needed. Another crucial step is to drink lots of water; this is an important thing to do on a daily basis, but this especially helps with healing your skin. Lastly, give your body a rest from the sun. You don’t have to go to the beach every day during the summer! In fact, this will dehydrate your body and damage your skin even more. Be sure to stay in the shade while you have a sunburn so that you don’t further the redness.