Everyone loves summer! Whether it is time away from school, summer vacations or just those long, hot summer days, it seems like summer is the season to be outdoors. No matter what part of the country you live, the fact is that today’s summer sun is not the same sun as it used to be. With the decreasing ozone layer and increased air pollution, the UV index is at an all time high. All of these factors combined can wreak havoc on your skin, causing damage to your skin. While we all know we should avoid getting burned, we don’t always take into consideration the invisible damage that takes place under the surface of the skin, the skin you can’t see. The problem with this type of damage is that even though it affects the skin you can’t see today, it is causing damage to the skin you will see in the future. For this reason, I thought we would take a few minutes to review some summer sun tips and facts as well as some other summer product tips to help increase your sales during these summer months.
First, it is important to explain exactly why we have an increased need for skin protection during the summer months. There are several factors that contribute to skin damage. The most obvious, of course, is the sun. Less obvious contributors to damage include excessive pollution, reduction in skin hydration and exposure to chemicals such as chlorine, insect repellant, etc.
The sun provides many nutritional benefits that get overshadowed by all the negative media regarding skin cancer. Striking a healthy balance between solar-phobe and sun worshiper is key to keeping your entire system running as it should. The value of the sun would include the production of Vitamin D, a glowing suntan and general feeling of well-being would be a few. The sun’s energy travels here via ultra violet radiation and comes in three types: UVA, UVB and UVC. Ultraviolet rays are most intense during the hours of 10am and 4pm.
UV wavelengths are very small and penetrate our flesh and change the structure of our skin cells. UVC has the shortest wavelengths and is extremely dangerous. Fortunately for us, it is completely absorbed by the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Unfortunately, both UVA and UVB can cause damage to our skin cells and DNA if caution is not taken when exposing our skin to the sun.
Think of UVA rays as the “aging” rays.
Think of UVB rays as the “burning” rays.
While we all know to avoid a sunburn, we don’t always realize that UVA rays can cause the most dangerous invisible forms of damage. The trouble with these types of rays is that we don’t always take appropriate precaution from them if we don’t consider ourselves sun-lovers. Driving in your car or sitting near a window are potential examples of the damage that we don’t think about. This is the reason that a daily application of sun protection is necessary to protect the skin.
Skin color begins down in the deepest level of your epidermis, where special cells called "melanocytes" live. These melanocytes are cells, with many arms that reach up into the upper levels of the skin cells. Melanocytes make a dark chemical called "melanin". Now here's something really interesting - a blonde Scandinavian has roughly the same number of melanocytes in their skin, as a black African. What gives the different skin color is the way that a person’s body processes the melanin within the skin.
Melanin is the body’s own sunscreen, so it is rational to see why the darker a person’s skin, or the easier a person can tan, the more resistant a person is to sun damage. The lighter a person’s skin, and the easier a person burns, shows a distinct intolerance to the sun. Since melanin is the body’s natural sun protection, it makes sense to know that a freckle is actually a cluster of potentially vulnerable skin cells that have been surrounded by melanin as a means of skin protection. The more freckles a person has, the more susceptible a person is to skin damage.
I have to also interject this fact into the equation – tanning beds do not offer a safe alternative to a natural suntan. The same rays that tan your skin in the sunlight, are the same rays that tan your skin in a tanning bed. If you should choose to take this route, you should use the same level of protection that you would choose if you were in the sun.
So, with that out of the way, let’s discuss the types of sun protection available today.
Sunscreens come in two forms – chemical sunscreens and physical sunscreens.
•Chemical Sunscreen: A chemical sunscreen, works by chemically absorbing UV rays. Some chemical sunscreens absorb ONLY UVB rays and some absorb only UVA rays. In formulations with chemical sunscreens, multiple forms of sunscreen ingredients are used to offer both UVA and UVB protection.
•Physical Sunscreen: A physical sunscreen works by deflecting UVA and UVB rays. Titanium or Zinc oxide are the most commonly used physical compounds that provide a physical block on the skin to prevent UVA and UVB exposure. Unlike chemical sunscreens, physical sunscreens deflect the light and prevent the absorption of any UV rays into the skin, which is one of the reasons that we use physical block sunscreens in our BC Spa facial and Cell Block C formulas.
The bottom line is sunshine on your skin in moderate doses is very healthy. We should bask in the sun every single day. Remember if you want to lay out for longer periods work yourself up to it first. Don't be afraid of the sun! The sun heals wounds, improves skin tone and complexion, helps rid acne, and even diminishes the appearance of scars, cellulite and stretch marks. With the proper precautions, and the use of your BC Spa Facial moisturizers, and our incredible Skinlogics Lip Balm SPF 20, you can enjoy the sun without the risk of skin damage.
Check out BeautiControl's Sun care here.
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