Be Sun Smart This Summer

It's no secret that the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer and premature aging. Too much of its UV radiation can damage the DNA in our skin cells. Over time, repeated DNA damage can cause cells to over-proliferate, leading to skin cancer.

Premature aging is caused by the sun triggering free radicals, highly destructive, corrosive molecules that act like little darts poking holes in our skin's primary building blocks: collagen and elastin. Eventually, these harmful molecules eat away skin's integrity, making it sag, wrinkle, and discolor.

While we all know that wearing sunscreen is the first and best line of defense for sun damage control, ensuring we get all its benefits is tricky. So, here are our top tips to help you maximize its protective powers.

• Find a fantastic formula: If we don't like how a cream, spray, or lotion looks or feels, we're certainly not going to wear it, much less use the amount we need to get the best results.
• Think broad: Go for UVA and UVB broad-spectrum protection to safeguard skin from the sun's burning and skin-damaging rays.
• Choose an SPF of 30 or higher: This is the American Academy of Dermatology's recommended sun protection factor; it is clinically proven to reduce or minimize the sun's damaging effects significantly.
• Time it right: Apply chemical sunscreens, for example, ones that contain octocrylene and oxybenzone, on clean, dry skin at least 30 minutes before sun exposure so the protective ingredients can react with skin. These products absorb the sun's energy diverting it away from us. Physical sunblock, such as zinc oxide, can work immediately—even over moisturizers- since they create a protective shield on top of skin.
• Be generous: To be fully protected, we need to use a lot of sunscreen—about 2-4 ounces to cover our faces and bodies depending on our size.
• Reapply frequently: Rub or spray on a fresh layer at least every 3-4 hours and immediately after swimming or perspiring—even the waterproof variety.
• Remember often overlooked places: With so much ground to cover, it's easy to miss a few spots. We often neglect our lips, scalp, backs of the ears, tops of the feet, and backs of the hands resulting in burns that can ruin any vacation and cause damage.
• Wear it all day, every day: Many of us don't think about the sun exposure we get daily just from running errands and getting in and out of the car. But all that incidental sun damage adds up.
• Increase damage control with antioxidants: These free radical fighters can help compensate for sunscreen's inherent shortcomings (and for application errors) by neutralizing the oxidative stress that sun exposure causes. Antioxidants help diffuse the effects of the harmful rays that make it through sunscreen. Our Restoring and Renewing HA Serums are formulated with Kakadu Plum, a rich source of rejuvenating and repairing antioxidant vitamin C that's also a powerhouse at fending off destructive free radicals.