Summer Skin Care

Summer is here! Time for holidays, days at the beach, BBQ’s in the backyard. Sydney turned up the heat in November – lots of hot, sunny days in between cold, wet ones. Who knows what summer will bring? Let’s be prepared.

Let’s look at our sun protection behaviour, and how we choose a sunscreen. This is important because we need to protect our skin, yet evidence is tending to show several common sunscreen chemicals have toxic or adverse effects on human health.

• Use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. Buy new sunscreen every year. Avoid products in sprays or with fragrance (this includes flavoured lip balms!). Do not combine sunscreen and insect repellants. Look for zinc and titanium active ingredients. Avoid PABA, oxybenzone, octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC), 4-MBC and octinoxate, which are all known to disrupt your hormone production. (I've just read my sunscreens ingredient list contains OMC! Out it goes!)
  
• Get your vitamin D – take 10 minutes of direct sun on your skin (without sunscreen) several times a week. Yes, even in Australia! Get some early morning sunshine onto your body ... feels good.
  
• Children are more sensitive, so take more precautions. Under 6 months, neither sunscreen or direct sun is a good idea. Keep your babies clothed or in the shade, using sunscreen as a last resort only.
  
• Avoid the midday sun… obvious isn’t it? Try a European approach, midday siesta in the shade for all the family and friends.
  
• Slop on good quality sunscreen and reapply often. This is the key, as sunscreen breaks down in sunlight and washes off in water.
  
• Parents – be a good role model, especially for your teenagers, make sure they see you protecting yourself with a zinc/titanium based sunscreen.
  
• Eat a wide variety of delicious, organic, summer vegetables and fruit, everyday. This is how you get the anti-oxidants and phyto-nutrients your body will use to build healthy skin and a strong immune surveillance system, which helps you avoid skin cancer and every kind of cancer.