Exposure to the sun is both necessary and devastating for your skin. Ugly patches of tans and sun burns on your skin can literally make you the center of attraction for all the wrong reasons. To prevent sunburn, shielding inside the protective walls of your home is not a practical solution. Nor can you afford to remain outside facing the extreme rays of sun fearlessly in the peak sunny hours of the day.
If your sunscreen lotions have literally offered you no relief from the tanning effect of the sun rays, here are some practical ways to elude the rays from affecting your skin. With these steps it would be easier to battle the sunrays to prevent sunburn and protect your skin.
Remember, this may call for making certain lifestyle changes!
The right clothes to prevent sunburn
It is important to know that like sun-protecting creams, there are sun shielding clothes that essentially block the direct exposure of the skin to the harmful UV rays. Contrary to the popular belief that subtle coloured and loose fitting clothes are ideal for summers, experts say that tight-fit clothes in dark colors are best to prevent sunburn. Since the fabrics are tightly woven in comparison to the loose clothes, they make it difficult for the sunrays to penetrate and reach for the skin. You may easily find such clothes in the market tagged as UV protected. However, these clothes may be slightly expensive than the rest of the summer clothes. One may find a range of such clothing, essentially including jeans, t-shirts, leggings and other body fitting clothes.
The right food to prevent sunburn
Foods that are rich in antioxidants are believed to prevent sunburn. Going by the experts say, these foods essentially work towards fighting and eliminating traces of sunburn on the skin. The key ingredient that works to prevent sunburn is beta-carotene, a primary form of anti-oxidant found in veggies like spinach, carrots and all the yellow fruits. To have an adequate stock of beta-carotene in the body one needs to ensure its intake in form of five servings for a period of ten weeks. In order to prevent sunburn and for complete protection against sun, certain quantity of this nutrient must be present in the body. Further, according to certain researches, tomatoes have also been claimed as the right foods to prevent sunburn. Further to their observation, the red colored pigments present in this vegetable works wonders at eliminating signs of sunburns on the skin.
Tips to prevent sunburn
The follow-up of the above mentioned lifestyle alterations are just not enough to prevent sunburn. These must be followed with the follow-up of certain tips that work successfully to prevent sunburn.
Avoid sun during peak hours- Locking yourself at home to prevent sunburn is next to impossible! However, it is possible to avoid the exposure of the sun especially during its peak hours when the rays are the strongest. The peak hours may be any time between 12 pm to 3 pm. The exposure of the sun rays during these hours may be devastating for the skin.
Cover your body- Nevertheless the hot and sunny days, it is strongly advisable to cover your skin with clothes so as to avoid its direct exposure to the sun rays. Keep away your shorts and Bermudas when you set out in the sun. Moreover cover-ups like umbrellas and floppy hats also cover a large portion of your skin away from the skin which prevents sunburn. Full sleeves or long sleeved shirts are good to protect your body while cycling or hiking.
Use sunscreens- Sunscreens with SPF quality of +45 are considered effective to prevent sunburn. It is highly recommended to apply sunscreen with the above recommended SPF quality at least 30 minutes before setting out in the sun. This is essentially so as to allow the sunscreen to penetrate deep into the skin before its exposure to the sun. Chapstick or Vaseline for your lips may keep them hydrated and well protected from the skin for a long time.
Apply sunscreens on hard to reach areas- We generally tend to apply sunscreens only on the most visible areas of our body. Therefore, hard to reach areas like knees, elbows, backside of the ears are easily forgotten. While applying the sunscreen, it is important to apply a layer of the same in these most forgotten body areas so as to prevent sunburn in the entire body.
Sunscreen for your hair- Apply a few drops of sunscreen on your hair so as to prevent hair burn or damages of sorts on the hair. The SPF content present in the sunscreens essentially saves the scalp and prevent sunburn.
Right way to apply sunscreen to prevent sunburn
Pick those sunscreens that have high SPF quality. In addition, sunscreens which are tagged as broad spectrum offers great protection against both Ultraviolet A and Ultraviolet B rays. These sunscreens come in lotion, gels and creams.
It is important to thoroughly massage the entire body, or at least the most exposed areas, with the sunscreen at least 30 minutes before moving out in the sun.
Apply the sunscreen to all the parts of the most, including the most visible regions as well as least exposed regions like elbows, neck, under the knees etc. It is important to apply the same on the scalp as well so as to prevent sunburn on the scalp.
Keep applying the sunscreen after every 2-3 hours, especially while remaining under the sun or after swim in the swimming pool. This is so as the SPF quality decreases or becomes less effective as one sweats or remains under the sun for a long period of time. Moreover, the efficacy of the sunscreens further reduces under the effect of humidity and wind.
Always use a lip balm or Vaseline having SPF quality on the lips to prevent sunburn as well as dryness.
It is impossible to absolutely negate the effect of sun rays on the skin during summers, however, one may follow the above mentioned steps to prevent sunburn to a great extent.
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