Sun Care

The sun is nature’s anti-depressant. No, really – it’s been shown to have loads of positive benefits on your mental health such as reducing stress and lifting moods due to the increase serotonin production exposure causes.

It can also build stronger bones as UVB rays cause your skin to release all-important vitamin D.

The key to a good sun cream or spray is one which has sufficient UV protection – it’s that simple. You need one that protects you from both UVA and UVB rays and that information is indicated on the packaging in two ways:

• Sun Protection Factor or SPF – this tells you how efficient it is at protection from UVB rays
• The star rating – this tells you how efficient it is at protection from UVA rays
• Better for the world – Artificial products are full of chemicals that aren’t kind to your skin or to the earth.

You basically want a sun cream with 5 stars of UVA protection that’s at least SPF30. Remember to reapply every two hours and sooner if you hit the water.

Your face is most definitely exposed to the sun more than any other part of your body, so it does need protection every day. However, whether you need a separate cream for it is entirely your own choice.

The key difference between regular sun cream and facial sun creams is the formula – your face has much more delicate skin and tends to prefer lighter, less-greasy creams that absorb easily. But the base sun protection is the same.

So, if you want happier facial skin, choose a specific facial cream, but a regular sun cream will work just as well at protecting your skin from sun damage.

It’s thought that everyone should get out and about in the sun wearing sun cream for protection against UVA and UVB rays, but babies under six months should avoid direct sunlight completely and stay in the shade

Everyone over that age should use sun protection from March to October at the very least.

Aftersun does not reverse damage caused by the sun as the damage is usually caused to your cells and DNA. Aftersun is merely there to offer relief from the pain symptoms of sun damage and offer top-level hydration to the skin barrier.

By all means, use aftersun at the end of a sunny day – your skin will stay moisturised, soft and any pain from sun burn will be relieved, but never use it as a substitution or replacement for missed applications of SPF cream.