21 Dec Four Smart Tips for Safe Sun Exposure

If the sun really is our big, yellow bestie in the sky, we need to exposure ourselves safely and smartly.

These four tips will help!

1. Consider what you are offering the Sun. The foods that become ripe and natural sun protection available during the spring and summer (think bright coloured foods like tomatoes, berries, capsicum… and even chocolate!) are high in antioxidants giving you a natural, internally based sunscreen. It’s also important to consume healthy, rich natural fats like coconut oil to maintain resilient skin.
2. Build up your exposure slowly – start in the spring when the sun isn’t as strong. If you are fair skinned be conscientious. Try 10 minutes mid-morning to around noon and build up slowly over time. If you are tanned and/or dark skinned, then your skin can handle more sun exposure and your body will need more to make adequate Vitamin D levels.
3. Be aware: when your skin becomes really warm, it’s time to seek some shade.
4. Use a chemical free sunscreen! Conventional sunscreens are full of carcinogenic compounds. Lather that on your skin and bake it – yikes! Things like coconut oil, red raspberry seed oil and carrot oil, and natural sunscreens with plant oils and zinc oxide are great options for days when you will be soaking up those rays for extended periods.
5. Wear a hat, and light long sleeved clothing for those long, hot days in the sun.

Also important to note is Vitamin D can actually take 24 – 48 hours to fully absorb into the body so avoid soaps and scrubbing the skin after absorbing those glorious rays.

So get your beautiful bod out to the nearest patch of sunshine and hone your healthy tan! Here’s to a beautiful, bright, bold and healthy lifestyle soaked in sunshine, just as nature intended!