Protect yourself from the sun effectively (and without toxins)

Using sun cream to protect ourselves is essential, but not everything goes. We explain the criteria for choosing cream, how to use it and what to do if you get burned.

How to better protect ourselves from the sun? Many others arise around this key question, so many that you may be tempted to drop everything and put on the first cream you find next to the supermarket checkouts. Don”t do it, questions always have an answer.

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD SUN CREAM

A product to protect yourself from the sun of quality and that does not imply risks to health must necessarily resort to physical filters instead of chemicals.

The reason is that chemical filters – such as methoxycinnamate, octinoxate or octocrylene, among others – are allergens and endocrine disruptors.

The recommended filters are physical or mineral filters such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which create a screen on the skin, provided that their presentation is not in the form of nanoparticles (these can leak into the body with unknown effects).

Physical filters without nanoparticles are the only ones allowed in creams with recognized natural or ecological certification (such as Cosmos, BDIH, Vida Sana, AIAB or Ecocert).

WITHOUT PETROLEUM DERIVATIVES

These creams also lack other troublesome ingredients, such as perfumes and other petroleum-based compounds.

Another important advantage is that the physical filters offer protection not only against UVA radiation, but also against UVB.

Of course, there are quality differences between certified brands: some spread and absorb better than others.

DON”T GET LOST WITH THE PROTECTION FACTOR

The protection factor is not the only decisive fact and many people do not understand it well. It is believed, for example, that a factor of 30 or 50 allows to be safe with a single application and in any circumstance.

It is not like this. The effect depends on the type of skin, the intensity of the sun, the exposure time and the amount of cream spread on the skin. You have to take all of this into account, not just the cream factor.

The factor number has a logic: a certain amount of cream with factor 50 will protect you twice as long as the same amount with factor 25. But it will not protect you if you go over time.

A filter of 20 or 25 is enough to spend a reasonable time in the sun. And you can always apply a new dose to lengthen the time.

The specific time cannot be determined, as it depends on the type of skin, the time of day or the geographical area.

HOW TO APPLY THE CREAM

The keys are to choose a good cream, use it well and be sensible in our relationship with the sun. Here are some tips:

It is not necessary to put on a physical filter cream half an hour before going out in the sun, as with chemical ones. You can do it on the beach and they will start to protect you from the first minute.

HOW MUCH CREAM?

The amount naturally depends on the size of the body, but the average is about 25 ml of sunscreen (a couple of tablespoons approximately) for the whole body.

From this data you can draw some consequences: a 150 ml bottle will serve you for 6 applications.

For the whole body it is for the whole body: do not forget the nose, the ears, the back of the feet and the hands.

And remember that when you get into the water you will lose a good part of the protection, so you will have to apply cream again.

As a general rule, if you do not bathe, you must apply the cream again after two hours.

Go to hats, clothes and shades between 12 and 16 o”clock and when you have already taken your daily dose of sun. It is also important that you drink water so that the body can regulate its temperature properly.

WHAT IF YOU BURN?

If, despite everything you already know, you burn, you have to drink more (burned skin will need more liquid to heal) and apply fresh water, white vinegar and aloe vera gel to the affected area.