Sadly, sunburn means you are more likely to get skin cancer. Therefore, its vitally important to do everything you can to protect yourself from the harmful effects of the sun. I have already written about protecting your eyes from the sun but this article focuses on how you can look after your skin.

Use Sunscreen

Not many people use sunscreen correctly. It should be applied thirty minutes before exposure to the sun and reapplied every two hours. Plus, many of us don’t use enough sunscreen in each application. According to the NHS site you should use 2 tablespoons to cover your whole body aside from a swimming costume.

Remember to reapply sunscreen to your hands after washing them! With everyone washing their hands so much more these days it’s easy to forget more sunscreen afterwards.

Overcast Days

Even on overcast days you still need to look after your skin from the sun. This is because 80% of UV rays can get through the clouds!

Hats

Ideally you will want to wear a wide brimmed hat like a cowboy hat because the brim protects more of the skin giving protection of your ears and neck. Whereas a baseball hat from somewhere like Sixhats.ca is still good for the nose and forehead.

Suitable Clothing

Close weave fabrics are best as the sun rays won’t get through to your skin. Also bear in mind that right colours and darker colours provide more UV protection than pale colours and white. Deep red is meant to be very effective against UV light.

However as darker coolers retain more heat you can see why so many people choose lighter colour clothes in summer. But it’s not giving them the sun protection they need.

You can also buy special sun protection clothing too. These are designed with fabrics that give UPF 50+ (so only 1/50^th of the sun’s rays will get through to your skin).

Stick To The Shade

The shade is great especially if it stops you being in the direct sunlight between 11am and 3pm. During those times the sun rays are their strongest. However, don’t forget a little sunshine is good for you, just don’t overdo it. You need a healthy balance of topping up your Vitamin D whilst still being in a position to protect your skin from the sun.

Also don’t assume you are totally protected in the shade; the sun rays might still be reflecting off other surfaces. You still need more precautions to protect your skin fully.

Be Wary Of Windows

UVA rays can pass through windows so you do need some kind of sun protection if you spend any length of time next to a window, perhaps on a long train journey or in your office.