One of my favorite times of year is
now…bright, sunny and beautifully warm Spring! The sun’s rays
wake up the earth, encouraging plants to bloom and blossom and it’s hard
to resist basking in those rays yourself.
Getting a healthy dose of sunshine has great benefits, but there can
always be too much of a good thing. The sun is a great source of Vitamin
D, something most humans are deficient in. Vitamin D has been shown to
prevent and/or improve many conditions such as Bone Health, Cancer
(breast, colon, skin, prostate), Diabetes, Heart Disease, Fatigue,
Depression and much more.
A good healthy dose of life giving sun rays would be about 30-45 minutes
of unprotected sun exposure, but try for mid-morning or late afternoon.
Much more unprotected sun exposure can have damaging affects if you aren’t
careful. Do you know how to naturally protect your skin from too much UV
exposure? Well, let’s find out!
Avoid Harmful Sunscreens
While it may
seem the easiest solution to protecting your skin
from damaging UV rays is to slather on the sunscreen…things are actually
more complicated than that. Most sunscreens contain scary chemicals
including, but not limited to:
- Artificial preservatives
- Parabens
- P-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
- Petrochemicals (Dioxybenzone, Menthyl anthranilate, Octocrylene,
Sulisobenzone and many more. Don’t those names sound scary enough to
avoid?)
Do you really want to slather on chemicals that are so easily soaked into
your skin? After all, your skin is your body’s largest organ and is very
absorbent… anything you put on your skin goes directly into your
bloodstream, yikes! {If you want more information on just how scary these
FDA approved sunscreens really are, I recommend reading
EWG’s
Skin Deep 2012 – Sunscreen Guide} I’ll pass on the OTC sunscreens,
thank you!
Natural Sun Protection
So…how do you protect your skin without a store bought sunscreen? There
are several things you can do to avoid and deflect the damaging UV rays,
let’s take a look.
-Avoid being out in the sun between 12p –
4p…the sun’s rays are the strongest between these times.
-Wear appropriate clothing…modesty is
certainly not a bad thing in the summer. The less skin that is exposed,
the more protected you are. If you have to be out mid-day, pull out a thin
“summer” sweater and a cute sun hat for added protection.
-Use healthy oils/butters that have natural
SPF…oils like jojoba, shea butter and sesame oil all contain low amounts
of SPF. They would need to be applied often to protect your skin.
Something that I have not tried but have heard mixed thoughts on is zinc
oxide. I would recommend doing your research to find out if zinc oxide
would work for you.
-Eat foods high in vitamins C, E, and A…these
vitamins help build a healthy, natural barrier against UV rays. If I know
I’ll be out all day, I make sure I eat or juice a lot of veggies before
heading out.
-Stay well hydrated…drinking extra water
during the day, especially a warm, sunny day, allows your body to function
well and keeps your skin healthy.
Doing these things will certain help prevent too much sun exposure,
decreasing your chances of getting sunburns, sun poisoning, pre-mature
aged skin, and exposure that could cause skin cancer.
Yummy Sun Protecting Recipes
Sunscreen Smoothie
{
This yummy, cool drink doubles as a natural, topical sunscreen. Save
a little to apply to your skin then rinse it off about 30 minutes before
heading outside. Remember what I said about your skin being a sponge?
Well, it will soak up the SPF properties from the smoothie and help
protect you skin better than just drinking it. But it can get messy, so do
it in the bathroom or in a shaded area outside! :) }
¼ cup of chilled, brewed green tea
¼ cup of fresh squeezed pineapple or orange
juice
A handful of frozen strawberries
A half of a cucumber
¼ to ½ cup of frozen papaya and/or mango
chunks
1 tbsp of virgin coconut oil
1 tsp honey (optional)
Place all ingredients into your blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes
until smooth.
Sunscreen Body Oil
{
A great, simple recipe from the book “Organic Body Care Recipes” byStephanie Tourles}
¼ cup jojoba base oil
¼ cup neem base oil
¼ cup pure aloe vera juice
¼ cup sesame base oil
3 tsp vitamin E oil
1 tsp lanolin
Add all the ingredients to a storage container. The aloe vera juice is
water-based and will separate out, so the formula must be vigorously
shaken each time prior to use.
No refrigeration is required if the product is used within three weeks. If
refrigerated, the oil will keep for 4 – 6 months. It will thicken when
chilled, but will liquefy when allowed to warm to room temperature.
How to apply: Apply to body immediately before and repeatedly during sun
exposure. The base oils won’t leave an oily film if massaged in thoroughly
(unless too much is applied).
//
Well, I hope you enjoyed the natural tips for nourishing and protecting
your skin! Remember to use good, common “sun” sense while you enjoy the
warm weather, gardening and summer picnics. Do you use sunscreen? Why or
why not? What do you use?
Jasmine (aka Happy Mrs Bass) is a
God fearing, always learning, stay-at-home-wife to the best husband in
the world! She is continually learning to slow down, enjoying the
important, simple things in life...
She really enjoys creating things "home-made" and showing others how to do the same! Which is why she started Like A Mustard Seed blog and her Etsy shop! In the past couple of years, her new found loves have become herbal fix 'ems and things "all natural"!
