Protecting your skin from the sun is one of the most critical factors in any health care/beauty regime. The sun can have such destructive results to your skin with even mild exposure that it becomes vital to always be aware of what kind of protective product you should be wearing at all times. The products out there with sun protection factors go far beyond traditional sunscreen these days, and we should be aware of all of them in order to take full benefit of the options available in sun preventative therapy.

First of all, we all know that the sun is bad for us, right? It’s not worth getting into here just how bad it is, but we have to accept it. The tan just isn’t worth it anymore, as the sun is getting increasingly bad for our skin, and tanning booths are unsafe. If you really want to look tanned so badly, get it out of a bottle.

Now, obviously we’re not going to stay indoors our whole life, so what should we do when we go outside? Wear sunscreen. Sounds obvious, but it’s not as obvious as you would think, and it’s shocking how many people don’t wear any form of sunscreen ever.

Now, on a bottle of sunscreen we’ve all seen the SPF rating. SPF stands for sun protection factor. Its very simple really in that the higher that SPF rating, the more you will be protected from the sun’s harmful rays.  Don’ t rely on anything with an SPF of 15 or less to really protect you for any significant portion of time, however there are other non-sunscreen products of SPF less than that which can be useful. Those will be addressed later.

Sunscreens have come a long way, and if you don’t like the oily feel they leave on your skin, don’t be afraid to shop around for a slightly higher priced, more quality product. There are very soothing and protective sunscreens out there you just need to find one that works for you.  Also, don’t forget that if it’s a hot day and you’re going to be perspiring or in the water that you have to use a waterproof sunscreen. Otherwise, as soon as you sweat or get damp the protection is gone, and you’ll be burned before you know it. 

Don’t forget either that the sun is still out in the wintertime. In fact, the sun can be very, very, bright on some winter days and it is just as important to be protected then if you are going to be outside for long periods of time.

If applying sunscreen every day in layers isn’t your thing, there are other products out there that offer at least a modicum of protection against those harmful sunbeams. For instance, there are moisturizing skin products with SPF factors ranging all the way up to 30.

These are great products, because you should already have a moisturizer as part of your skin care regime, and this way you don’t have to mess around with any extra products or applications. Similarly, there are also products out there like lip balms with SPF to protect your lips from the sun as well.

People still think that this is just fear mongering, and that they can stay out in the sun all day. They can’t. Not unless they want cancer. It’s really just that simple, and any attempt to ignore the obvious facts in this day of medical enlightenment is just irresponsible. If all of the above sounds like too much work or you don’t like using skin care products at all then there are two very simple solutions. Either don’t go outside, or when you do, where a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and a hat. You won’t get burned that way.