In recent times, the humidity in Lagos, Nigeria has been harsh with the burning effect of the sun bitying so deep into the skin. While the sun is a good source of Vitamin D, it sure has a lot of damaging effects to the skin. The worst of it all being skin cancer. The thought of that alone got us worried, hence the research to ensure that our readers are informed and are inspired to take steps to protect their skin from the rays of the sun.
Use Sunscreen
Have you heard of the term Sun Protection Factor? You probably know it as SPF which is the measure of how much the radiation could damage the skin when unprotected. So when you see a product labelled SPF, it means that the product contains sunscreen. However, what really matters is the number attached to that which is the number of times or minutes before your skin starts to burn when you use a sunscreen. So, if your skin starts to burn after 10 minutes and say your sunscreen contains SPF 50, what that means is that it protects it 50 times over or takes 500 minutes before the skin starts to burn which is why the ideal number for any sunscreen is SPF 15 and above.
In another post, we will speak more on the application of this product and how often you should use it in a day but for now, if you have been stepping out without the use of sunscreen, it’s about time you invest in one. We will also try to work out a list of sunscreens that you can try out.
Stay Hydrated
So the skin has some covering on it but you also need to ensure that it is protected from the inside out. During our research, we did find out that, there are pills you could take. However, we cannot speak on any of those because we are yet to use any of those. What we can recommend is that you stay hydrated all day, every day. You sure need as much water as possible.
Nutrition
Fruits and Veggies are also very important. They help the skin to repair itself and also protect it from the damaging effect of the sun. We are also working on a post to bring you a list of fruits and veggies that can help you with that. If you know any, let us know in the comment section below.
Clothing & Accessories
We need to have the right kind of clothes on at all times. From our research, we found out that having long sleeves and maxis are actually better to prevent the sun from hitting your skin directly. This seems quite ironic cos with the sun means that you sweat more and would rather go for sleeveless and light clothings but that is not what our research tells us.
Also, you need to protect your head with the use of hats and then if you have the sun protection hair spray, apply some of that too. You never know the kind of damage that this could be doing to your scalp. Moisturise the scalp and the hair as well.
Still on clothing and accessories, you need to have sunglasses. Now, we know that we have a lot of those just for the fashion side of it but we actually need the ones with UV protection. So, ask your sunglasses store attendant before you shop a pair of sunglasses if you are shopping it because of protecting the eyes from the sun.
Avoid The Sun
Ultimately, you need to make sure to avoid the sun as much as you can especially the sun that is out between the hours of 10 in the morning and 4 in the evening.
Do you have any more tips for the family? Please share with us in the comment section below.
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