“Did I ever wear sunblock? Never. I was always trying to tan,” Diane Keaton said during a L’Oreal Paris event. Keaton was first diagnosed with skin cancer when she was 21.  Her generation was the generation who deliberately tanned their skins. Years after, government ministries around the world noticed the significant jump in the number of skin cancer cases.

Slip, Slop, Slide, And Do It All Over Again.

Sunscreen use campaigns had this as a general theme to get more women and men, girls and boys to practice better sun protection. If you’re weighing your health goals against your vanity goals then, you certainly haven’t thought much about how sun damaged skin gives way to premature skin aging.

That means, whether it is health or vanity that you value more, you should be headed to follow a more robust sun care strategy, beginning with these tips:

Tip No. 1: Follow a strict sun care strategy.  

That means, you should do your research and have a clear list of do’s and don’t to aptly protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Your strategy rightfully must include tactics other than slipping, slopping and sliding your sunscreen. It should consider every other tip included in this list.

Tip No. 2: Manage your sun time better. 

Don’t be out in the sun for an unlimited amount of time. Monitor your sun time closely so you know when exactly you should be reapplying your sunscreen and when you should rather be in the shade than out there in the open.

Sunlight is important for your body to produce Vitamin D and to convert these into by-products that your body will be better able to assimilate and utilize for various critical functions.  Vitamin D is essential in maintaining bone health, promote healthy heart and blood pressure, enhance mental faculties, and even prevent the growth of cancers and diabetes. To obtain only these benefits minus the risks of UV exposure, choose to catch your sunlight early in the morning or, late in the afternoon. Stay in the shade at midday.

Tip No. 3: Check your medications and products for photosensitizing components.  

When your skin is photosensitized, it means your skin gets more easily damaged when exposed to the sun.  Your antibiotics, anti-hypertension medicines, birth control pills, and antihistamine can all make your skin react with UV which, as a result, cause you to suffer damaging effects on skin. Retinols and tretinoins found in your anti-wrinkle creams can likewise get in the way and cause your skin to become damaged.

Tip No. 4: Put on your sunscreen.

Read the directions on the labels and follow it closely. Most sunscreens will be required to be applied at least 15 minutes before you go out into the sun. Most of these products also require reapplication after two hours of wear. If you know you will be taking a dip or if you have overactive sweat glands, go for waterproof formulas.

Tip No. 5: Get to know your skin and your sunscreen better.  

Just blindly putting on your sunscreen won’t help you much. To get the most protection from sun damaged skin, you must know your sun protection objectives well. If you are performing water sports activities, you will need more protection. On a more daily basis, everybody needs a sunscreen that provides at least an SPF 30 to block out an estimated 97 per cent of UVB.

Wait! That’s not all. When you want to get the most protection, check that your sunscreen offers broad spectrum protection which means it is also able to shield your skin from deep penetrating UVA, the rays that cause your skin to wrinkle. If you have sensitive skin, purely mineral sunscreens which are made of less toxic ingredients should help you achieve your sun protection goals without irritating your skin.

Tip No. 6:  Block out the sun in other ways.  

Sunscreen simply isn’t enough to give you the utmost protection that you need.  Wear clothing that covers more of your skin surface, stay in the shade when you can, darken your car tint, wear a hat, and use an umbrella.

How To Repair Sun Damaged skin?

Conclusion.

These days, it is heartbreaking to note how younger people still succumb to skin cancer simply because they continue to ignore decades-long campaigns not to tan and to use sunscreen everyday. Don’t regret your inaction later. Take more time to sun damage proof your skin this summer. It’s not easy but, it can be done.