5 Ways To Protect Your Skin This Summer
Photo by Natasha Kasim on Unsplash
The summer sun draws us out of our little homes, the warm golden rays beckoning us to come soak them up for the few months they’re around. But enjoying these lovely, sunny summer days requires some tact.
While we’re big fans of all the sun does for us, we also have to be thoughtful with the way we interact with its rays, lest we go home with a bad sunburn, or even worse. So what can we do to protect ourselves from the sun this summer while still making the most of these warm months?
01 | Never forget sunscreen.
The number one golden rule of protecting your skin is wearing sunscreen (which is important to do year-round, not just during the summer). It’s easy to “forget” to apply it, and many of us just never got in the habit of putting it on everyday; but sunscreen is our best defense against the sun’s damaging UV rays, which contribute to wrinkles, skin cancer, and discoloration. So swipe on that SPF no matter what!
02 | Get a pair of sunglasses.
Sunglasses won’t just make you look like a young Audrey Hepburn (though that is reason enough to wear them), they’ll also help protect your eyes, as well as the delicate skin around your eyes, from those pesky UV rays.
03 | Wear a hat.
A hat will check off two important boxes: it offers your face and chest a bit of shade and a summery feel to your ensemble — whether you wear a baseball cap, a beachy straw hat, or a classy wide-brimmed hat.
04 | Drink lots of water.
It’s always important to stay hydrated, but in the middle of summer with sometimes excessive heat from the sun, we might find our skin getting even more dried out than usual. So make sure that if you’re spending any extended time outdoors, you have lots of water to keep your skin hydrated and healthy.
05 | Skip the sunbathing.
We all love a warm, healthy glow in our skin — so many of us have taken to laying out in the summer sun for an hour or two during these warm months. But unfortunately, it’s best for us to keep the sunbathing to a minimum, if not cut it out completely. Extended and deliberate exposure to the sun might give us an even tan right away, but the long term effects of cat napping in the sun, which include skin cancer and premature aging, aren’t worth it — even if you’re wearing sunscreen.