I’ve just celebrated a birthday and it reiterated the fact that I am not getting any younger (sobs into bucket of ice cream).  And yes, whilst age is just a number (I am about 22 at heart) it unfortunately brings on wrinkles and frown lines and means that you have spent another summer in the sun.

Because we’re in the middle of summer, I feel we need to talk sunblock. It is seriously vitally important to use every single day. You are silly if you are not. We all have that friend who claims that he or she “doesn’t burn” and then eight hours later you’re offering up your expensive after-suns and moisturising lotions because your genius friend looks like a dying lobster.

So, sunblock and its importance to the humans of the world:

We know that buying sunblock is as mind boggling as standing in the vitamin aisle. So, let us start with the sun’s rays and the two categories of UV light which are UVA and UVB:

UVA is about 95% of the UV radiation from the sun. The rays are deep penetrating and can cause long-term damage to the skin and skin cancers. UVB is a shorter wave light which causes sunburn as well as skin cancers. The skin needs protection from both so find a sunblock that shields you from UVA and UVB rays. It will say so on the bottle.

Now you need to know that you can get two types of sunblock: chemical and physical. The chemical type absorbs UV rays and neutralises them. Physical sunblocks form a layer on top of the skin and reflect the UV rays like light bouncing off a mirror. Both are classified as broad spectrum and they are designed to protect you from both the UV ‘devils’.

The next big question is this: which factor do you buy? The greatest sunblock myth of all is the SPF factors. We tend to think that the higher the SPF factor, the better the protection. The increase in protection is very small from SPF 15 to SPF 30. (SPF 15 absorbs 93.3% of UVB rays, a SPF30 will absorb 96.7%.)  However, a SPF 30 remains “active” for a longer period of time on the skin than a SPF 15.  So if you are not going to be diligent in reapplying your sunblock regularly, then rather use a higher SPF. Simple as that.

Phew. That was a lot of info.

But what does the sun and sunblock have to do with your skin? I can only assume you want to look good for a very long time, right? The health and external appearance of the skin correlates directly with the lifestyle and dietary habits of each individual and your skin plays a vital role in your social and visual experience – it can clearly give away your age and reflects the consequences of ageing. We’re talking freckles, sun spots, age spots and cancers. Not fun at all.

Heliocare is a great sunblock to use – protects and strengthens the skin. Also, you can always pop to your Skin Renewal Clinic and have some treatments.