Are you ready for the Summer?
With plenty of spring and summer days ahead, most of you are looking to spend more time outdoors (if you haven’t already). Lazy, sunny days may seem like the perfect time to relax and be carefree, but it is also a time to be careful! Did you know that the skin is the largest organ that we have? More time outdoors means more exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun, and lack of protection could lead to dire consequences.
This all being said, Mobility Plus wants to help you make sure that your skin is protected this upcoming summer Season!
Here are some to practice not only during the summer months, but year round, to keep your skin looking good and feeling durable:
Use sunscreen!
Before heading outdoors, apply a “broad-spectrum” sunscreen to all areas of your body that can be exposed to the sun. What the heck is broad-spectrum anyway? In short, it protects from both UVA and UVB rays from the sun. Both types are harmful to the body in their own ways. UVB rays are responsible for producing sunburn, whereas UVA rays penetrate the skin to an even deeper level and are responsible for premature skin aging and wrinkles.
In addition, you’d want to use a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Dermatologists recommend using a SPF15 or SPF30 sunscreen as higher SPFs don't provide much more protection. SPF is a measure of how well a sunscreen will protect your skin from UVB rays. So, if your skin would normally burn after 10 minutes in the sun, applying an SPF 15 sunscreen would allow you to stay in the sun without burning for approximately 150 minutes (a factor of 15 times longer).
Limit your time in the midday sun & seek shade
Generally, the sun’s UVB rays are its strongest between the hours of 10am and 4pm. It is not entirely a bad thing to be in the sun during those times, especially if you follow tip #1. So if you do plan on being outside during those hours, use any amount of shade that you can find to give your skin a break. Do not however, that being under trees, canopies, or umbrellas cannot provide complete protection. In all, by limiting your exposure you place your skin at less risk of developing sunburn.
Wear protective gear - EYES
Whether we view them as the windows to the soul or a good backdrop for our eye shadow, our eyes are obviously of incredible importance – for most, they represent the most cherished of all our senses, providing our most immediate and lasting impressions of the world. Yet, you may be exposing your eyes to danger during the summer months without even realizing it. Overtime, the sun’s rays can damage the eyes and the surrounding skin leading to vision loss, cataracts, macular degeneration, just to name a few. That said, you should wear sunglasses year round when you are out in the sun as they can help to block up to 99-100% of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays from not only your eyeballs, but your eyelids! For your information, eyelid cancers account for 5 to 10 percent of all skin cancers!