Beat That Tan

Author: exotictime | Posted: 17.12.2011

BEAT THAT TAN

Why do women and girls tend to cover their face and arms while travelling under that harsh and merciless sun? Why do even men now think twice before doing outdoor activities for long in the sun? The sole reason is the sun tan and it’s easier to get than a common cold. We have nothing else to blame but the SUN. Sun takes away all the limelight and credit. Infact Indian skin tends to get easily tanned as compared to the much fairer Americans, Europeans and Australians.

William Shakespeare rightly said “Men shut their doors against a setting sun”. But in context of skin, women shut their doors even to the rising sun. But the whole act is justified. It is the right time for both men and the fairer sex to guard their supple skin from the harsh sun rays and most importantly the sun tan that is stubborn enough not to leave our skin, making it looking aged, wrinkled, dark and not at all attractive. But before you buy a sun-screen, a brief lesson about, what to spend money on might just help you.

1) How to choose the perfect sun-screen:

You should know skin type first i.e. dry skin or oily skin. A sun-screen majorly depends on your skin type. If you have oily skin, the oil will mostly be visible in the T-zone of your face. T-zone comprises of the temples of your forehead, nose and till chin. If you are rather perturbed by oil and acne in this region, and your face producing oil quickly, making your face look oiled, then you have oily skin.

The dry skin is less disturbing in summers because it does not produce oil and so doesn’t make the skin look blotched. But in winters, such skin appear as some white powdery material has covered your skin. No normal moisturizers work wonders

If you have dry skin type then SPF 20 to SPF shall work best for your skin.

If the skin is oily then SPF 30, 40 or above shall work.

Fair skin needs less SPF and if the skin complexion is dark SPF can be increased till 40 or something. But one should not drastically start with SPF 40 as it might be harmful for the skin. So, they should start with SPF 25 and then increase gradually and slowly. Water proof sunscreens are better for the ones who sweat profusely. As a water soluble sun screen dissolves once you sweat.

For dry skin use a cream based sunscreen. But if you have oily skin, then you should use gel based sunscreen, as it does not further aggravate your oil glands.

2) How to apply:

Before you apply the sun-screen lotion, make it a point that the skin is moistened evenly. So apply a moisturizer on dry skin and the oily skin can be moistened with a petroleum jelly based moisturizer.

Apply the lotion at least 30 minutes before moving outdoor under the sun.

Apply a good amount of lotion on all the body parts exposed to the sun, not applying near the eyes.

Wash your face and re-apply the sunscreen lotion after every two hours.

3) Some myths:

People say there’s no need of sun screen on a cloudy day. This is completely false as after a slight drizzle, the sun rays are rather refracted by the water droplets and affect the skin more.

If you hear that a sunscreen should only be applied for outdoor activities then it’s false as well. The lights we use inside the house, or while cooking, all the smoke and heat can affect our skin as well, so applying a sunscreen absolutely helps.

Other than protecting the skin, lips too need to be protected, so apply a lip balm or chap stick with adequate SPF. So how much are you going to protect yourself from sun, after all the roof will be repaired only when the sun is shining!



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