TRAVEL & EXPERIENCE: BURRRRN BABY, BURN!
Yes, sorry about that! It's blaring out in my head too, ‘donchaaa knowww’ AND I now have to concentrate on writing a masterpiece of a first blog for you guys, with that as the damn soundtrack! Ah well, if it ends up being rather rubbish, then there's my excuse!!! Disco infernoooo! *70's finger point, head wobble dance*
Anyway, so there is reason behind such an annoyingly titled, first entry and that is, ironically, that it's going to be about protecting your skin in the sun (if we brits actually see any this summer!) You're probably thinking that Baz Luhrmann covered this in 1999 (and if you have no clue who this guy is, get on google, enjoy his wonderfully insightful song and thank me later) with his suggestion of, 'JUST WEAR SUNSCREEN'.
However, as much as I do enjoy Baz's ballad, I really can't help but want to expand, on this little piece of advice he has given, in the otherwise extremely, philosophical poem - NB dance the 'funky chicken'
OK, Sunscreen. We all have such fond memories of the luminous, stinky stuff being slathered on us as little nippers at the beach, spending 5 minutes looking like an extra from the vampire diaries and the remaining hours of the day looking like sandman! It's most mother's 'must have' during summer months and, heck, even the winter months as we seem to be a little bit obsessed with the SPFs. But how much do you really know about sunscreens and their ingredients? Does oxybenzone ring any bells? Retinal palmitate? Nah, nor did they with me, surprisingly!
Oxybenzone (oh gosh, I'm boring you! Just a teeny bit of science stuff, pinky promise!) So this little nasty, scored a big fat 8, on the EWG's (Environmental Working Group - AKA proper professional peeps) hazard ratings. It is a chemical found in 70% of sunscreens. It is actually believed to produce free radicals (cancer kamikazes) and cause hormonal disruption. It can lower sperm count in men, has been linked to endometriosis in women and also cell damage, which, in turn, can lead to cancer. It's meanie mate, Retinal Palmitate, has been shown to speed up malignant cell growth, which is basically, the spread of skin cancer. Crazy eh? Sunscreen ingredients, LINKED to causing/ spreading that damned C word that we are, slip slap slopping it on, to PREVENT!!! ARGHHH!!! These bad boys are turning up in our breastmilk and urine, which is just bizarre. The brainy bunch at EWG tested 1400 sunscreens and found that only 5% met their safety standards and 40% were labeled as potentially contributing to cancer. Yikes. Yes, yikes indeed.
When you start looking at the numbers, (eek, soz, more bore!) skin cancer diagnosis is rising at an average of 4.2% per year, yet we are using more sunscreen than ever before. Mysterious huh? Well, there are a few theories as to why this may be the case, before we pin all the blame on oxy and chums.
It is possible, that people are perhaps feeling, almost 'immune' to the sun once they've slathered their sunscreen on and so expose themselves at peak times for long times with no other forms of protection, which is where the danger lies. Many sunscreens protect skin from UVB rays. (Think B for burn, well it probably stands for something far more technical, but never mind that!) and NOT UVA rays (A for astute?!) which are actually the free radical producers, basically the baddies! Because the skin isn't noticeably burnt, people have fun in the sun all day long, whilst those sneaky UVA rays are having a field day.
Another theory is that we are actually not getting enough sun, as it's the guy in the sky, that enables our body to produce vitamin D, which is vital for our immune system function, therefore our ability to fight the free radicals, i.e cancer.
It's not all doom and gloom peeps! There are some sunscreens out there, that are better than others. From my extensive, brain boggling, research (don't say I never do anything for you lot!!) it seems that a mineral sunscreen rather than non-mineral (the chemical concoction) is better. Mineral creams contain titanium dioxide and /or zinc oxide which, unlike the chemicals in non-mineral, are not absorbed into the skin and instead act as a physical barrier. The ones that rated highly on all the zillions of websites I trawled, were Badger Mineral, Jason mineral and Babyganics. Now, there is some controversy over "nano particles" being used in mineral sunscreens. Super small zinc and titanium dioxide particles are being used to prevent the creams looking white when applied, however these nano particles are rumoured to be getting SO nano that they are able to enter the body too, making them not much better than the chemical cocktails of the non-mineral lot.
Oh no! What to do?! Well, I've been using Neals Yard Lemongrass Moisturising Sun Lotion, SPF 30 on Honey, (my 16month old daughter, you'll hear her mentioned a lot, I'm a tad obsessed) on occasions where we haven't been able to build up her melanin and she has been in the sun for long periods of time, during peak hours, e.g. whilst holidaying abroad. Much to my relief, PHEW, it actually ticks ALL the boxes!! UVA and UVB protection, no nano particles, no Oxywhateveritis etc, no parabens, 72% organic, and mineral based. Winner winner, YEY to not being a sunscreen sinner!!
There are also some alternative ways to protect your skin, other than the rather risky business of sunscreen.
As a previous anatomy and physiology college teacher...okay okayyyy... I taught beauty therapy, but we DID do a LOT of A&P, ask my students! Anyway, we covered a lot about the skin and how it works and the various ridiculously named layers and cells. One of these included the MELANOCYTES. Sounds like a dude in Xmen, I know! So these melanocyte cells produce melanin, which is the stuff (pigment) that's responsible for giving your hair, skin and eyes their colour. People with fair colouring have low levels of melanocyte activity whilst those with darker colouring have more. Melanin's job is to absorb UVB rays and PROTECT the skin from burning. That's right, the skin has its own natural, protection...body be like "here's a sunscreen I made earlier!" So, what I'm getting at, if you're still awake, (sorry I'm just showing off my lecturer knowledge) is that, if you gradually build up your skin's exposure to the sun, avoiding peak times, sitting in the shade etc. your skin should be able to protect you naturally. The body is clever like that; you see? It likes you and wants what's best for you. Oh and itself.
Also, food glorious, anti-inflammatory, nutrient rich, food! Various vitamins in certain foods can help boost your skin's ability to protect itself. Consuming citrus fruits and orange veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes that are rich in carotenoids is great. Red fruits such as strawberries, pomegranates, red grapes, watermelon, and tomatoes decrease the skin's sensitivity to sun. Leafy greens are a must, oh, and of course, the good for everything, turmeric (ooh, I feel a new juice recipe coming on!)
There are also a few natural oils hailed for their sun protecting abilities.
Red Raspberry Seed Oil SPF 25-50
Carrot Seed Oil – SPF 35-40
I personally haven't used any of these, apart from coconut oil which we ALL use, ALL over, daily, but after reading and writing this, it seems that Raspberry oil would be an excellent shout as it protects against UVB and UVA rays.
You could use these alone or mix with zinc oxide to make your own squeaky clean sunscreen.
Well well well! This has been as much of a learning curve for me, as it has you. I'd heard whispers about the suspect sunscreen but never looked into it in this much detail. Luckily, trusty Neals Yard did me proud and it actually seems a great all-rounder. We don't use sunscreen often, apart from coconut oil, and much prefer to let our skin protect us naturally when we can stay sensible in the sun, but for those times when that isn't possible we will be using Neals Yard, unless someone comments on this and shatters my illusions! I'm going to order some Raspberry oil too and give that a whirl on myself, though Honey has started to sound like guinea pig, with this funny "I want" squeak she does, I think it's best I trial it first!
Lots of love, I'll leave you to contemplate the lyrics of Luhrmann!
Publisher: The Natural Lane
