For me, I see women and men who have a lovely tan and seem to maintain it all the time. I have two colors for when I go out in the sun – Cooked Lobster or Dracula White.
To be honest, I don’t sunbathe but if I’m at a water park or beach it’s going to happen that I am going to get some color on my liquid paper white skin. I understand that and I accept that. But IF I wanted to get more than just Casper color on my skin, I want to do it safely, so I looked into ways to get a natural suntan without doing more damage to your skin.
Here’s the tips I can provide for the benefits of being in the sun:
- Being outside in the sun is actually good for us. Not being in the sun enough is potentially more harmful for us than getting too much sun.
- Vitamin D comes from the sun (among others) and your body needs Vitamin D for protection against autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, diabetes, and heart disease.
- It also helps with strong bones and teeth. And Vitamin D is necessary for pregnancy and infant development.
- Being in the sun helps with the endocrine system, nervous system, and immune system. Exposure to sunlight helps with serotonin. For those of who have seasonal depression you know more on this.
- The sun can help with production of enzymes, gastric juices, and even help with skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
- Just recently I learned of a debate regarding sunscreen. Some say that wearing it is blocking the production of Vitamin D, and not wearing it will cause skin cancer. And still others say the ingredients in the sunblock cause cancer as well. To prevent a war on sunscreen, I encourage you to do what is best for you, but if when choosing to wear a sunscreen try to find one with as few chemicals as possible.
Guidelines for safe sunbathing
- Start slowly – Start with 3-5 minutes of sun exposure on each side of the body daily. You can increase your exposure time gradually over several weeks until you are up to 20 minutes per side.
- Sunbath at the right time – The peak time for ultraviolet rays is 10am to 3pm, and it’s recommended that you limit your during these hours. The preferred times are 8 – 10 am or 3 – 6 pm.
- Exposing the right amount of skin – Now if you sunbathe in public, please do not expose too much of skin. However, if you sunbathe at home in the privacy of your yard and will not be seen by the general public, the sunbathe nude if you like. As much of your body you can have soak up the Vitamin D the better.
- Limiting showers or bathes after sunbathing – Give your body and the natural oils time to convert the sun’s rays to the beneficial Vitamin D needed. By showering immediately, you are negating the work you just did.
- Redness and Peeling – If you notice redness or peeling after you were out in the sun, it means you were over exposed. You need to reduce your time in the sun and proceed more cautiously.
- These tips are for adults, children and infants should still have sunscreen applied as their skin is not yet able to convert the rays to the benefits.
- If you are not sure if you have a Vitamin D deficiency check with your doctor to see if you need an additional supplement.
Be strong, be beautiful, be you
Amateur Connoisseur 