I have been in Florida and on the first day I got sunburnt, I have never been sunburnt but this time I have really taken a step back to understand the severity of the situation. Soon it will be the summer and we will be wearing shorts and attempting to tan, if you are from London you know we try and squeeze every bit of sunlight from the London Summer….. the most important thing you need to invest in this season is a great SPF. I have an olive skin tone and show off with the fact that I hardly burn and always tan, this holiday was far from that. The weather in Florida was about 23’c and being use to the Middle Eastern heat I only ever burnt or felt uncomfortable over 35’c heat, at 23’c I joked to my cousins …. ‘will I even tan?’
I sat in the sun and got in and out of the pool without hardly any SPF on and I have been a red lobster since, I have been in excruciating pain and my whole face has peeled. It looks like I have had some sort of chemical peel and my skin won’t even take to foundation. I can’t explain the severity of this especially when I tan easily and go a golden brown without peeling so this is news to me. If you normally do burn quite easily then I am sure you have been through these changes but today I am here to increase your awareness of using a SPF on a daily basis. A majority of foundations contain SPF and its best to use a SPF of 15 and upwards, it doesn’t need to be sunny for the rays to affect your skin.
(This photo was taken pre burn…. my skin was probably burning at this point)
Sunburn Facts
Sunburn is a reaction from UV radiation, if you are sunburnt your skin releases a releases a chemical which causes your blood vessels to expand and leak fluid which causes swelling, redness and pain.
Without SPF this allows the UV rays to penetrate deep inside your the layers of your skin affecting the cell and potentially causing skin cancer. Peeling is a way of the body getting rid of the damaged skin cells which could potentially cause cancer.
(If you look closely you can see my uber red neck and chest…sad times … I have been burnt so badly I have found it hard to get changed and wear bras!)
You should be wearing a daily SPF… wether you are a man or woman it’s so important to protect your skin. Once your skin cells are damaged you will age quicker, your skin will be thicker and have a ‘leather’ like affect and you could potentially be at a higher risk of skin cancer.
If you have recently been sunburnt like myself please use a good moisturiser and aftersun care to help heal the skin. Try using Aloe Vera or a soothing cream. Currently my face is soaked in a night cream and a mix of aftersun while my face is 3 different shades.. the original shade…. the burnt skin and the new skin……
I never really looked into the affect of sun damage until I actually got burnt, please be aware that this can happen to any skin type! Be smart and invest in a good SPF, remember it doesn’t need to be hot to be affected by the UV rays.
I really under estimated how strong the actual sun can be… be smart and slap that cream on! Don’t forget to read the ingredients and invest in a suncream with a high SPF and protects you from both UVA and UVB rays, for more information on skin protection check it out here!
Don’t forget to prevent sunburn, wear SPF daily, wear protective clothing, avoid going on UV tanning beds and moisturise every 2-3 hours while in the sunshine.
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XOXO
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