UV Safety, It’s Not Just for Skin

It’s summer time–finally! If you live in upstate New York like me then you know that when summer finally makes its appearance, it’s time to celebrate! Get out the lawn chairs, the grill, the beach hats and the flip flops because the time to enjoy the sparkling blue skies and warm waters is now.

In our rush to basking in the sun and frolicking in lakes and beaches, we must remember the importance of UV radiation protection. Sunscreen for our skin is a must. Sunscreens with UVA and UVB protection help shield our skin from the damaging UVA rays which can cause suppression of the body’s immune system. Sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection helps us keep our skin healthy. But why stop at the skin? Is it the only part of the body that needs UV protection?

Protecting Yourself From UV Rays

In 21 Best Beauty Tips we learn there a few easy things we can do to help protect the other parts of the body.

• Lips ~ soft, supple lips get dry in the summer. I know because I often suffer from it. According to Dr. Leslie Baumann, lips are incredibly sensitive to UV rays. To curb lip dryness, try using a lip with SPF 15 (or more) under your favorite lipstick or lip gloss.
• Hair ~ I never thought of this one: smoothing your sunscreen through your tresses before going out for a swim at the beach or pool. This will help keep chlorine and salt at bay.
• Skin Caffeine fix ~ you caffeine lovers will love this! According to the article, research suggests that applying caffeine topically can significantly reduce UV-induced roughness and wrinkling. Might be worth looking into.

Whether you’re taking a leisurely stroll through a national park or boat ride on one of the fabulous finger lakes, UV protection is a must. Using products that help curtail the effects of the sun’s damaging rays can go a long way to keeping our bodies, and all of its many extremities, safe from ray damage.