SUN DAMAGE 101

hi beautes..

after reading so many books about beauty awareness esp. Paula Begoun's BEAUTY BIBLE, i realized that the main cause of our skin problem is SUN RAYS!! i didn't really give a damn about this at first, i even spent whole week in Bali, playin' on the beach, all my life, with no protection of sun block at all.. i hate sun block, it's sticky and yucky on my skin.. but now that i know more and it frightening me like crazy, i hope it's not too late for me to make amends to my beloved skin.. ^^

ok, as i quoted from her book : SUN DAMAGE IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF WRINKLING, SKIN AGING and SKIN CANCER..

have doubts? doesn't believe me?? you can do simple test though, to prove it.. it's called BACK SIDE TEST OF AGING.. here's how : you just have to compare the areas of your body that rarely see the sun (ex : back side, inside of your arms, breasts, middle back, thighs) with the parts that's exposed to the sun on daily basis..
you can see that areas that rarely exposed are LESS DRY, FLAKY, THIN, SHOW BROWN DISCOLORATION, WRINKLES and any other sign of aging..

however, this personal test only works if you're over the age of 30 because (as i quoted again..) that's about the time the accumulated sun damage begins to show up.. so if you're underage, just check out your parents or even your grandparent's inner arm and see the shocking difference..

so, LOOKING YOUNGER WITHOUT PROTECTION TOWARDS THE SUN IS SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLEEEEEEE!!! -- it was me shouting.. ^^


i wanna share a lil' bit, as simple as possible about UV radiation.. bear me..

there are 3 types of UV rads..

1. UV A : this cause a skin tanning..

2. UV B : this damages the skin's genetics structure, causing mutation and abnormal growth patterns ---> LEAD TO CANCER..

3. UV C : it's filtered out by the atmosphere so none of 'em could reach the earth..

remember this.. all UV radiations are strongest between 10am to 2pm.. keep that in mind!!!

ok, you also should know that skin damage from the sun begins within the 1st minute your skin is exposed to sunlight.. :'(

another thing i wanna share is about SPF (Sun Protecting Factor).. what's SPF really means?? the answer is this.. for example : if you can stay out in the sun about 15 minutes before your skin starts to turn pinkish, applying sunscreen with SPF 15 will allow you to stay in the sun 15 times longer..

---> 15 x 15 mins = 225 mins

SPF 25 ---> 25 x 15 mins = 275 mins


and so on... and so on... got that already?? ^_^


mmm.. what's to talk about next.. this getting interesting don't you think??? LOL.. ohhh, i know.. be a smart buyer.. keep this in mind and keep a note..

WHAT A GREAT SUNSCREEN SHOULD CONTAIN :

1. titanium oxide
2. zinc oxide
3. avobenzone (butyl methoxydibenzil methane)
4. tinosorb
5. acamsule (meroxyl)

if your sunscreen contain at least one of these, you'd be just fine..


then on HOW TO APPLY SUNSCREEN :

* if you're using several skin care products, make sure you put your sunscreen LAST!!
* if you're wearing makeup, pressed powder with SPFs is a great way to touch up the makeup during the day while reapply more sunscreen at the same time..


maybe you guys already bored to hear me ranting all along.. but this is the last one, promised.. ^^
SUNSCREEN is WATER RESISTANT, NOT WATERPROOF..

means : the SPF value has been measured after application and 40 minutes of water immersion..

VERY WATER RESISTANT means : SPF value on the label must remain intact after 80 mins of water immersion..

so if your sunscreen doesn't say water resistant, don't use it for exercise or swimming..

hahhh.. that's all for me now.. lots of quotes from Paula Begoun's "The Beauty Bible".. hope you found my blog here useful, for the sake of our health..


XOXO..