17 December, 2008

Safe Sun ventures

To ensure that you keep yourself safe from the ravaging effects of the sun, follow simple precautions. Before you head outdoors, keep in mind a few things like covering yourself well in sun screen. Too much sun can lead to sunburn, which increases your risk of skin cancer. Wrinkles, moles and age spots are all signs of sun damage, and the more time you spend in the sun, the worse they are likely to get. Wrinkles and age spots may not show up straight away, but they tend to appear eventually. UV light can speed up the skin’s ageing process and make you look older than you are. So protecting yourself from too much exposure to the sun is very important.

Keep the sun off your skin, eyes when its UV rays are at their strongest, between 11am and 3 pm, especially if you are fair skinned or get burnt easily. When outside, cover up with loose close weave cotton clothing. Buy good quality sunglasses. Look for ones with a UV 400 label and broad sides.

When it comes to sunscreen, choose one that has an SPF of 15 or more which will protect against both UVA and UVB rays and is water resistant. Generously apply sunscreen. Put it on before 15 to 30 minutes before you go out into the sun and repeat at least every few hours.

Parimita Chakravorty

No comments: