AGING SKIN: Can We Do Anything About It?
Hardly a day goes by in which we are not faced with the dangers of sun exposure.
How many of us can recall our youthful years of slathering ourselves with baby oil, and lying out in the midday sun to catch those precious tanning rays? Yes, that’s what we did, mindless of its skin aging effects and potential skin cancer risks.
There’s a song that teases:
“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
That sentiment might have been uttered in jest, but these days, skin cancer, brown age spots and prematurely aging skin are no laughing matter.
You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating:
Do not go out in the midday sun -- that’s from 11 am to 2 pm -- unless you are heavily protected. Now, what do I personally mean when I caution you to be protected? From my point of view, safe sunning requires much, much more than the application of sun block.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Always wear a hat. Don’t just wear a cap. Choose a lightweight one with a brim to protect your hair, your scalp and, most importantly, your face.
2. Purchase your sun block at a Health Food store, not at a department store or a pharmacy. When you are exposed to the sun, you do not want to bake dangerous chemicals into you skin. Chemicals exacerbate skin aging, and almost all commercial brands contain them. I recommend Aubrey products, and those you can purchase from the mercola.com website.
3. Wear sunglasses even when you’re swimming. Eyes can be damaged permanently if not properly protected.
4. Use Aloe Vera after any exposure to the sun. It is a natural healer, and helps prevent burning and blistering. If you can purchase a whole leaf from your health food store, do it. Cut away the green skin and apply the inside “guck” to your body. Be careful with your clothing when applying because it stains badly. But whatever its downsides, Aloe Vera is a remarkable resource for keeping your skin young and healthy.
5. Wear lightweight, gauzy all-cotton clothing that covers your skin, but still is appropriate for the hottest days. Cotton protects, absorbs perspiration, and is stylish to boot.
6. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Use only the finest crèmes, making sure they do not contain parabens, SLS, or mineral oil. Read those labels!
Thus protected, go out and enjoy the beauty and renewal the sun provides.
As a final note, I want to reveal that I do not avoid the sun. Of course I want to avoid skin aging, but I believe we need regular sunlight to produce ample Vitamin D, to keep our bones calcified, and to penetrate into our bone marrow. I want to stress the importance of bone marrow – it’s the body’s amazing manufacturing plant that produces both red and white blood cells, essential components of our immune system. Since our bone marrow requires sunlight to pass through the skin, don’t avoid exposure to the sun altogether.
Love the sun. But love your skin as well.
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Hattie is an internationally recognized expert in longevity and maintaining ageless beauty throughout life. She has appeared on the Regis and Kathy Lee Show, the Sally Jesse Raphael show, New York 1 News, Fox Magazine and the Howard Stern Show.