To receive what the sun is giving us, we should have a relationship with it’.

The sun and her healing rays are absolutely critical for sustaining life. Without adequate exposure, our bones weaken, our mental wellbeing declines, our immune system is no longer resilient and our hormones are no longer able to find balance.

The sun is not the devil as it’s made out to be. It shouldn’t be feared instead, it should be revered and worshiped. It is sunscreens that should be feared.

Conventional sunscreens are disabling an evolutionary relationship with the human body that has always existed prior to their arrival on the market. Homo sapiens have been around for 200,000 years. Until the industrial revolution, we lived outside. How did we get through the Neolithic Era without sunscreen? We did just fine thanks to the fact we ate a naturally low inflammatory diet and our lifestyles weren’t congested with the toxic chemicals we have now.

Things you need to know about sunscreens –

🌞 There is no proof that sunscreens prevent BCC.
🌞 They increase estrogenic activity and are estrogen
disruptors.
🌞 Their chemicals are stored in our fat cells.
🌞 They generate free radicals and promote cell oxidation.
🌞 They promote indirect DNA damage.
🌞 The majority absorb UVB rays but let most UVA rays
through. UVB rays cause sunburn and UVA rays cause
skin cancer. Separating the two increases UVA dangers.
🌞 They block our production of Vitamin D.
🌞 Contain carcinogenic ingredients
🌞 They disable our skin’s inherent early warning system.

In a 2016 study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, Professor & Senior Researcher Lindqvist stated –

“Avoidance of sun exposure has a risk factor of a similar magnitude as smoking, in terms of life expectancy.”

Sunscreens made from synthetic ingredients create a false sense of security by disabling our skins early warning system – the sunburn- which keeps us from indulging in too much sun too fast. Essentially sunscreens anesthetize our skin making us think we can stay in the roasting midday sun for longer without a care in the world.

As we bake away, we are literally baking into our skin those horrific phthalates, PABA’s, parabens and petroleum laced chemicals.

Get this, Oxybenzone which is a widely used active ingredient in sunscreens is a powerful free radical promoter that is non-carcinogenic UNTIL exposed to sunlight! Not to mention it poisons our fragile ocean ecosystems.

Most sunscreens block only the UVB rays which are critical for Vitamin D production. UVA rays become harmful when they are separated from their partner. Research indicates that it’s the isolation of UVA rays that causes DNA damage.

The beautiful thing is what we eat and what we put on our body has a significant impact on how our skin interacts with the sun. There is so much cellular support we can afford our skin just through making better, cleaner and healthier choices.

A diet high in processed foods and PUFA rich vegetable oils makes our cells more susceptible to sun damage. Constantly applying surfactants, scrubs, peels and other synthetic ingredients to our skin not only damages the top protective layers of our skin, they also inhibit Vitamin D production.

An anti-inflammatory diet rich in antioxidants and healthy saturated fatty acids is our body’s best defense against sun damage. Did you know that the lycopene content in tomatoes afford us some pretty impressive internal sun protection factor?? Eat Up!

When it comes to nourishing the external layers of our skin, we have an abundance of botanical skin harmonisers as Nadine Artemis The Queen of Holistic Body Care refers to them.

Botanical oils alchemise sunlight and help our skin work with the sun rather than against it. Plant oils such as virgin unpurified coconut oil, jojoba, olive, carrot seed, seabuckthorn and raspberry seed oil all provide our skin with a measure of protection.

Raspberry seed in particular has been shown to express equivalent SPF protection of -25 whilst absorbing UVB/ UVC rays and scattering UVA which is pretty cool.

Essential oils we know are rich in antioxidants and promote cellular regenerative activity whilst nourishing and restoring the skin. Turmeric, helichrysum, geranium, sandalwood and frankincense are fantastic natural sun harmonisers to include in your botanical skin lovin’ serums.

The recipe I’m using myself this year looks like this …….
30ml of Raspberry Seed oil
30ml of Seabuckthorn oil
30ml of Carrot Seed oil
100ml of Coconut Oil
100ml of Jojoba oil
20 drops each of Frankincense, Turmeric, Geranium, Sandalwood + Helichrysum
(optional add in 1tbls Zinc Oxide powder)

I simply blend all these ingredients together and apply as I would a moisturiser before I intend on getting some sun.

(Note – The SPF is NOT there to tell you when to reapply a sunscreen. If you have to reapply then you’ve missed the point completely of this article and have already exceeded your stay in the sun)

Interestingly, misting our skin before sun exposure with a 10% Vitamin C powder and water solution also offers us sunburn protection at a cellular level. Love it!

Please remember that common sense still needs to prevail. We shouldn’t be sitting in direct sunlight from 11am-3pm for extended periods without added protection from clothing and hats. Non-nano particle zinc oxide is the best and safest barrier sun protection option for extended periods but so is just sitting in the shade.

Download a great app such as UVI Mate or UV Lens to determine the safest sun exposure times.

When the UV levels are 3 and below, no cover-up is necessary. Go naked and get plenty of sun on your bare skin! Anything above 3 and you know that added protection is needed. The cool thing about UVI Mate is that it also shows how much sun exposure is needed to create our Vitamin D for the day. Hope that’s helpful my sun-loving friends.