How to Protect Skin When Sunbathing

A bit of a summer glow can really perk up your look, is flattering to most everyone and can camouflage flaws. Despite its healthy looking results, sunbathing is not safe for your skin. Follow this guide to help protect your skin from damage while sunbathing.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Use a sunscreen. This might seem counter-intuitive if you are wishing to get a tan, but it is essential to protecting your skin. A SPF of 15 will allow some of the sun's rays to penetrate the skin to tan, but protect against sunburn.
2. Apply a lip balm with SPF. Your lips will not tan, but they certainly can burn. The skin on your lips will quickly become scaly and peeling if you do not adequately protect it from the sun's rays. Reapply your lip balm frequently, especially after eating or drinking.
3. Stay out of the sun during the hottest time of the day, when the sun's rays are the most damaging. The sun is most likely to burn your skin between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Protect yourself by staying in the shade or going indoors.
4. Wear large sunglasses to protect the skin around your eyes. Not only do your eyes need protection from strong UV rays, the skin around your eyes is extremely susceptible to skin damage. Skin under and around your eyes is very thin and prone to wrinkling. Make certain that your sunglasses protect against UVA and UVB rays, and are large enough to cover the entire eye area.
5. Limit your daily exposure to the sun. Small doses of sunbathing are safer than long days in the sun. All exposure has the potential to damage your skin, so use moderation when you are spending time in the sun.

Tips & Warnings

• Try a sunless tanner to mimic the glow of a suntan without risk of skin damage.
• Exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer. A self tanner is the only truly safe way to get a tan.