Armour yourself against the Sun!

Sun protection is an essential step in our everyday skincare regimen to keep our skin young. The harmful UVA and UVB rays from the sun cause sagging and wrinkling skin, sunspots and freckles that lead to premature skin aging. Here are some tips to protect your skin from further sun damage.

1. Apply sunscreen daily. Go for those with broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher.

2. Apply sunscreen on exposed skin. Don’t limit application to your face, arms and legs and miss out often neglected areas like your ears, neck, collar bones, chest, elbows, back of your knee and feet.

3. Apply adequate sunscreen to have sufficient protection from the sun. Rule of the thumb would be a coin-sized quantity for the face, neck, each arm, and double that for each leg.

4. Apply sunscreen even when you are indoors. The light from the fluorescent lamps and computer screens will affect your skin as well.

5. Always reapply for continued protection. Protection from each application lasts not more than 3 to 4 hours, so always bring along a travel-sized sunscreen for easy reapplication.

6. Go for waterproof sunscreen specifically for swimming use, at the beach, in a water park or for those who perspire a lot. Although waterproof sunscreen binds to the skin and resists getting washed off with water, reapplication is recommended every 80 minutes or each time you towel yourself dry.

7. Most sunscreens also act as moisturizers but if you need added moisture, apply the moisturizer first and the sunscreen after a couple of minutes. Make-up products come last. Do not rely on your foundation for sun protection, as it is usually insufficient.