Protect Your Skin on Those Summer Days in the Sun

Family camping trips are just one of the many highlights of my summers, but my skin and lips may beg to differ. When I was little I remember the two things I despised most about camping: the bathrooms and the bug spray. Bug spray lathered over sunscreen over a dirty body is never a fun combination. But as I started to realize the importance of each, it made it a little more bearable.

So many articles are out there regarding skin protection; I just wanted to touch on a few tips and products that can help ease the dreaded sun guard process.

1. Shade yourself! This is a great way to either avoid or doubly protect your skin from the sun. Next time you head out camping be sure to grab your baseball cap, canopy, umbrella…whatever it takes to add that extra protection. Especially if you have particularly sensitive skin, it doesn’t hurt to give your skin a break from the sun.

2. Habit. If you can make applying sunscreen a habit, it’ll make for one less change when summer rolls around. My problem with sunscreen is that it often feels oily or smells potent, but I have found that that really isn’t the case for most daily moisturizers with SPF. Incorporating this into your daily routine not only saves your skin from the sun, but “adds back” that moisture that your skin loses from showers and the environment. Then even if you have to kick it up to a higher SPF for the summers, at least you will be used to applying lotion.

3. Kill two birds with one stone. For those summer camping trips, look to get bug spray that also contains SPF. Bullfrog has an insect repellent with SPF 30. Besides it being irritating to get a bug bite, it can also be dangerous. Mosquitoes in particular are often carriers of viruses so it is important to avoid being bit in the first place.

4. Lip Care. Also take special precaution in defending your lips from skin cancer. Your lips are pretty good about letting you know when they need lip balm (the pain of chapped lips), but make sure you are giving them what they need. Whether it’s SPF 15 or SPF 45, make sure your lip balm has a sun protector in addition to moisturizer.

Enjoy your days in the sun with these quick tips, and you body will thank you later.