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Sun Care Basics

How can we enjoy the sun without damaging our skin?

That is a very good question.

The Answer: Awareness and developing a Healthy Skin Care Routine.

Remember two critical points:

  1. Don’t worship the sun. God gave us only one body, and it is a Holy temple. We need to develop an awareness early in life to the danger of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. If we expose our skin to the sun without proper protection from the severely harmful UVA and UVB radiation, we will do great damage to our skin. (See Beautiful Skin - Sun Care Miracle Cream)

  2. Use Bello Essential Protection SPF 15 and/or Advanced Protection SPF 30 when you go outside in the sun. Both products give you maximum protection from both UVA and UVB radiation. Advanced Protection SPF 30 offers more protection because of our new, specially formulated Octinoxate and Zinc Oxide.

Achieving the best protection from the sun simply means to “block the sun”. Over time, as a result of exposure to the sun’s UV radiation, numerous changes in the skin occur including wrinkles, discoloration, freckles or age spots, benign (non-cancerous) growths such as moles, and pre-cancerous or cancerous growths such as basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. Most skin cancers are a result of continued overexposure to the sun.

Exposing the skin to the sun is so damaging that we really need to thoroughly understand the problem. The two main types of UV radiation are UVA and UVB. UVA rays cause sunburns and breakdown the skin’s interior. UVB rays cause tanning on the surface layer.

UVA rays are the most dangerous because they destroy the inner skin cell’s collagen and elastin. This causes photo aging or loss of elasticity in the skin which results in wrinkles and sagging skin. By age 30, the skin has severely lost its ability to mend and is referred to as “mature skin”.

UVA rays are very strong all year long and penetrate light clothing, windshields, office windows and hats. UVA is known as the “light X-ray”.

UVB rays burn the skin and only penetrate the epidermis or top layer of the skin. They stimulate the melanocyte cells to produce more melanin which is more commonly known as “tan”, or if produced in a small area, it is known as a brown or age spot. UVB rays are more prominent in the summer months as it hits the body more directly than in the winter.

How to minimize skin exposure to the sun:

  • Avoid mid-day sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Wear wide-brimmed hats, long sleeved shirts and pants
  • Use a generous amount of sunscreen and reapply it frequently (every 2-3 hours) especially during exercise, sport activity or swimming
  • Using Bello Sun Care Essentials which are “broad spectrum” sunscreens and provide full UVA and UVB coverage
  • Avoid tanning beds

Peculiarities of UVA and UVB Radiation

The sunlight that reaches the earth has ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B (UVA and UVB) rays. These ultraviolet rays are the main causes of damage to the skin from the sun. UVA and UVB rays affect the skin's sensitivity to sun exposure in different ways.

UVA:

  • Can pass through glass, including car windshields and office windows
  • Is not affected by a change in altitude or weather
  • Is present all day, every day of the year
  • Penetrates deep into skin layers
  • Is 5% of the sun's rays
  • Is protected against by Bello Sun Care Essential sunscreens
  • Is 20 times more abundant than UVB rays
  • Affects long-term skin damage

UVB:

  • Cannot pass through window glass
  • Causes sunburn
  • Causes tanning
  • Helps the body with normal vitamin D production
  • Varies with the season -- is more intense in the summer than in the winter
  • Varies with weather conditions
  • Is more intense at midday than in the morning or late afternoon
  • Is more intense at high altitudes and near the equator
  • Is 0.5% of the sun's rays
  • Is protected against by Bello Sun Care Essential sunscreens
  • Is related to more than 90% of non-melanoma skin cancer
  • Is related to cataracts
  • Bello Sun Care Essentials are "broad-spectrum" sunscreens and can protect the skin from both UVA and UVB rays