At Julie Carter Beauty, we have always urged our clients to practice safe sun by ensuring that they take certain precautions to protect their skin and health in general, and not just when the sun is out! As advocators of healthy skin, we feel it is our duty to ensure that you are all fully aware of the impact the sun can have on our skins all year round.

The secret to healthy summer skin is simple: preparation, protection, and hydration .

We all love to bask in the sun and soak up the rays, but do we really thoroughly prepare our skin for these times? As the holiday season fully envelopes us, sun need not be the enemy. Whether we are jetting to off to some exotic location, or embarking on stay-cation, please set some time aside to think about and plan how you can best prepare and protect your skin as well as our whole body and avoid any unnecessary sun related damage.

1 . Preparation

We spend a lot of time finding the perfect kaftan, having Bio Sculpture on our nails, and even having LVL lashes, but how much do we think about actually preparing our skin? It is essential that preparing our skin for the sun becomes part of the pre-holiday routine as sun exposure can lead to damage to our skin cells. By preparing the skin we can limit the amount of damage the sun can cause.

At Julie Carter Beauty, we have the perfect combination of treatments to help you be 'summer ready', and ensure your skin is prepared to practice safe sun! We are currently running some Summer Offers on special packages and travel essentials - check out all offers here.

In preparation for the summer sun, exfoliation is the first and most essential part of the process. Exfoliating the skin helps to eradicate dead skin - this encourages new skin cell turnover. By doing this, we are improving skin tone and encouraging hydration, which is essential in the summer months as heat causes dehydration.

Treat your skin to the latest in Guinot’s anti ageing facials - the Age Summun facial - which will both protect and hydrate your skin pre or post sun exposure . This exclusive Guinot facial will exfoliate and rid any dead skin cells, leaving your skin refreshed and nourished prior to the de hydrating rays of the sun. The epidermis is the only barrier we have to the sun and our deep layers of the skin. By removing dead skin cells we are making this barrier the strongest it can be. The inclusion of a pro-collagen mask helps to protect your skin against the sun's ageing. As UV light causes photo ageing, this presents itself in the form of wrinkles, and coarse skin. This facial will help to instantly smooth the skin, hydrate and plump out wrinkles immediately.

2. Protection

The sun care isle can be somewhat daunting; there are so many choices, all offering different degrees of protections while assuring glowing tans. When it comes to making this purchase, too many of us tend to make a rash decision. We might have five minutes left on our lunch break, our youngest child in tow, or ten minutes left to board our plane, leaving us to pick up the first bottle we can get our hands on. However, this is one decision that really ought to be an informed one. So, here are some facts for you to help you practice safe sun!

There are two types of rays that we need to be aware of. The first type is the UVA ray, which we are most exposed to. UVA rays penetrate deep into out dermis and are the very rays that are to blame for causing signs of ageing , by causing an over production of melanin in our skin causing brown spots, and increases wrinkles by causing cell DNA Damage. We are exposed to UVA rays throughout the whole year, which is why it is advisable to wear at least an SPF15 every single day .

In order to determine skin type and which factor is best to use, we refer to the Fitzpatrick Skin scale: Our skin type on the scale depends on how easily we burn or tan when exposed to sun. Prior to making our sun care choice we should establish our skin type, this ensures we are adequately protected:

We should all top up our sun cream at least every 2 hours, especially in times of direct sun exposure. As a rule sun screams can be stored for up to 3 years, however they must be stored in a cool environment. If they are opened and in a high temperature they ingredients aren’t as active, therefore you aren’t protected. If opened it advisable to use the sun cream within 12months, providing it has been stored correctly. We should always use a broad spectrum SPF, and always check the use by guidelines on the packaging. We should never use any sun protection after the use by dates, as they simply will not provide you with protection.

The second type is the UVB ray. This type of ray causes superficial damage, such as sunburn and prickly heat. Prickly heat happens when we have been exposed UVB rays and our pores are closed, and we our skin cells are unable to naturally desquamate(shed) causing a build up of heat in our pores, the use of highly perfumed lotions increases this activity on the skin . Ideally, we should protect our skin against both of these harmful UV rays, but not all sun protection on the market will protect against both.

At Julie Carter Beauty, we recommend Environ RAD and the use of Skin Vit C supplement . When exposed to UV rays our skin is also exposed to free radicals, which cause damage and ageing to the skin. The Advanced nutrition Programmes Skin Vit C supplements protect cells against the increase in free radicals, and also encourage collagen production. These prestigious Environ products have been developed by one of the world top plastic surgeons, Doctor Des Fenandas, while the supplements have been developed by Patrick Holford  who is a leading British Nutritionals.

RAD 15 will offer sun filters which will protect your skin against both UVA and UVB rays this makes is a broad-spectrum protection. Sun care experts recommend that we use a broad-spectrum sun cream, this is why we recommend the use of the Environ RAD SPF as it’s a none perfumed cream therefore it suits all and offers protection against both UVA And UVB rays, this isn’t offered my all sun care products. Exposure to UVB and UVB rays neutralises our natural Vitamin A receptors, which is the process of supporting cell growth and the communication of between cells.

We stock Environ because its main ingredient is Vitamin A, ensuring all their products soothe, and protect skin against UV rays, by replacing any lost Vitamin A during sun exposure. Skin vitamin c supplements will provide your skin with the support and protection required to encourage collagen production, which is the ultimate secret to healthy - and glowing - skin!

The preparation and protection of our skin results in a longer lasting tan, if we use the correct sun protection we are avoiding damage to our skin, instead encouraging a natural glow to the skin. By keeping our skin moisturised prior to, during and after sun exposure, is the key to pro longing the life of our tan, ensuring we are replacing the moisture lost in long periods of sun exposure.

Just remember ... Practice Safe Sun!

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