Glares that care

If you thought that the harsh sun only affected your exposed skin, think again! It is not just your skin but also your eyes which suffer because of the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. The fancy stylish sun-glasses we use are absolutely of no use in protecting eyes. Too much exposure to sunlight increases the risks of eye diseases like cataract, growths on the eye, and cancer. Some of these diseases take many years to develop, but when they do surface, they often leave devastating effects on our eyesight.

The most common and obvious way of protecting your eyes from the sun are glasses. But these days’ glares are more about fashion and less about care. When we buy glares, we opt for the trendiest options, but without checking its UV protection factors.

Understand that UV radiation in sunlight - UVA and UVB - can cause harmful damage to human body in more than one way. According to researchers, UVA rays have deeper penetrating effect on your eyes. These rays may injure the macula, the part of the retina responsible for sight. On the other hand, exposure to UVB rays results in external growth or discoloration of the eye.  Cataracts are in fact opacity formed in the natural lens of the eye often caused by long term exposure to UV radiation. Chronic UV exposure may contribute to the aging processes in the retina, leading to macular degeneration and poor vision.

Pterygium is a fleshy growth on the white part of the eye that may extend onto the clear cornea where it can block vision. It presents most commonly in people who work outdoors in the sun and wind, and is correlated to the amount of UV exposure. And Photokeratitis is reversible sunburn of the cornea resulting from excessive UV-B exposure. It occurs from spending long hours on the beach without UV sun protection. It can be extremely painful for 1-2 days and can result in temporary loss of vision.

To avoid the above it is essential to follow some dos

• Do use Ultraviolet protecting sunglasses. Buy a wraparound design in glares so that your eyes are well protected
  

• Use wide brimmed hat when on excursions in the outdoors

• Buy sunglasses only if there is a UV label. Labels should be examined carefully to ensure that the lenses purchased absorb at least 99 per cent of UVA and UVB light 

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• Wear waterproof eye make-up as sweat may cause it to enter inside the eyes 

Don’ts

• It is not necessary that glares of darker tint provide more UV protection. Also, don't be misguided by the price -- higher priced sunglasses usually reflect fashion or durability, not UV protection   

• Don’t rub your eyes with unclean hands or when you are outdoors and in public places   

• Don’t splash water inside your eyes, as is a habit for some people. This washes away the tear film that is a protective layer and can cause dry eyes  

Keep the water levels high this summer

Summers are for flaunting floral prints, cotton outfits, skirts and shades. However, preparing your skin to combat the harsh sun should be a priority, so that you can look gorgeous and wear those shorts without
any worry!

Keep your skin happy and hydrated because there's nothing worse than feeling parched and burnt, especially during hot, summer months. It is very essential to understand that even if humidity levels in the air are at its optimum, too much exposure to harsh sun rays can rob your skin of essential oils and moistures.

Firstly, it is important to understand what our skin is made up off. Our skin is the biggest organ of our body. Nearly 70 per cent of our skin is made up of water that helps us to flush out our toxins. In summer you tend to sweat more, so, replenishing the water content lost from your body is a must hence, when you’re advised to drink lots of water for healthy skin during summer, take it seriously.

Our skin has an inbuilt Natural Moisturising Factor (also known as NMF). Water binds itself to our NMF and collagen beneath our skin surface, which is responsible for keeping the skin hydrated. Though there are many factors like hormone, aging and caffeine that lead to dehydration of the skin, other external factors like over-exposure to the sun, high temperature, humidity, intense UV radiation, cold temperatures are also responsible for dehydrated skin.

Also popularly we tend to use more cleansing and exfoliating products, during summer to get rid of the excess oil. But what we forget to acknowledge is the fact that skin turns extra sensitive in the summer due to the rise in mercury. In such conditions, even washing your face with a face wash more than twice a day can prove to be damaging. The correct way to go about this problem is to identify your skin type and the reason behind dehydration.

When it comes to hydration needs of year skin, there is a myth - oily skin types do not need moisturising. The fact is that every skin type and texture needs to be hydrated. Even though acne and zits easily breakout on oily skin during summer, using a proper moisturising product on an oily skin is the most important thing. For example, using gel based lotions can help people with oily skin stay hydrated and cool. Secondly, oily skin tends to react more to the hot summer sun, decreasing the normal water level in the skin. So, a sunscreen/sunblock is a must no matter what weather it is. While most of the popular sunscreen brands are cream based, you also get gel based sunscreens with huge SPF available in the market. Gel based sunscreen products will not only ensure full protection but will also prevent pores clogging for oily skin.

So this summer stay hydrate and flaunt your spring summer look without any inhibition!

Decoding Sunscreen. Explaining Sunscreen jargons like SPF and which type of sunscreen suite which skin type dealing with body odour during summer

Sunscreen shopping made easier!

With the sun shining at its powerful best, a tube of sunscreen is a must for your skin. Sunscreen, your best friend and defence mechanism was a simpler product to buy 15 years ago. These days many of us stand in the sunscreen section of a local supermarket bewildered by the sheer volume of choices of sun protection; UVA or UVB, SPF 30 or SPF 60? and more. However, with constant climatic changes and advance technology, researchers have gone far ahead and created different products for different situations and conditions. So, now when you go sunscreen shopping you usually see jargons like SPF, UVA, UVB and much more written in block letters. So along with the confusion of which sunscreen brand is the best for your skin, these jargons make matters worse. But don’t worry as they might look scary little scientific short forms, but are easier to understand if you know what exactly they stand for and what benefits the sunscreen brand has.  

Sunscreen vs. Sunblock

The biggest myth is sunscreen and sunblock is the same. Sunblock shields your skin from the UVA and UVB rays, while sunscreen chemically absorbs them.  Though no concrete proof, sunblock is better than sunscreen since it blocks the rays and not absorbs them.

SPF

SPF or Sun Protection Factor along with the number next to it refers to the degree to which a sunscreen can protect the skin. It notifies the amount of UVB rays blocked by the lotion. The higher the number, the more sunburn protection the sunscreen can provide. But at the same time according to the popular belief, cream with higher SPF doesn’t mean that it last longer. Higher SPF just shields your skin better than the lower one. So contrary to what you might think, according to research SPF 15 filters out 93 per cent of UVB rays, while SPF 30 filters out 97 per cent.

UVA or UVB or Board spectrum

The ultraviolet radiations or UV from the sun are basically of two types UVA and UVB. UVA or Ultraviolet A is longer wavelength UV radiation that causes deeper penetration, causing damage to the inner layers of the skin. These damages don’t show up immediately but are harmful in the long run. While UVB or Ultraviolet B is a relatively shorter wavelength UV radiation that cause damage to the external layer of the skin like sunburn or rash. The normal sunscreens available in the market have the formulation to protect your skin from UVB rays, leaving your skin venerable towards UVA rays. So, while choosing a sunscreen look for labels which says UVA and UVB protection or board spectrum.

Water Resistance

This is another term that is usual misleading. Water resistant sunscreen is best for people who are on rigorous outdoor activities and sweat a lot, or entering the water. However, according to FDA water resistance means that whatever SPF sunscreen you use will only be effective for 40 minutes, while the very resistant variant has the capacity to protect you for 80 minutes in water and not more than that. So, while you plan for the pool parties keep time in check, reapply your sunscreen / sunblock again to ensure complete protection