Is Your Sunscreen Harming You (and the environment)? Oh, to be sun kissed just enough to bring out the freckles faded from winter's darkness! Our biggest skincare routine question of the summer? How much sun is too much sun? Most in the beauty industry would tell you to slather yourself with chemical sunscreen, but they don't really tell you what the chemicals in the sunscreen do with long term use to your skin and your body. Because what you put on your skin is what you put into your body. They also don't tell you that the chemical sunscreens are short lived and need to be reapplied often to be effective. They are known hormone disruptors, and have been linked to coral reef damage in our oceans.  There is much controversy over using the more natural sunscreens containing micro, or nanoparticles of zinc and titanium oxides. Both of these have been known to penetrate the skin, titanium being the worst of the two. You can find sunscreens that have a protective coating to avoid them sinking into your skin. Both however do cause free radical damage to the skin. Think about free radical damage as dark spots or rust on your skin. If you absolutely insist on using sunscreen, I would suggest in this case, to use a zinc oxide based sun protection that has been coated. Updating Your Summer Skincare Routine To counter the effects of antioxidant damage, I would suggest using LUSH with a few drops of NECTAR before and after sun exposure. Both of these products contain ingredients that are naturally sun protective, and help to minimize melanin production. Make sure that you wash off any residual sunscreen with LUSTER, do NOT leave sunscreen on your skin when you come in after the sun. If you are overexposed and suffering from sunburns, use HYDRATE spray which contains aloe and other antioxidant ingredients to help heal burns.  What do I do to protect my skin from sun damage? I LOVE a beautiful straw hat, and I have several of them. When I am out in the garden I ALWAYS wear a hat and gloves and a long sleeved shirt. I get this great image of the Victorian ladies in the garden with their large hats and their beautiful skin completely covered. I do like to expose my skin to some sun, but just for 20 minutes. If you don't wash after sun exposure, you will absorb more vitamin D, a vital nutrient (hormone). Get more details for how to care for skin here. Enjoy your summer friends, and let your one of a kind shine!!  cited sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26913928/