Top 3 Sun Skincare Tips

Do you want skin that is bright, clear, radiant and glowing? Then, stay out of the sun and away from the tanning beds! Opt for an airbrush tan and make sure to always put SPF on at least 30 minutes before leaving the house, and re-apply throughout the day. Follow the sun protection tips below for a healthy complexion.

Why is SPF so important?

Protecting your skin from the sun's harmful UV rays is the #1 way to prevent signs of aging and risk of skin cancer.  Make sure to get a broadband spectrum SFP that covers both UVA and UVB rays. The UVB rays are the ones that cause the burn, and the UVA cause damage to your collagen, resulting in lines, wrinkles and sagging.  Make sure to apply ample amount, and if you're in the sun, do it every 2 hours. Studies show that most people apply only half to a quarter of that amount that is actually needed, so more is better in this case!

Sunburn Remedy

If you do get a sun burn, try mixing aloe vera with an over the counter cortisone cream at a 50/50 blend to soothe the burn and calm the inflammation. This concoction will also help to reduce post peeling and turn your burn from red to brown. If you have sun damaged skin, we've got super effective products and treatments to lift your pigment and a phenomenal home care system to prevent it from coming back! Below we've compiled a list of our favorite ways to either prevent, get rid of, or treat sun damaged skin. No matter your skin type, our selected professional products will help to combat hyper-pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, irritation and inflammation caused by sun exposure.

Protection Factor (SPF)

A product’s sun protection factor (SPF) indicates its ability to protect the skin from the sun’s harmful rays. The SPF of a product may range from 2 to 60. It is an indicator of the amount of time the skin should be exposed to the sun before it gets damaged or sun burned. Different skin types have different levels of natural protection from the sun. People with fairer complexions need a higher SPF than those with dark complexions. To illustrate how SPF works, take for example a person whose skin gets sun burned after 5 minutes of sun exposure. If a lotion with SPF 2 is used, multiply 5 by 2, giving you 10 – it means with this lotion, the person can stay out in the sun for 10 minutes without being sunburned. So if the same person uses a lotion with SPF 15, 5 times 15 gives you 75 minutes, or more than one hour of sun protection.

The MoistureLock Sunscreen is a breakthrough in elegant sun protection. This sunscreen helps to prevent UV-induced melanin overproduction, and protects the skin from photo-damage that leads to prematurely aged skin. Lumiblock features a proprietary method of micronizing Titanium Dioxide, resulting in a sunscreen that goes on invisibly.

Antioxidants

Through exposure to harmful environmental factors such as UV light, pollution and cigarette smoke, bodies produce substances known as free radicals which are highly destructive in excessive amounts. If left unchecked, free radicals damage DNA, cell membranes, and the protein collagen. The body’s arsenal of defenses against free radicals are antioxidants, which essentially sacrifice themselves to stabilize or “scavenge” the free radicals. Vitamin C applied to the skin provides an extra boost of protect to the skin by scavenging the free radicals to which it is exposed. This boost to skin appearance seems to go beyond just fighting free radicals and preventing sun and pollution damage. Topical vitamin C has been shown to increase collagen synthesis at the level of DNA by stimulating greater expression of two collagen genes. Because collagen is a structural protein, it firms up skin tissue. Research seems to support the usefulness of this nutrient in cosmetics to fight sun damage and skin laxity. We love PCA Skin's C Quench.

Topical Brightening

Pigmentation is color in your skin produced by melanin, the natural pigment that also determines eye and hair color. However, if too much melanin is produced in one area, the result is a brown patch on your skin, also known as hyper-pigmentation. We understand the psychological effects of excess pigmentation and the difficulty to conceal it, even with heavy makeup or camouflage creams. Developed by dermatological researchers at Stanford University, Lumixyl™’s ground-breaking technology has been shown by in vitro studies to promote a reduction in the expression of melanin, yielding a blended, more even complexion.  Lumixyl Topical Brightening System is created for those seeking a more even skin-tone caused by sun spots. Lumixyl™ Topical Brightening Crème is a physician-dispensed cosmetic and can be used alone or in combination with other treatments or devices such as tretinoin, laser resurfacing and Dermalinfusion™, respectively, to diminish dark spots, uneven pigmentation and improve overall skin tone. The most advanced antioxidant cleanser on the market, the Lumixyl Active-Prep, uses botanical antioxidants to combat the oxidative stress caused by sun exposure that triggers hyper-pigmentation. The Lumixyl Topical Brightening Creme peptide from Standford University has been shown to reduce the production of melanin by as much as 40% without any harmful side effects associated with comparable agents.  The Decapeptide-12 - in the Lumixyl Topical Brightening Creme works to help regulate overproduction of melanin by inhibiting the tyrosinase enzyme used to create melanin by the melanocytes in your skin. The GlycoPeel 10 Brightening Exfoliator uses a clinical grade glycolic acid to help remove the dead layers of the stratum corneum, where hyper-pigmented cells can concentrate. This level of exfoliation also helps healthy skin function by stimulating the skin’s natural turnover process. The GlycoPeel 10 also gives you an extra dose of the Lumixyl peptide, Decapeptide-12.