Best Sun Protection for Your Vacation
Whether you prefer a snowy ski slope or a warm, sunny beach for your winter vacation, make sure you select the best sun protection to keep your skin healthy and free from damage.
For a mountain slope, BRUSH ON BLOCK® Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Powder Sunscreen is one of your best possible choices. The powder formula won't run into your eyes, and you don't even need to remove your gloves to reapply it! Just be sure to cover all exposed skin, especially when the sun is out. But remember, even on a cloudy day, damaging UV rays are still present!
If you're going to the beach and wearing less clothing than a parka and gloves, you should consider how to best supplement your Brush On Block. Here are a few key points to keep in mind:
• Spray sunscreens make it easy to cover larger areas of the body quickly, but they can be affected by even the smallest breeze. Be sure after you spray sunscreen on your body that you rub it over all exposed skin so that you don't end up with patchy coverage, or with most of the spray missing your body entirely and being carried away in the wind.
• Lotions are a good bet for even coverage on the body, but don't skimp! Experts recommend at least one ounce to cover your entire body. (That's the size of a shot-glass, and could be anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 of your bottle.)
• Sunscreens that rely on the chemicals Oxybenzone and Octinoxate are not considered reef safe, and will soon be banned by the state of Hawai'i. Butylparaben and 4-Methylbenzylidine Camphor are also on the "unsafe" list for coral. Respect the environment by not using these ingredients in your sunscreen, but also check your moisturizer and foundation if they have SPF, to be sure they don't contain these ingredients.
• All sunscreens need to be reapplied, but sunscreens that have active ingredients other than Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide need to be reapplied every 2 hours, after that time they are no longer providing protection. So if you are wearing a facial moisturizer with chemical sunscreen that you applied at 7 am, by 9 am you need to either reapply that, or apply a different one in those areas. (We recommend Brush On Block for this!)
• The FDA only recognizes two degrees of water resistance. (Sweat is also considered the same as water by the FDA, so all of this applies to sweat as well as water.) A product will say either "Water Resistant 40 minutes" or "Water Resistant 80 minutes." If it says neither of these things, it is not water resistant at all. Even with water resistant sunscreen, the sunscreen is only good until you towel dry. Toweling removes the sunscreen, so if you get out of the water after a 10 minute splash but use a towel to dry yourself, then you need to start over with sunscreen. If you are in the water for 10 minutes but choose to "air dry," you are still covered with either level of water resistance.
• The best sun protection during the hours of 10 am to 2 pm, when rays are the strongest, is to cover up. Either plan your activities so that you are doing indoor things during these hours, seek shade, or wear long-sleeved UPF clothing and a hat. If you really can't do any of those things, reapply sunscreen more often than you think you need to, and be generous with it. There is not really any such thing as applying too much!
• Remember that your Brush On Block can be used on neck, chest, arms and hands as well. If you are out sight-seeing in a car or on a bike, be sure those areas are well-covered by your Brush On Block!
