3 Ways to Practice Safe Sun; Why you're probably doing it wrong

It’s May, which means spring is in full force. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, baby animals are everywhere, and people just seem to be a hell of a lot happier. All of this happens because of my second favorite “s” word …sunshine.

Ever notice how sunshine makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside? Well, sunshine is pretty damn important (I mean it literally makes the world go ‘round), but it’s the hormone found in sunshine that is the shining star. I’m talking about Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is one of the most important hormones we need to function as thriving human beings. It affects everything in our body from mood to energy, weight-loss to immune support, inflammation to bone health, and everything in-between. In other words, Vitamin D is one powerful mamba-jamba.

With such an important role, you would think we would make sure to get enough of it on the daily. Yet, the crazy thing is that almost everyone has a Vitamin D deficiency.  Some symptoms of a deficiency include, but are not limited to, tiredness, general aches and pains, trouble losing weight, and thinning bones.

We can get Vitamin D from some foods such as hemp, mushrooms, fortified milks, cheeses, whole eggs, liver and fish, but the easiest way to get your daily dose of Vitamin D is through our skin. Our skin is our largest organ. It has the ability to synthesize Vitamin D if exposed to sunlight on a regular basis, making it the fastest and most accessible way to get the recommended amount.

Now, getting outside seems easy. So what’s the catch?

Well, in order to get the Vitamin D you need, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. I’ve partnered with one of my favorite companies, Beautycounter, to show you just how to “practice safe sun.”

Beautycounter is a women’s natural beauty company. They create safe and caring products such as makeup, lotions, and sunscreen. The reason they are so rad is because all of their products go through a careful ingredient selection process to ensure no toxic and harmful chemicals are used. Like I said above, our skin is our largest organ, so the things we do to it on a daily basis can be extremely harmful to our long-term health. I love Beautycounter’s products, I love their mission, and I dig how determined they are to get safer products into the hands of everyone. That’s why I’ve partnered with them for Safe Sun blog post to educate all my babes on the importance of better skincare.

Here are my top 3 tips to practicing safe sun:

1. Girl, Get Outside!

As I mentioned above, exposing your skin to some sunshine will do your body wonders. Getting outside in the fresh air on a clear day will help you get your daily dose of Vitamin D. The good news is that we can’t overdose on Vitamin D, as whatever our body doesn’t use gets broken down and excreted out. Yet, we can overdose on sunlight. Too much sun can give us one nasty burn, damage cells and increase our risk for skin cancer.

So how much sun is just enough? Well you can either go by a sun calculator which goes off of the time of year, location, time of day, race etc, or you can go by what your body tells you. Our bodies are amazing creatures. They have the capability to communicate and tell us exactly what’s going on if we simply listen. The way our body tells us that we’ve had enough sun is when we start to feel that sunburn sensation. In other words, when your skin starts to turn rosy and you become hot to the touch is when your body is telling you you’ve had enough. After that, it’s time to find shade or put on some sunscreen.

2. Increase Your Fats

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning it’s absorbed best when paired with good fats. Your body then stores it and uses it as needed. Whether you take a Vitamin D supplement or are getting the right amount of sunshine, increasing your healthy fats will help you absorb Vitamin D, as well as the other fat-soluble vitamins; A, E and K. Some of my favorite healthy fats you can start consuming more of are avocado (on everything), coconut oil, hemp oil, chia seed, ghee, and extra-virgin olive oil.

3. Wear Sunscreen (the right kind)

Buying sunscreen seems simple, but with so many buzzwords and different brands, picking one is actually quite confusing. When choosing the right kind of sunscreen, you should look for a few specifics. For starters, make sure it’s a broad-spectrum sunscreen as this protects you from both UVA and UVB rays. Next, you want to look for a sunscreen that has very little chemicals in it. Here’s a good list of chemicals to avoid. You also want to make sure the sunscreen is water-resistant as this will stay on your body better in all occasions, like one of those epic summer runs. Last, you want to look for one that has at least an SPF (sun protection factor) of 30.

So why not a higher SPF? Isn’t that better? Well, there is actually very little difference between an SPF of 30 vs. one with 75. Anything after an SPF of 30 is just a bit ridiculous and not consumer-friendly.

As you can see, there is a right and a wrong way to get your daily dose of Vitamin D. As long as you get outside, eat your good fats and buy the right kind of sunscreen, your overall health will drastically improve. But, as a friendly reminder, there is no sunscreen out there that will block 100% of harmful UV rays. That’s just reality. The only way to stay completely safe from the sun is to not be in it, but that’s not real life. You should know by know that it’s not healthy for our happiness or our Vitamin D levels to stay away from the sunshine. We just have to make sure we practice safe sun.

XO, Cass