On the longest day of the year, I spent my afternoon in the hot summer sun in Times Square doing Bikram Yoga. The temperature reached 98 degrees by high noon which didn’t disappoint those who usually practice Bikram Yoga in a studio where the temperature gets as hot as 110 degrees. It wasn’t the heat that bothered me so much as the rays of the sun on my nose.
When I woke up this morning to find the skin on my nose peeling I thought, “Oh NO, it’s way too early in the summer to be dealing with sunburn. Immediately I gave myself an Indian Clay mask facial w/ apple cider vinegar which gently took away all of my flaky skin and made my nose feel normal once again. You might be thinking, “Kenetia, why didn’t put on sunscreen?” Well, I did. I even put on sunscreen a few times during the 90 minute class and still the rays of the sun got me.
This prompted me to doing a little research on natural remedies I could use to protect my skin from the blazing rays of the sun. Here are some great little bullet points that I thought would be useful to you as well:
- Wear protective clothing.
- Stand in the shade if at all possible
- Avoid direct exposure to the noon sun
- Eat wholesome foods filled with antioxidants, ie. raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, legumes, nuts etc.
Here are some other ingredients that you might find in your kitchen that naturally have SPF:
- Raspberry Seed Oil. The highest of all natural ingredients, contains an estimated SPF of 30-50.
- Shea Butter. An excellent skin protectant with an SPF of approximately 6-10.
- Carrot Seed Oil. Carrot seed oil is an essential oil and has been estimated to contain SPF levels of 30.
None of these as I’ve read can protect our skin from a full day out in the sun, but there are plenty of websites out there with natural sunscreen recipes. I’m going to my kitchen now to whip up a batch. I’ll report back to you within a couple of weeks to let you know how well it works. In the meantime, use some common sense and don’t do yoga under the high noon sun for 90-minutes, a once in a lifetime experience I would not trade for the world.
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NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 20: People brave high temperatures while practicing bikram yoga as part of the annual Mind Over Madness event in Times Square on June 20, 2012 in New York City. The free yoga classes are held annually on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the first day of summer, amidst the hussle and bustle of Times Square, considered one of the busiest places on earth. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Well stated Kenetia! I sometimes forget to put any protection on – but now that I’m older, I’m much more aware. This is a good reminder that I need to be mindful of my sun exposure!