Living in a country with loads of sunny days is lovely, but risky for your skin. While we all know that it is vital to always wear a good SPF and not just when spending time outdoors, sometimes that’s just not enough.
At Professional Skin Lab, we regularly see and treat sun damage on the face, chest, neck and hands. You may be good about wearing a cap when you are in the sun, but that doesn’t protect these other high-risk areas of your body. The residual UV exposure to your skin that penetrates the sunscreen, can trigger free-radical damage that accelerates skin aging, causing wrinkles, dark spots, fine lines, dehydration and even skin cancer.
Adding antioxidants to your defence against sun damage is a particularly good idea. They diffuse the effects of UV rays, as well as blue light from your phone, neutralising free radicals and is a powerful skin protector. Antioxidants also have calming, hydrating and healing properties.
There are many antioxidants found in foods and supplements, like green tea, liquorice root and Vitamin A, C and E. A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables will ensure your body has an abundance of antioxidants, but often, due to the hectic lifestyles we lead, this is not always possible.
Fortunately, good quality skin care products are available that are packed with antioxidants, to protect your skin. RegimA’s On Q quenching facial oil is a great product for hydrating the skin, using extracts of prickly pear, camellia seed, rosehip and black currant seed to boost antioxidant levels. Lamelle’s Nourish range includes a sunscreen, a rescue repair gel and revitalising cream, all bursting with antioxidants.