Dear Malibu Beauty Barbie
It’s that time of the year again. Sunbed sessions are being scheduled, strapless numbers are being dug out of your closet, and you’re shaving your legs regularly again. Kindly take a moment to consider everything that will be happening to your skin in the next couple of sun-filled months.
You will be ageing quicker than you can say ‘beach towel’. UV rays damage the healthy skin cells we all have naturally, meaning more wrinkles, quicker sagging and dull complexion with the texture of your favourite mock-crock handbag. Not worried because you’re still young? Sun damage is cumulative, and shockingly a huge percentage occurs before you hit your 21st birthday.
Are you sitting there with a smug smile, thinking ‘Ha, I don’t tan’? If you ask the majority of 40-50 year-olds with prematurely aged skins they’ll tell you that they haven’t tanned in years, sometimes even decades. Sun damage also occurs when you’re walking on the beach, having lunch on the patio, or driving to your friend’s house. It doesn’t have to be for long stretches – your melanocytes unfortunately have a great memory.
You will also develop unsightly pigmentation. This lovely addition comes in various shapes and sizes – think moles, freckles and the grand prize, of course, brown hyperpigmentation marks on your face. These smashingly unsightly marks are very hard to lighten and even harder to get rid of – you will have to stick out months of treatments and products to start seeing results, and the added bonus is that once you have had pigmentation, you will always be prone to developing marks again, even after treatment.
I’m not even going to go into the increased risk of skin cancer, as I’m sure you must be aware of this.
The fact is that however advanced the cosmetic and medical industries may become, you only receive one skin at birth, and it’s up to you how well it serves you. Sure, it’s yours, and you are allowed to do with it whatever you want to. When you and your pasty friend celebrate your 30th, 40th, 50th birthdays and beyond, it’s just going to get increasingly more embarrassing to admit you’re not her older sister/aunt/mother…
I’m not here solely to spoil your fun just because I don’t tan. There are supercool self-tan creams and bronzers available from almost every cosmetic brand I can think of, and most of them are pretty decent (I do, however, remember the extremely orange legs I had in standard seven, à là four applications of Tropitone over a two day period).
The moral of my letter to you is to ask you to be responsible, because once you’ve destroyed your skin it’s very hard to repair it again.
If you know you are going to be exposed to that huge flaming ball of fire in the air, apply a generous layer of sunscreen with an SPF of AT LEAST 15, reapply often, and try limit the time you spend in direct sunlight to less than an hour. I’m super impressed with Vichy Capital Soleil Protective Sun Milk for face and body SPF30 @ R222 for 300ml – great product and superb value. Sleeves, hats, sarongs and umbrellas will do you many favours, and you can look chic while protecting yourself – a maxi dress blowing in the wind, large sunglasses and a hat can make you look like a movie star.
Hugs and kisses for Ken
Yours in pastiness
The Sunscreen Skin Care Queen
Article By: Chantelle Bester
Read more about sun protection tips.