After the Sun

You've been out in the sun, and you've either been smart, or not so smart. Either way, you need to get some moisture into your skin pronto. If you're burned, go for the aloe, the purer, the better. I know it's hard to take leaves from the plant and rub all over your body, but try to find the straight, 100% gel at a health food store or a similar place. If you can't, the gels that places like Walgreens or CVS or other drugstores sells will do. Try to get as pure and non-fragranced as possible. For pure moisture, straight cocoa butter is awesome, I mean, the real stuff. I order bulk from aromatherapy and spa websites, sometimes add essential oils (more on aromatherapy later!), it just soaks into your skin and is fabulous!

Of course, there are several lotions, creams and body butters out there that are wonderful, and I do have my favorites. But since I just have to share every detail of my routine with you, here we go:

Beach- I live super-close to the beach, so I don't do much. However, when I was in college, I was about an hour, hour and a half from the beach. There were those shower areas around, I'd rinse my hair and body off, and in the car on the way back, I'd put conditioner in my hair and aloe or lotion on my body. The only times I have that dilemma these days is when my friends get a place at the beach and I visit for the day, if I don't take a shower, there's always a place to rinse off and do that other stuff.
Pool- Even at my house, if I don't plan to shower immediately, I rinse my hair out with the hose, condition or oil, usually I already have some type of treatment on my hair already. Rinse my body, moisturize.

Time to Shower:

I use a super-moisturizing body wash, some summer favorites are:

Bliss Bergamot and Vanilla
Softsoap Body Butter Wash in Heavenly Vanilla
Softsoap Moisturizing Body Wash with Moisture Beads, Ultra Rich Shea Butter
Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar

Moisturize Body:

Hawaiian Tropic Body Butter
CVS or Walgreen's Aloe
Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter
Laura Mercier Almond Coconut Milk Souffle Body Creme
Hempz Hydrosilk Herbal Moisturizer
Hempz Body Butter

Moisturize Face:

Sometimes I mix a little Josie Maran argan oil into my moisturizer after being in the sun, and of course, I have a gazillion lip balms to choose from.


My main focus here is on skin, as I know pretty much nothing about hair, but some of the great hair products that have been recommended to me that really work are:

It's a 10 Leave-In Treatment
MorroccanOil Treatment

So, to wrap up the fun in the sun days, keep your skin protected, take care to hydrate inside as well, moisturize.

What's In Your Beach Bag?

Summer has officially been here, or if you live in Florida like I do, it pretty much only leaves for a couple of months. Except for weeks like this, I'm standing in my back yard by the pool in the rain singing a Glee-worthy mash-up of "Rain Rain Go Away/The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow/Bring Back the Sun (who doesn't love a little Our Lady Peace?). Anyhoo, let's take a look-see into the Beach/Pool bag and see what we have:

Necessities:

Sunscreen: A given. I'm not going to give any brand recommendations here. The main points I will make are:
*Make sure your sunscreen follows the new FDA requirements that I posted about before.
*Use at the very least an SPF 15. Higher is definitely recommended, but there is a limit in the FDA requirements, so SPF 150 is absolutely not a possibility.
*Reapply every two hours, especially when swimming and during activities where you're sweating a lot.
*I'm not suggesting any particular brands, because as long as they follow the regulations and don't have any nuclear, mutant-producing chemicals in them, you just have to pick what works for you. I'm in the water a lot, in my pool, I go to the beach, I hang out at other friends' pools, go to the zoo with my family, amusement parks, walk my dog, I need a multi-tasking sunscreen. I actually need a new one, as I ran out of mine on the last beach trip. I like the sprays, and saw an ad for one I'm going to try out. I've said before I tan well and don't really burn, but I do need the UVB protection for aging and cancer. Okay, I said I wasn't going to mention a brand name, but I do use my SkinCeuticals Physical Sunscreen on my face. It protects very well, and I still get color safely. I have another trick too that I'll share in my self-tanning vs. spray tanning post.

Eye Protection: Sunglasses. A Hat. Suncreen creams, balms or sticks targeted for the eyes and other sensitive areas. Try to stay water-resistant. Reapply like your sunscreen.

Lip Protection: I've already told you about my lip balm addiction. There are many from the drugstore to Sephora I could recommend (I think I already have!), but as always, a minimum SPF 15, water-resistant (sometimes hard to find in favorites, but other ingredients like the oils, butters and waxes can naturally repel water). Reapply as often as needed.

Hair Protection: This definitely varies from person to person. I have very long, color-treated hair. Usually I put argan oil or conditioner in my hair, twist it in a bun, and wrap my head with a bandana. I've recently received some samples of UV hair treatments through my sample programs as well as the beauty supply stores, and am trying those out. For other people, just rinsing the chlorine out or leaving in a good conditioner while in the sun may be enough. I have friends who have salt-water pools, I'm honestly too busy having fun to care about my hair. That's horrible, I know.

Water: Yes, aqua. At the beach, by the pool, stay hydrated. Extremely important. Also great to have the empty bottles to help the kiddos collect beach water to make sand castles with. :)

***A Very Important Note: Medications- If you're on any medications, especially ones that affect the skin, know what effect sun exposure can have while you're on them. If you're using a skin-lightener like hydroquinone, sun exposure can cause further hyperpigmentation. Don't plan a skin treatment like a peel or a microderm the day before a weekend at the beach with the gals. Ask your dermatologist or esthetician when you can get back into the sun after a treatment, if they don't tell you up front.***

Other Things in My Bag to Make it Heavy for the Sheer Fun of It:

Keeping in mind that some of my beach days turn into early dinners, as do pool parties at friends' houses:

Towels (of course)
Facial Cleansing Cloths
Change of clothes
Deodorant
Makeup (I usually start off with minimal double-duty products like waterproof mascara and eyeliner, so all I need for some freshening-up is a bit of lip gloss, and maybe a tad of powder if we're taking pictures!)
Comb
Hair Oil
Hair Elastics
Body Spritz or Mini-Perfume

Day to Night, very easy. Confession: I actually have a fully-stocked bag in the trunk of my car, with some friends I never know what I'm going to need and when I'm going to need it. Guys have it so easy.

Days by the Pool, a Little Slice of My Life

I love these days, this week full of rain has killed my pool time. First, I prepare one of the best investments I've ever made, a waterproof iPod holder. I swim my laps, do some other pool exercises, then hop on my pool float with my coconut water and let the tunes carry me away to my happy place.

When I'm out of the pool, I do love to read, not any of that Fabio romance stuff. More mystery, true-life adventure, inspirational, biographies. And magazines, of course, in between catching up on Facebook.

Much of that reading is done on the porch, though, where I can check on my little pond of fishies, watch my doggie chase squirrels in the back yard, and just enjoy the peace and quiet.

Next up: After the Sun

Happy Birthday to Me!

So I recenty turned 39 again. Yay! I had an amazing party with family and friends, then a lovely dinner on my birthday with my best friend, her daughter, my mom, and my boyfriend. Yes, I am 40 and fabulous, and so far this year is looking wonderful!

I did get some really sweet gifts, and of course, treated myself to a few things. I had to get my free Sephora birthday gift, which gave me an excuse to go online and buy a few things:

So, in the middle there is the Sephora Birthday Gift, which this year is a Sugar Lip Duo (a mini original and a mini Rose'). On the very left is Pacifica Coconut Pearls Luminizing Lip Quench, which is so very yummy, then hopping over to the right, a mini-tube of Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Gloss. My lips are so loving me right now. My makeup bag and drawer, however, are calling the addiction hotline. On the very right, is Sephora by OPI nail polish, Glee Collection in "Who Let the Dorks Out?" (Sue's color). I didn't know they were still selling the Glee colors, I bought Mercedes' color "Hell to the No" a while ago. Normally I wouldn't buy any nail polish, I get regular OPI at the beauty supply for cheap. But it was Glee, had to get in on that, and it was only at Sephora. Finally, in the back, not the Clarisonic, but the Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Wash... love love love! I have the body butter too. There's nothing like getting out of the pool after a day in the sun, sudsing up and lotioning down until you smell like one big coconut or pina colada and your skin feels awesome. I'll be posting about my favorite after-sun treats and tips as soon as I get my during-the-sun post finished!

Let's Talk About Sun

Unless you've been living under a rock, and therefore have little need for sunscreen, you've been hearing about the new requirements the FDA is placing on over-the-counter sunscreens. This is not a brand-new issue, as the requirements were announced in June 2011, but now they are being enforced, still with a bit of confusion. I'm going to touch on some of the main points, but here are a few links that provide exhaustive information on the regulations:

FDA on Sunscreen Basics (plus links to additional information)

FDA Q & A on New Regulations (plus links to additional information)

WebMD's Q & A on New Regulations (recommended by FDA)

Here are the basics:

1. Broad Spectrum- Sunscreens now have to have UVA and UVB protection. In the past, UVB, Ultraviolet B radiation that caused burning, was primarily targeted when sunscreens were regulated. UVA, Ultraviolet A radation that contributes to skin cancer and early aging, was not really addressed. With the new regulations, sunscreens should have both UVA and UVB, or "Broad Spectrum", protection. Per the FDA, " Only Broad Spectrum sunscreens with an SPF value of 15 or higher can claim to reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging if used as directed with other sun protection measures. Non-Broad Spectrum sunscreens and Broad Spectrum sunscreens with an SPF value between 2 and 14 can only claim to help prevent sunburn."

2. No more "waterproof", "sweatproof" or "sunblock" claims. Sunscreens can claim to be water-resistant, but must indicate on the front label whether they remain water-resistant for 40 or 80 minutes while swimming or sweating, based on testing. Sunscreens that are not water-resistant must suggest the use of a water-resistant sunscreen for swimming and sweating. Sunscreens also cannot claim to provide more than 2 hours of protection without reapplying.

3. Sunscreens must have a minimum SPF of 15, but cannot go higher than 50.

I encourage everyone to read up on the new regulations, and stay informed about sun safety. I think these new requirements are going to be beneficial, as long as people stick by them. We've gone for a while thinking if we slather on a good coat of waterproof SPF 50 once, before we hit the pool or the beach, we're fine. In reality, we'd almost be better with a lesser SPF, reapplying every 2 hours. It's very important to teach our kids good sun habits as well.

We don't have to go around looking like sparkling vampires from "Twilight"- nor do we have to spray-tan ourselves Pantone orange like the Jersey Shore crazies. We'll delve into that next time.