It is summer in the Northern hemisphere and some of you are anxious to let any sun on your bare skin. Either because you are struggling with chronic hyperpigmentation or you want to preserve the youth of your face.

Before I am telling you my tried and tested options, I am sharing my personal opinion on sunscreen as a formally trained cosmetic scientist and aesthetician.

For a large part of my adulthood, I feared the sun and didn’t leave the house without sunscreen. I didn’t understand the nuances of sunlight and UV intensities. I blindly followed what my industry was dictating. Because of my own hormone issues, I had to take a close look at the toxic load coming from my skin and sun care products and find different ways to protect my skin during peak hours. 

Pathologically low vitamin D levels contributed greatly to depression and frequent colds forced me to reestablish my relationship with the sun and to understand the importance of natural sunlight. I turned it around and learned how to use light energy to my advantage. I am much more confident in the sun now, healthier and happier. And I want that for you too.

I believe in sun protection, but not in a strict sun is bad for your skin narrative or store-bought sunscreens for the following reasons:

• Claims about UV protection are misleading if customers aren’t familiar with the exact terminology. For example, SPF only accounts for the UVB protection factor (sunburn and cancer), not UVA (skin aging and hyperpigmentation, although UVA contributes to skin cancer).

• Blocking the skin from sunlight compromises immunity, bone health and mood.

• Preventing the skin from sun exposure blocks our gradual built-in protection (tan).

• Some chemical sun filters are known to interfere with hormone balance.

• A high SPF doesn’t guarantee to protect from hyperpigmentation or skin aging.

• Most UVA filters are not photostable and break down when in contact with light (hence the recommendations to reapply every 2 h). When we rely on sunscreen, we might be pounded with UVA without noticing it.

• New promising sun filters like Meseroxyl 400 (not approved in the US yet) that cover the entire UVA spectrum (pigmentation and aging) are lacking long-term testing regarding safety from hormonal or immune disruption. Despite claims that chemical sun filters have to undergo rigorous testing before their approval, I could not find any proof of that (please tell me if you find any). I will publish a separate post and article on chemical sunscreen ingredients and their safety soon.

Here are my favorite sun protection methods. I haven’t had a sunburn in 12 years, even though I lived in Australia and New Zealand, countries where sunburns happen quickly.

1 Shade

A wide-brimmed hat that creates enough shade to cover the entire face and chest is the safest way to protect the head from too much radiation.

Seeking shade during peak hours, wearing hats and long linen and cotton clothing while the UV is high is how cultures in sunny areas have protected themselves for millennia.

2 A Tan

A natural tan (melanin) is the most sensical and safe sun protection without any risk of chemicals that could harm your body.

Not every skin type is made to live in areas with high UV levels and not every skin type tans. A predicament for people whose heritage matches areas of high latitudes but moved to countries close to the equator or where the angle to the sun creates higher UV levels.

I recommend the UV Index Widget as a tool to learn how to be in the sun safely again. I never got sunburned using it and I have lived in Australia and NZ with my European skin for almost 12 years now.

3 Zinc Oxide

Sunscreens are tricky because mineral sunscreens often feel sticky and leave a white cast, while chemical filters don’t always deliver the protection they claim and can contain potentially harming (for example, hormone-disrupting) molecules.

On top of that, when we wear sunscreen, our skin cannot gradually build up its natural sun protection, the tan. Which means, once you start using sunscreen, your skin stays sensitive and more prone to sunburns as summer and UV intensity progresses.

Should your skin type not allow for tanning (type I), you are not be able to wear a hat, you are in the car during peak hours (window shields split UVA from UVB), or do any water or wintersports, then I would cover with mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide.

Zinc oxide is photo and water stable and the safest mineral sun filter that protects from the entire UV spectrum (see image below). Although, the most efficient absorption is in the UVB range and UVA up to 380 nm. The bars in the image show which wavelengths each ingredient blocks. The grey areas represent which wavelength the ingredients block best.

I know this is frustrating if you hate the white cast and stickiness. SMIDGE Suncare is based in NZ and the most pleasant non-nano zinc sunscreen I have ever tried (unfortunately only available in NZ and Australia).

For the US, I haven’t tried this one yet but a Harvard trained dermatologist recommended the 6000x Elemental Screen SPF30 by AOS Skincare.

4 High Coverage Mineral Make-up

Did you know that mineral make-up based on zinc-oxide naturally protects from the entire spectrum of UV rays? In fact, the primary purpose of make-up in ancient times was sun protection.

Full coverage foundation contains around 15% of pigment. 15% of zinc oxide in a foundation translates to an SPF of around 20–25. This might be just perfect for you depending on your skin type and how much time you spend outside. Mineral make-up delivers sun protection and coverage without a white cast.

Make-up brands:

MG Minerals

Orania Mineral Make-up

Bee-Och Organics Tinted Mineral Cream Foundation

5 Antioxidants

Antioxidants from colourful fruit and vegetables aren’t a sunscreen but their capabilities to neutralize free radicals protect from inflammation that occurs from radiation (sun damage). An SOS remedy if you had outdoor time beyond your threshold.

Btw, melanin, your brown skin pigment, is one of the strongest antioxidants on the planet.

Wrapping It Up

Sunlight is highly energetic cosmic radiation and needs to be treated with caution, yes. The same as you would treat fire. Who doesn’t love a cozy bonfire in safe distance to warm yourself up, but you wouldn’t want to sit in it ;).

We have lost our trust in nature and our confidence to move in it freely, and get sucked in medical narratives that we need to rely on sunscreens to survive.

I want to be totally transparent that my approach with the sun doesn’t aim to avoid skin ageing entirely. It is simply not possible to avoid the sun without compromising your overall well-being and that reflects in your appearance. Having studied the skin and human body for many years with a formal education in skin science and biology, I know my skin will age. I probably will end up with a few more brown spots and wrinkles. But the feeling of warm sun on my bare skin makes me so happy, I simply don’t give a s*** and I am not letting my body and spirit wither away again in favor for a pasty and even complexion.

If you have melasma:

The reason for melasma isn’t the sun. With melasma (or any chronic skin issues), the body is hormonally, metabolically, and/or immunologically out of balance. In order to bring the body back to balance (equilibrium), living in sync with nature is what brings you back in alignment. Blocking your skin, the organ designed to interact with the sun, from the sun, creates a barrier that doesn’t allow you to rebalance naturally. The Truth About Melasma is a book that tells you everything you need to know about the root causes.

Thank you for reading this far x.