Desolation Wilderness Hike South Lake Tahoe
Well, I just got back from an incredibly relaxing and recuperative week in Lake Tahoe! I rested, ate more carbs than I care to talk about, hiked, swam, canoed, and managed to come back without even the slightest evidence of sunburn! For those of you who don’t know me personally, (so, pretty much all of you) you probably only know based on what I have told you that I am the most pale person I have ever met. Well, I may be second to my dad, a natural redhead, whose skin is nearly transparent. When the time came to prepare for our vacation, all I could think about was the sun that usually loved to burn me, being intensified at the 6000 ft elevation at which we would be vacationing! I knew I had to get the best sun protection out there. Enter Elta MD.
Elta MD sport and aerosol broad protection sunscreens
When at higher altitude, there is less atmosphere to absorb harmful UV rays. This is pretty much a death sentence for my skin, as I burn even if you look at me wrong, but even for those with the darkest skin tones, sunscreen is crucial. If you are one of those people who never wears sunscreen because you never burn, it doesn’t take a burn to damage skin. While your tan is your natural immunity against burns, it just takes one rogue cell (free-radical) and a tiny lapse in your immune system to start cancer on its destructive path. Plus, aside from burning and cancer risk, the more unprotected sun exposure your skin has, the more collagen breaks down. That causes premature aging. So if you don’t want to look like you are 65 when you are 45, you might want to rethink your reasoning for skipping this essential in your beauty routine. Oh, and you DO get the same amount of damage through cloudy skies. Clouds DO NOT provide sun protection! Let us clear up that misconception right her and right now! Starting to understand why I am so adamant about the use of sunscreens?
On my last trip to the dermatologist for my bi-yearly skin check-up, my doctor showed me Elta MD broad spectrum sunscreens. I picked up spf 45 for my face. I use it religiously on my face, neck, and chest every day. I use it underneath my foundation or bb cream (even though those have spf as well) and trust it wholeheartedly to protect me against UVA and UVB rays. It also does not give me that annoying sunscreen feel, which is a huge selling point for me. Before we left on our trip, I also picked up the sport and aerosol versions for my body. While hanging out at the pool and beach, if I felt I was getting a little too hot, I could go back inside; however, the real test came on our six and a half mile hike up 2000 feet to the top of Maggie’s Peak!
As directed, I applied 30 minutes before going outside. I applied 2 more times during the 5 hours it took to finish our hike. We started at 6600 feet and gained over 2000 feet of elevation during our sweaty and heart pounding climb! I applied the sport before we left and used the aerosol for reapplication during our hike. I found it absorbed well and even after over 5 hours outdoors and high elevation, I did not get even a wink of a sunburn! This is a first for me!
Elta MD also does not contain any of the ingredients to have been questioned recently (for more info on that, click here), and has plenty of antioxidants and moisturizers to keep your skin healthy at altitude. While new labeling no longer allows the use of the word “waterproof” on sunscreen labeling anymore, it took 3 scrubs with a loofah and body wash to get the sport off of my skin. Awesome for those sweaty individuals like myself looking for some serious protection. The aerosol was a convenient and easy-to-use way to keep myself protected on the trail. Reapplying a cream sunscreen would have taken forever and been quite dirty, since we kicked up tons of dirt on our trek. Simply spraying and light blending made it easy and quick. Just what the doctor ordered! Of course, I had my wide brimmed hat for added protection, but the aerosol is my new fun-in-the-sun best friend!
Sunburns are part of my life. As a result, I have taken extraordinary precautions to protect myself. Hats, protective clothing, and of course, sunscreen. If it protects this translucent skin, it will protect yours. We all still have months left of bikini season, so please, take the necessary precautions to protect yourself. You can purchase Elta MD sunscreens at the Laser Skin and Surgery Center on 38th and J in East Sacramento. You can also find retail locations here. Happy summer!
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[...] skin, but it also reveals more photosensitive skin, meaning it will be damaged more easily. I wear SPF 45 everyday. You should also use retinol at night to decrease this sensitivity. Additionally, it is [...]