Swathy and Sky

Carrot and Bottle Guard Mask {Reader’s Tip}

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This is one tip which was posted as a comment on an earlier post yesterday. I thought it was a really good one so sharing it all with you. This is what the reader shares:

I tried having carrot and bottle gourd juice every morning (empty stomach). Also i apply crushed carrot and bottle gourd on my face after cleansing for 30 mins everyday. My pores have visibly reduced in size from day 1 and my skin tone is improving as well.

What are UV Radiations? {Sunscreen}

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Ok, so I have never really discussed what exactly are UV radiations and how are they harmful for us even though I have done many articles on sunscreens. So, for those who are not aware, the UV radiations are the ones emitted by the sun and these are extremely harmful for the skin. These radiations are known to cause various type of skin cancers, affect the immune system and of course, regular skin disorders like sunburns, wrinkles, fine lines and age spots. Now, there are two types of radiations which are most harmful and penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere – UVA and UVB. In case  you are thinking that there are no other radiations emitted by sun, they are all (UVC and other radiations from the sun and other stars) absorbed by the ozone. That again is very important reason why we should help reduce global warming otherwise more radiations would penetrate Earth’s atmosphere and harm the human beings. Even UVA and UVB do get blocked to a lot of extent but our wearing out the ozone layer is causing some havoc.
UVA is mainly responsible for aging of the skin. It is the dominant of the radiations and penetrates the skin more deeply causing the wrinkling and damaging the skin. It also results in the tanning of the skin. And, may also initiate skin cancers. And, UVB results in the skin reddening and sunburns. It contributes to tanning and aging but mainly plays a key role in development of skin cancer. UVB is intense in the time from 10AM – 4PM all the year round and is more intense on reflective surfaces like snow and ice. It doesn’t penetrate the glass much. UVA rays penetrate glass, though, even the tinted ones!!!
Now, one more damage which the UV rays can do is damage to the eyes. So, it is advised to get shades or make your glasses with photo-chromatic lenses so that they are able to deflect the sun rays. And, do not forget to wear sunscreen even if you are staying inside. Both UVA and UVB can penetrate through open windows.

Now, in this post, I mentioned a small point that spf factors block UVB radiations. Well, yes. They do not in general block UVA radiations. There is a star system which determines the sunscreen’s efficiency in blocking the UVA rays so basically, you are only protecting yourself from UVB. Currently, I do not think there is any sunscreen in India with star ratings. That’s a downside of getting even the best sunscreens.

What Sunscreen should I buy? {Sunscreen}

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So, yesterday, I did a very long post on the ingredients of sunscreen. So, the reason I did that post was because I wanted to do this following post in which that knowledge would be helpful. By the way, I do not claim whatever I had written yesterday is complete.
Now, what are the important factors in deciding sunscreen?
  • SPF : Yes. But, as I mentioned in this post, anything above 30 doesn’t really provide extra protection so spf 30 products are enough. And, still, if you want to aim for high, anything beyond 50 is worthless.
  • Labeling : Always buy a ‘broad-spectrum’ sunscreen. The label should be there on the product. Btw, most of the Indian products do not have such labeling conformations which is pretty sad.
  • Ingredients : You would want to ensure you are getting adequate protection so look for the ingredients I mentioned in the chart.
  • Manufacturing : Buy as latest sunscreen as possible because the composition of the sunscreen may break down if kept unused for long.
  • Brand : Always get a trusted and established brand which has proper research facilities. I would definitely add here that do not get herbal sunscreens as they do not have any of the sunscreen ingredients. They might prevent tanning but there is no saying as to they can protect skin from UV radiations. And, I would definitely put my trust in chemical products than sticking to herbal in such cases.
Anything I might have forgotten which you think should be included in this list?