Did you know that the sun is most harmful between 10am until 4pm and experts have even advised for us all to stay out of the sun during these restricted hours. Unfortunately, living in a tropical country like Malaysia, avoiding a sunny day is like not being able to breathe. It’s impossible, so the next best thing is to protect our skin from the harmful UV rays.
Living in country like Malaysia has its perks though, for example, we don’t have to wait for “bikini season” and we can pretty much go for a dip in the pool whenever we please. When we do decide to go for a little swim and spend some time outside in the sun, we’d protect our skin with sunscreen. But in order for the sunscreen to do its job, you’ve got to avoid doing these five things:
Skimping on the SPF – It’s hot out and the sun’s burning, so you really want to protect your skin. This leads to buying a bottle of sunscreen with higher SPF thinking it will protect you more than a bottle of SPF 30 would. Wrong! Even a bottle of SPF 30 will give you 97% protection from the harmful UV rays.
Not using a new bottle – Everything has a shelf life and this definitely includes sunscreen. Pay attention to expiration date, which should be stated clearly on the bottle but if there aren’t any, write down when you purchased it and make sure to toss it out after a year.
You only apply it once – Don’t be a silly bunny! You know that you cannot simply rely on that application you made before jumping into the pool. You have to reapply plenty of times especially if you’re going to be in the water. One application of sunblock does not mean you’re off the hook for the entire day!
Not waiting – Everything takes time and this includes your sunscreen. After applying it all over your body and face, give it 15-20 minutes for the sunblock to really set in and it’s even better if you apply before putting on your swimsuit.
Only at the pool – The sun is around every single day and you don’t only need to apply sunblock when you’re going for a dip. Experts say you should use every day sunscreen even if you’re not at the beach. Using sunscreen on non-sunny days will protect you from harmful UV rays that are coming through the clouds!
So, remember to apply sunscreen on sunny days and cloudy ones too!
