SkinFitnessFacts.com News

You work and work to keep your skin fit every day and then you take one, four-day vacation in July and just like that you’ve given yourself a sun burn, a major break out, and chapped lips. Avoid undoing all the hard work you’ve accomplished to maintain healthy skin by taking your skin care regimen on the road.

1. Pack light. Count out your supplements and put them in a baggy. Not only will this take up less room in your bag, but you’ll be able to keep track of whether or not you’ve taken your vitamins.

2. If you don’t normally take vitamins C and E in supplement form, now would be a good time to start. Both vitamins are antioxidants and will serve you well in fighting off the environment’s skin damaging free radicals.

3. Don’t forget any products from your skin care regimen. It’s way too easy to forget a skin care product when packing. Most skin care lines provide travel packs that include all your products in smaller, two ounce bottles. Freeze 24 / 7 Jet Set Travel Kit is a Skin Fitness Facts favorite.

4. Consciously drink water. Take a minute before every meal to drink one full glass of water. This will help to keep you hydrated and to keep your skin fresh.

5. Sun block. Reapply every 3-4 hours regardless of whether you are spending a lot of time in the sun. SPF degrades after just a little bit of time, so reapplication is important in preventing burns.

Wherever your vacation takes you, don’t forget your skin care. Skin fitness doesn’t stop just so you can have a good time.

Many sun protection products rave about their high SPFs of 50, 70 and 80. But is it really necessary to go that high? Of course any protection is better than no protection, but know the SPF facts before you decide.

To prevent premature aging, skin cancer, or sun damaged skin (for example melasma) even a sun block of SPF 5 is better than nothing, but dermatologists recommend a product with full-spectrum coverage with at least an SPF of 15.

There are two types of sun rays to differentiate: ultraviolet-a (UVA) and ultraviolet-b (UVB). UVA are longer wavelengths from the sun and penetrate deeper into the skin and may be the culprit behind aging. UVB rays have shorter wavelengths and are more likely to cause sun burn and skin cancer.

Products that contain SPF (SPF stands for sun protection factor) only protect the skin from UVB rays so it’s important to use a block that is UVA/UVB or broad-spectrum protection.

Technically, SPF represents the amount of time it takes for the skin to redden. For example, with an SPF 15 it will take about five hours for your skin to begin burning while without it the skin will redden within 20 minutes. The higher the SPF the longer it takes for your skin to redden.

Here’s the breakdown on UVB protection

• SPF 15 blocks 93 percent
• SPF 30 blocks 97 percent
• SPF 50 blocks 99 percent

Anything above SPF 50 will provide only a negligible amount of UVB protection.

Just because you apply once in the morning doesn’t mean you are covered at 4pm that afternoon. Make sure to reapply every couple of hours especially if you are in the water or sweating. Most sun blocks will last you two hours.

Skin Fitness Facts recommends a number of full-spectrum sun block products including DDF’s Daily Organic.

I came across a great (did I say great because I mean awesome) article on MSNBC.com about keeping your skin and hair beautiful while traveling. It’s a challenge to maintain any kind of regimen when you are living out of a suitcase, but this article really offers some great alternatives and tips to maintaining a good-looking you.

Check it out: Easy, breezy beauty tips to look picture-perfect.