Skin and beach holidays: which face creams, body creams and sunscreens to choose?

Beach holidays are everyone’s dream and in most cases are planned for months, but to avoid them becoming a nightmare, it is best to be prepared by packing the right cosmetics.

The importance of choosing the right sunscreen for your skin

The sun can be an ally to health as it helps synthesise vitamin D, which fixes calcium to the bones, and also gives the skin a particularly pleasant amber colour. At the same time, it can cause damage to the skin and health with its ultraviolet rays. This is why it is necessary to use appropriate cosmetics to have young, moisturised and healthy skin even after returning from holiday.

Skin and sun: pay attention to your skin’s phototype.

Before exposing oneself to the sun, it is essential to use protection appropriate to one’s phototype. Six phototypes have been classified as needing different amounts of protection.

Skin types 1 and 2: fair and sensitive skin protects itself with high protection factors

In particular, phototypes 1 and 2, i.e. those with very fair skin, red, blond or brown hair, should use a very high protection factor such as 50+ or a high factor such as 30-50.

Which protection factor should you choose for your skin? Factor 30 or factor 50?

Factor 50 is defined as total screen and thus blocks all UVA and UVB rays, while a protection of 30 stops 97% of UVB rays. The very high factor should also be used for babies and children.

Photo type 3 or 4: moderately sensitive skin protects itself with sun creams with a medium protection factor

For those with phototype 3 or 4, i.e. people with brown hair and moderately sensitive skin, the solution is the medium protection factor, i.e. 15, 20, 25.

Phototype 5 to phototype 6: olive skin always requires a level of protection even if it is low

Finally, phototypes 5 and 6 with dark or black hair and olive skin can use a low sunscreen such as sunscreen 6 and 10. As can be seen, even those with dark skin must use sunscreen in order to avoid damage.

Skin and the sun: common mistakes not to make when protecting your skin. We explain how to avoid them, to best protect yourself from UV rays

The common mistakes to avoid in order to expose yourself properly to the sun and get a great tan are these:

• Put on a minimum amount of sunscreen
• Apply sun cream once before sunbathing
• Expose your skin to the sun during the hottest hours.

Put on a minimum amount of sun cream: try to apply the cream in the right amounts evenly

A very common mistake people make is to use a minimal amount of sunscreen; this is not recommended because it significantly lowers the level of UV protection.
Use the right amount of cream and spread it evenly over your skin.

Apply sun cream to the skin only once: although water-resistant, creams should be applied to the skin several times during sun exposure

Another trick is to spread the sunscreen several times during exposure, even if it is written on the products that it is water-resistant.

Exposure to the sun during the hottest hours: make lizards in the early morning hours or at sunset

To prevent the sun from causing problems for the skin, it is also good to avoid exposure during the hottest hours of the day and prefer early morning or evening hours instead. This way, an amber-coloured but healthy complexion is achieved. Using sunscreen is important because UVA and UVB rays cause burns that damage DNA, which can lead to melanoma. Specific sunscreens are also available on the market for different parts of the body, and in particular for the face and body. Among these the texture changes, which for the face is lighter, so that there are no unsightly effects and the feeling of greasy skin.

Snail slime is a valuable ally for your skin because it moisturises the skin after sunbathing

Using sunscreen is also important to avoid the formation of sunspots due to hyperpigmentation caused by the different concentration of melanin in different areas. This occurs because the pituitary gland when the skin is exposed to the sun activates the melanin formation system, which is responsible for the dark colour, but there may then be an imbalance in distribution. Once you have returned from the beach, it is very important to take care of moisturising the skin. The sun does in fact tend to age the skin, and although protection helps to avoid this effect, it is a good idea when you return from the beach to use products with a high nourishing power so as to deeply moisturise the skin. Among
the products with high nourishing power for the skin of the face and body are those based on snail slime. This is the serum that is produced by these animals in order to glide better over surfaces and thus have celerity of movement, at the same time the slime secreted by the abdomen helps to reduce friction and thus any wounds that may be created by rubbing against rough surfaces. Once the snail slime has been collected, it is treated to make it pure, then microfiltered and purified. Only now is it ready for cosmetics.

Why is snail slime used?

Snail slime is rich in active ingredients of natural origin. In particular, it contains a high amount of glycolic acid, which lightens sun spots and prevents their appearance. This also stimulates the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid, active ingredients that are essential for proper hydration and, above all, for maintaining it for a long time. In addition, snail slime also contains these two substances, which means that creams and serums based on snail slime have a high moisturising power and are able to reconstitute the hydro-lipid film of the skin that could be damaged by sun exposure. In this way, it is possible to prevent the signs of ageing and keep the skin elastic. Snail slime also contains vitamins A, C and E, which are powerful antioxidants and thus stimulate cell regeneration. Another important element is allontoin, which soothes, has emollient power and helps healing. Allontoin is important because it helps soothe the discomfort of dry skin that can be reddened when returning from the beach. When you expose yourself to the sun, there can also be a reaction that leads to the appearance of pimples when you return from holiday. In this case, snail slime is useful because it also contains peptides that help to purify the skin and regularise sebum production, thus preventing the appearance of furuncles. Mucopolysaccharides are also present in snail slime, which help to defend the skin from attack by external agents, including the sun. With the constant use of snail slime cosmetics, the skin can be kept young for a long time.

Which formulations to choose

Snail slime products come in different formulations, for example there is body cream and face cream, specifically for these two areas and to be put on in the morning. For a shock action that immediately rebalances the correct hydration of sun-exposed skin there is the serum. This is rapidly absorbed, just a few drops are enough to have amazing effects. As well as being recommended for the evening moisturisation of the face, the serum is also suggested for the eye contour area. In this area it is important to avoid products with an oily/creamy base and consequently the use of the serum appears to be the best choice.