Happy Summer! Happy Sunlight!
When I was kid, way back in the 1970’s and 80’s, I used to lay out in the sun covered in Baby Oil with lemon juice in my hair. I was a sun goddess. When I got older, I was a lifeguard and a swim team coach. When it came time to work indoors during the summer months, I thought I’d die without my sun exposure. Fast forward a decade or two and this whole skin cancer scare came about. We started covering ourselves up with the highest SPF we could find, only to learn that all that SPF wasn’t good for us either. As the pendulum swings and returns back to center, we now know that there has to be a decent balance of getting sunlight to create Vitamin D, but not too much that it causes skin cancer.
I’m sure everyone has seen the 100’s of uses or benefits of coconut oil floating around on your Facebook feed or on the internet. I use pure coconut oil for everything from giving massages to cooking. My favorite use of coconut oil is to use it as a sunscreen. About 10 years ago, I slathered myself up with coconut oil and laid out in the sun, much like I had done as a kid, and hoped I would I have a nice tan after several hours. NOPE! Not one shade of golden beauty came through because of how effective the coconut oil was at blocking the sun. Now, when I make my annual trip to the beach, I slather on the coconut oil before leaving the hotel room, while the rest of my family chooses to use a commercial sunscreen product. Guess who doesn’t have that painful burn after day one at the beach? You guessed it, ME. I still had the tan shine through simply because I spend the majority of my time in the water. The key, however, is to RE-APPLY every time you come out of the water. If you don’t re-apply, you can still burn. This is true of your favorite sunscreen products as well.
So, for a natural sun protectant, consider using coconut oil. Don’t forget to re-apply. Allow yourself at least 15 minutes per day of the morning sun to stimulate your body’s natural Vitamin D. Most importantly, enjoy your summer vacation!