Education

Did you know that sun protection could be intelligent?

With this recent Vancouver heat wave we’ve had, I’ve been piling on the sunscreen. It’s so nice to have an early start to the beautiful summer weather.

I’ve been asking some of my clients recently if they’ve been applying sunscreen to their body and I’ve been shocked to find that people seem to only feel they need sun protection from the neck up!-unless they are outside for prolonged periods of time…

I have this dreaded vision of people in the future looking like collages of different skins. The faces of 30 year olds with the bodies of 60 year olds. I know I’m getting a little carried away with my imagination- but seriously, don’t forget the rest of your skin! It think it’s really important to think of sun exposure as accumulative. If you’re only outside for ten minutes a day- that ads up over a year to 60 hours of sun exposure. Considering that 80-90% of aging is attributed to sun exposure, you do the math…

On that note- I’m super excited about the Sunforgettable products which will be available at Spruce Body Lab next week. There are different colours and applications to choose from. There’s one with sparkles for a little feminine touch, two with very minimal pigment to even out the skin tone, and one that’s clear. It’s such an innovative concept to be able to dust on some minerals and get an SPF 30 without the mess of a cream or spray.

New at Vancouver Spa Spruce Body Lab! From Colorescience:

Sunforgettable Micronized Minerals Providing SPF 30 for Face and Body

1. Instant protection from uv radiation… no 20 minute wait!!
2. Chemical Free
3. Paraben Free
4. Highly water resistant
5. Non-greasy feeling… no more hot and sticky skin!!
6. Won’t sting, or drip into eyes… great for athletes and little ones!!!
7. Cooling effect on the skin… minerals act like a mini air conditioner on the skin!!
   • Zinc absorbs heat ( like a sponge)
   • Titanium Dioxide reflects heat ( like a car windshield sun deflector)
   • Iron Oxides are excited by sunlight and create a cooling effect on skin.
8. Easy to reapply… sunscreen should be reapplied throughout the day.
   • 80% of aging comes from incidental sun exposure.
   • Easy to apply under and over makeup.
   • 3 great colores to choose from.
9. Great for sensitive skin… Titanium Dioxide has anti microbial properties once it is activated by the sun.
   • The minerals sit on top of the skin.
   • Act like a breathable band aid to protect skin from all environmental pollutants.
   • Keeps skin clean.
10. Safe for the environment. Refillable. Won’t hurt the oceans or reefs like chemical sunscreens do.

= pretty intelligent sun protection

I am a skin care therapist, so it may seem odd that I would get so excited about make up, but I am.  I’m not talking about make up in the traditional sense though.

Why am I so passionate about mineral make-up? It’s simple really- I work with clients to improve the health and quality of their skin. They spend money on their treatments and on professional products, only to have this work, time and money laid to waste by a traditional make up full of dyes, talc, fillers, mineral oils, fragrance etc.

Since we opened four years ago, I’ve been wanting to bring in a mineral make up, but none of the brands that I’d been introduced to were a fit here at Spruce Body Lab- until we found ColoreScience.

ColoreScience is a mineral-based, treatment cosmetic developed in 2000 by Diane Ranger- the inventor of mineral make-up.  In addition to the highest quality and concentration of minerals, ColoreScience contains the latest advancements in skin care ingredients including peptides, antioxidants and vitamins to arrest the triggers of aging in the skin. 

ColoreScience minerals limit sun exposure by providing an SPF 20, camouflage uneven pigmentation and improve skin health and hydration without ingredients such as talc, dyes, fragrance, mineral oil, tars and preservatives found in traditional make-up formulations.

There are many brand variations of mineral make-up in the cosmetic market to choose from. Points to consider when choosing a treatment cosmetic are: what is the concentration of minerals and are there fillers or preservative present in the formulation?

The flawless, light coverage that enhances the natural beauty of the skin, rather than covering it up is what I find so gratifying about these products. There is an amazing camouflage palette to address scarring and pigmentation variations in the skin, that’s fool proof to use. I could go on and on.

If you’re curious about these products, book in consult with a Spruce Body Lab Skin Care Therapist and put your best face forward- stop hiding behind your makeup! 

Oh- and they have Menerals too for guys. It’s not as scary as it sounds. A VERY light amount of titanium dioxide to even out the skin tone infused with antioxidants to prevent aging. We have some men trying it so far- they’re adventurous and they look great for it!

‘Sun damage’, once a vague and oft-misunderstood term has become a part of the commonplace language of skin care. 

Uneven pigmentation (which look like freckles), dilated capillaries (which appear as redness in the skin) and a leathery appearance and texture are the mainstays of sun damaged skin.  

One thing I find is that as people start noticing these changes in their skin, they want an explanation of what could have caused them to appear. However, sun damage that starts coming to the surface isn’t necessarily triggered by current circumstances; it’s usually the result of years of sun exposure dating back to childhood. 

Exceptions to this rule are areas of pigmentation that arise due to hormonal fluctuations also known as melamsa or pregnancy mask. This type of pigmentation is treatable with topical solutions or professional treatments when the hormonal disruption or change is over. 

There are solutions that will greatly improve the overall tone and appearance of the skin and reverse some of the damage that has been done.

In this series of articles we’ll look at some different products and how they work to treat sun damaged skin.

At Spruce Body Lab we recently hosted a UV education event with Coppertone which involved taking UV photos of people’s skin.  The UV camera literally sees under the skin’s surface to show areas of accumulative sun damage.  While this is a fascinating proposition to me as a Skin Therapist- I wasn’t really surprised to find that  most people feared knowing about the unseen damage beneath their skin.

The concept of wearing sunscreen isn’t new- people are aware of the damaging effects of the sun, but it doesn’t always seem to translate into actions with their skin care routines. When I’m  Face Mapping clients during a skin treatment and asking them about how often they wear sunscreen, more often than not- people confess that they only wear sunscreen if it’s sunny outside or if they know they will be in the sun for long periods of time.  I really do cringe a little when I hear this.

There are also the culprits who use tanning beds, but they cover up their faces or people who are afraid that they are not getting adequate vitamin D if they wear sunscreen. Something I recently learned is that sunscreen only protects our skin from 55% of the free radical inflammation caused by sun exposure. As with all areas of research and development, there will be misinformation and out-dated ideas that can lead to some of the aforementioned approaches to dealing with sun exposure.  The Skin Therapists at Spruce Body Lab make a point of staying up to date and keeping clients informed about new products, ingredients and research.

Something I always educate my clients about is the vital difference between UVA and UVB rays and their effects on the skin. UVB comes through the atmosphere in abundance on sunny days and is responsible for sun burns.  Most sun screens provide very effective protection from UVB rays. UVA rays come through the atmosphere on even the most cloudy days. These rays penetrate deeply into the skin and have been shown to cause DNA damage; they are responsible for the majority of skin aging. Sunscreens won’t effectively block these rays unless they contain ingredients such as zinc oxide and avobenzone.

If you look at protecting your skin in terms of exposure to daylight- it really changes how you think about sun damage.  Let’s say you commute to work for 30 minutes in the morning and at night.  Even with just that 60 minutes of day light exposure you’re taking in 5 hours  of sunlight per week, 20 hours per month etc.  If you look at sun exposure as accumulative throughout your lifetime, it really sinks in how important UV protection is to skin health, no matter what the weather is like outside. 

If there’s one message that I want relay about protecting skin from UV radiation, it’s that you don’t have to have wear a visor, unflattering UV protection clothing or carry around a parasol.  It’s as simple as putting sunscreen on exposed skin every day before you go outside.  It means carrying a small bottle of sunscreen with you in the summer months to reapply when you find yourself outside for longer than you planned.  It’s simple and it’s THE MOST effective tool we have to prevent aging and keep our skin looking it’s best for as long as possible.