Rachael Ray

UVA, UVB, SPF… huh? No need to sweat the sun protection terms this summer! My friend, skin care expert Celeste Hilling, is back with Seven Sun Safety tips for a healthy summer.

Celeste shared some sobering statistics with me recently. She said that one in five Americans are found to have skin cancer in their lifetime. While that number is epidemic, what is more epidemic is the fact that only one in five people wear sunscreen on a daily basis, even though 94 percent of them know that continued exposure to the sun can potentially cause cancer.

These numbers don’t lie; they support the fact that safe sun should be practiced by the whole family. I urge you to practice the Seven Sun Safety Tips from Celeste and her team at Skin Authority this summer:

Tip #1 - Use sunscreen every day, rain or shine. To determine the quality, check the SPF (sun protection factor) number. Those with an SPF 15 or greater have higher protection against UVB (ultraviolet B rays) or burning rays. In addition to SPF protection, buy sunscreens which offer full-spectrum protection from UVA (ultraviolet A rays), or aging rays associated with serious, long-term damage.

Tip #2 – Look at the active ingredient label for UVA age-blocking elements such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or anything in the avobenzone family.

Tip #3 - Don’t skimp. The average-size body requires a shot glass worth of sunscreen to achieve maximum coverage.

Tip #4 - Don’t dig to the bottom of your beach bag for last year’s sunscreen. Sun protection expires before 12

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months.

Tip #5 - Don’t fry, re-apply. Re-applying your sunscreen at least every two hours is crucial to maintain sun protection. However, immediately re-apply after swimming or sweating.

Tip #6 – Understanding sun protection will soon be easier. The Food and Drug Administration will start using stars to rate sunscreens. A zero rating means no protection, while four stars is the highest level. Skin Authority’s Sunscreen Moisturizer SPF 30 UVA 4-Stars is one of the first sun protection products to achieve the four-star rating.

Tip #7 - Double up on safety by using a 20 percent concentration of topical Vitamin C under your sunscreen daily to boost the immune defense of your skin cells against UV damage as well as reduce the appearance of brown spots.

Special sun deal! Through July 31, Skin Authority is offering 20 percent off any individual sun protection product purchased online at www.skinauthority.com/sun-protection. Just enter SUNPROTECTION in the Coupon Code field at Check Out to receive your discount.

As the leading healthy skin care company, Skin Authority provides free access to the safe-sun advice of its licensed skin care coach’s via 866-325-SKIN and skinauthority.com. Skin Authority products are available online at www.skinauthority.com and through 150 leading spas including Ritz-Carlton, Golden Door and Noble House properties.

Cheer!