🍂☀️Don’t Pack Away the SPF: Why Sun Safety Matters in Autumn

Written by Ewan 

It’s that time of the year! The time when the daylight hours dwindle, while the overnight temperatures chill, inviting frost. The time when many of the trees in our Forest City here at the Antler River, or Deshkan Ziibi (also known as the Thames) begin to change colour and drop their leaves, blanketing the cold ground in preparation for the coming winter.

A common mistake that we tend to make is forgetting about sun safety during cooler weather. Unfortunately, ultraviolet radiation, like that of our sun, isn’t beholden to temperature. Counterintuitively, despite having fewer peak daylight hours and rainier weather, we are still vulnerable to sun exposure; potentially more so than in summertime because we lose shade along with falling leaves and get overconfident, not realizing that up to 80% of UV rays can pierce right through cloud cover.

When we talk about sun safety, we’re talking not only about the risk of sunburn, but also risk of skin cancer, and risk of photoaging. Sunburns can be mild to severe, but even a mild sunburn can have lasting effects beyond the immediate redness and pain. Every sunburn suffered increases the chance of developing skin cancer. Some types of skin cancer are simply inconvenient to treat, but some types can be resistant to treatment, and even fatal. In less extreme situations though, all sun exposure is cumulative. Did you know that it takes damage to the DNA of your skin cells to trigger a suntan or even the darkening of a freckle? Or that UV rays break down the collagen and elastin fibers of your skin, leading to fine lines and wrinkles which could have taken years longer to develop otherwise? The time and resources that your body uses fighting to repair even small amounts of daily damage are time and resources being diverted from healing and regeneration of your body’s other cells and organs.

Fortunately for us, we don’t need to live in fear of the dreaded day star and hide away indoors, shunning the light. Humans are clever creatures and have remarkable skill when it comes to ingenuity and adaptation! We have, available to us, everything we need to minimize UV exposure and mitigate risk. There are of course parasols, hats, and other protective clothing, both made from traditional materials, and new high-performance fabrics, as well as numerous sunblock creams, sprays, lotions, and potions. In fact, there are so many of these products on the market these days that it can be overwhelming trying to choose which one is right for you. If you’d like to avoid the trial and error of the drugstore aisle, Rebel Esthetics by Renaissance now carries Sea Flora Skincare’s new Sun Shield Series, which is our favorite, naturally. If you prefer to shop elsewhere, make sure to choose something around 30SPF or higher that offers broad spectrum coverage. Depending on your personal priorities, you may also want to consider things like country of origin, environmental impact, safety of ingredients, and texture of formula when making your selection. Whatever product you wind up using, it will need to be applied at least 15-30 minutes before sun exposure and reapplied every hour or two if you’re out and about that long.

Now go forth with confidence, armed with the knowledge to make fearless choices, and embrace the turning of the seasons once again!