Sunsense

If you have sunburn, it’s important to avoid the sun as much as possible and stay cool indoors.

Cool your skin by taking frequent cold baths and showers; you’ll want to apply a generous amount of lotion (a product that contains soothing aloe vera is a good choice) to your sunburn to hydrate your damaged skin and relieve the pain.

You’re more likely to be dehydrated when you have sunburn, so it’s important to drink plenty of water to help your skin to heal.

As your baby has thin, delicate skin compared to adults, you should choose a sun cream specially formulated with their skin in mind.

Baby sun creams are kinder to skin and don’t contain any added ingredients like fragrance that can cause irritation.

Please note, you shouldn’t use sun cream on your baby if they are under 6 months old as they are at a greater risk of developing side effects like a rash - instead, make sure their skin is covered when they’re outside and keep them in the shade.

The NHS recommends using a sunscreen that has at least an SPF of 30 to protect your skin against UVB rays.

Also, make sure your sunscreen or daytime moisturiser has at least a 4-star UVA protection rating. 

This applies whether you have a darker skin tone or skin that tans easily - you can still get skin damage if you don’t apply sunscreen. 

Sun cream isn’t just important on warm, sunny days, but on cloudy and rainy days, too.

Without wearing a layer of sun cream, your skin is at risk of being exposed to harmful UV rays which can lead to skin damage, wrinkles, sunburn, and sometimes skin cancer.

It’s important to wear an SPF of at least 30 to ensure you’re protected.

Sunscreen usually lasts for at least 3 years before it goes bad, and after this time, it becomes less effective at blocking UV rays, increasing your chances of getting sunburn or skin cancer.

However, if your bottle is less than 3 years old but it’s been left in a hot car for a couple of months, it probably won’t be very effective, either.

As well as wearing a good quality sunscreen, we recommend wearing light clothing that can help to protect vulnerable areas from the fun.

For example, you should wear a hat to protect the sensitive skin on your scalp, which can be very difficult to protect with sun creams or sprays, and a pair of sunglasses can help to protect the delicate skin around your eyes.

The sun is always at its strongest between 11 am and 3 pm, so if you can find some shade during those hours, your skin will thank you for it.