How to protect yourself against the sun without applying toxic chemicals onto your skin

With summer holidays well on their way, many of us are enjoying being out in the sun. But as we all know; the warm and pleasant sun rays can also cause us harm if we are not careful.

The go-to advice to avoid this has long been to wear sunscreen. Sunscreen does indeed protect us from harmful UV radiation but many of the chemicals that are frequently used in sunscreens are, unfortunately, harmful themselves – either to our own health or to the environment.

So, how do we best protect ourselves against the sun’s UV radiation while, at the same time, considering the chemical ingredients present in sunscreens?

Sunscreens are usually divided into two categories: those using chemical filters and those using physical filters (also known as mineral filters). Chemical filters use chemicals to absorb UV rays, while physical filters deflect the rays from our skin.

“Many of the chemicals that are frequently used in sunscreens are, unfortunately, harmful”

Physical filters are comprised of zinc and titanium dioxide particles, which are naturally occurring minerals and therefore often viewed as being a safer choice. Furthermore, sunscreens with physical filters do not penetrate the skin to the same extent as the ones using chemical filters do.

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