UV Rays and You
Song sunscreen.
Alright. Who invented ultraviolet rays anyway, and what good are they? What bad are they seems obvious enough. They leave us with serious radiation burns and damaged retinas, followed by a good chance of developing cancer. Great planning there, gods that be. Psychopathic geniuses. Over-the-edge creators of destructive forces. WTF! Do you want us here or don’t you?
Regardless, we want to continue to be here since we are here already and don’t enjoy looking forward to the prospect of hiding indoors for all eternity, or to frying like bacon sizzling in a pan 30 seconds after we venture forth into the sunlight on our ozone depleted planet.
We need sun protection that works.
And chocolate.
We need chocolate.
And air conditioning.
So the chocolate doesn’t melt.
I am sure that all those African children forced into slave labour on cocoa plantations wouldn’t want their efforts to provide me with a perfect chocolatey treat to be thwarted by 45 degree Celsius heat. And someone had better step up to the plate and provide those kids with UV protection. Oh yes, and while they’re at it; an education, adequate food, clean water, clothing, housing, sanitation, and access and/or return to their families.
Fair trade or no trade.
Chocolate is too complicated. I’ll settle for apple juice from Ontario. And potato chips, from Ontario.
And suncreen and sunglasses from whoever makes the best, safest products on the planet. Sans slavery or child labour or evil commercial practices.
Who could this be?
I’ll let you know, as soon as I find out.
Apparently, the right amount of UV rays helps us synthesize Vitamin D. Vitamin D is thought to be essential for the growth of healthy bones and teeth and for the proper functioning of the thyroid. Too little can result in osteoporosis and breast cancer, as well as tooth loss and thyroid trouble. Melanin production is supposed to offset and repair the mild damage this correct amount of UV ray exposure causes.
UVA rays are just a visit from the anti-Christ. They cause deeper, nastier, radiation damage to the skin and the eyes.
UVB rays are the friendlier folks that help us make Vitamin D when they react with certain chemicals in our skin.
Sunshine Superman.
And Sunshine Superwoman!
And all of us in between.
But Sunshine Superman et al had better be wearing Sunshine Superman sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt and light cotton pants over their Speedos if they want to escape Kryptonite poisoning.
Vitamin D is added to milk cartons and vitamin supplements in order to provide us with that bone-mass building boost without risking free, yet unwanted laser therapy from the sun.
I think we need to rethink that phrase, “sunny disposition”.
The sun obviously hates us.
Yellow is not mellow.
Which sunscreens are safe and effective? The Environmental Working Group, EWG for short, has published research on 258 sunscreens popular and available on the world market today. Only 40 of these sunscreens did not contain ingredients that were either ineffective or dangerous, or both. Please check out the list at their website, http://ewg.org/. Or google ewg suncreen.
The EWG is a stand alone organization that depends upon donations from you, the public, in order to fund its very important research. Their aim is to keep everyone safe from commercial greed and stupidity and financial desperation, any combination of which allows deadly and questionable materials to be utilized in cosmetics, foodstuffs, health care and beauty products. Please check out their site. You will be impressed with the vast amount of information they have provided on thousands of products that we use every day — and often shouldn’t.
The EWG even notes which companies have been using animal testing and which ones are not. The EWG does not condone animal testing.
Good for them. The EWG sunscreen safety list is a godsend.
It’s a dog’s life. EWG sunscreen list rocks.
I am currently researching the ethics utilized with regard to treatment of workers employed at the various green-lighted companies, so that we can be sure to promote companies that are attempting to provide proper wages and safety conditions for their employees, as well as excellent products for consumers.
Ditto with regards to sunglasses manufacturers.
Please note that sunscreen should be applied once every two hours regardless of its SPF rating. Higher ratings are supposed to ensure that one can stay out in the sun longer without turning red, but this has not proven to be the case. And if one does not turn red, apparently, UV damage can still take place. The delayed appearance of redness can indeed be contributing to long-term UV damage, by lengthening the amount of time people stay out in the sun.
That’s just great.
From personal experience, kukui oil works amazingly well. Not only does it heals burns and scarring and get rid of little age lines, I did not burn once on a trip to Hawaii after I discovered and used this local product prior to venturing out into paradise. I have no idea as to whether I have suffered long term UV damage, but I do know that I burned to a crisp the first day in Hawaii, when we went to Waikiki Beach. I was only frolicking in the water for a few minutes and was lobster red. I applied aloe vera, which usually does the trick for me, both as a sunburn preventative and as an after burn fix, if I had not had the opportunity to apply anything before venturing outside.
The aloe vera did not work at all this time. One of the lovely locals told me about kukui oil, so we all gave it a shot.
Kukui nut
Kukui oil is a miracle from heaven. It is full of vitamins A and E and other goodies that a great for the skin. And it truly stopped us from burning. We were in Hawaii for two weeks. I would put some kukui oil on before swimming and after I got out, or once every two hours if I was swimming any longer than that, or hanging around on the beach. We went on a whale watching expedition on the Big Island of Hawaii, and kukui oil kept us from burning under the glaring sun.
Take it from me; kukui oil could be the friendly, god-given product that you are looking for.
Well.ca and Amazon.com and Herbal Remedies.com all carry excellent kukui oil products. I just use plain kukui oil because it did the trick for me.
Why mess with perfection?
Macadamia nut oil is supposed to be really good for the skin also, and some brands offer a combination of the two oils, as well as grapefruit seed oil and lavender essential oil. Lavender oil is used to treat skin burns and as an antiinflammatory. Grapfruit seed oil is used in massage oil to break down cellulite.
For a review of excellent sunglasses, and why they are excellent, please check out my sunglasses blogs at this website, Over The Hill Health Matters. Right here. Simply go the the Categories section and punch up Vision. It’s easy. You can do it. It’s a lot easier than me writing it all over again, when nothing has changed with regard to the information available on sunglasses, except to warn you that some inexpensive sunglasses have been found to be better than some very expensive ones. None of the styles in the brands that I have noted are bad for anyone. Just make sure that you get as much protection for the side of the eye as you do for the front, and all will be well if they are graded as at least UPF 400. This means that you need to buy sunglasses that have wrap around lenses or very wide temple arms, or both. Opting for stylish but stupid isn’t going to matter too much to you or your fans if you go blind, now is it?
Think smart.
Don’t be a tart.
Getting ready for the beach. Leaving the mud mask on.
Forget bringin’ sexy back, boys and girls.
Get those godawful goggle wrap arounds. Wear that goofy, wide-brimmed hat and those baggy cotton pants and top. Lather your face with thick viscosity motor oil. It doesn’t burn in engines, so it should protect you from the sun. Carry a giant umbrella. Wear gloves. And oh yes; always wear socks with sandals.
I guess the extremist Muslims are right: buy a burqa and wrap around sunglasses, or stay indoors.
Song sunscreen
That goes for you men too! Unless you prefer the balaclava/sunglasses look.
But then you will be shot as a thief or a terrorist.
Better to be a boy in a burqa.
Song sunscreen. (traffic generating phrase)
Actually, try out some of the latest sunscreen clothing on the market today. SunSoul UV Protectant Clothing, brought to you by The Freedom Store.ca.
Pat.
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Many of the higher quality sunglass lenses on the market claim to block 100% of these damaging rays. Eye Care Products
Many lenses do indeed claim to block 100 per cent of UV rays, but this only applies to those rays that they actually block, not the rays that hit the eye peripherally. You must block UV rays from the side, not just those in front of the eye.
Many of the lenses sold in Europe only block 95 per cent of the UV rays that hit them, as this is the accepted standard there.