Sun-sation

Everyone loves a great tan, but sometimes the risk is not worth your bronzed glow. It's easy to forget that protecting your skin is important all year round and not just during those sunny summer days. There are easy ways to incorporate protecting your skin into your daily beauty routine. It is important to use a moisturizer that has an SPF of at least 15 or 30 every morning. This will help keep your skin hydrated while preventing wrinkles, sun spots and skin cancer. If you still feel the need to moisturize before bed then do so with a heavier moisturizer or cream that does not contain SPF.

For those of you that wear makeup, buy foundations and lip balms that also contain a high SPF. Through personal experience I find the best foundations contain SPF are also oil free. For people that have an oily skin type you can use a powder that has an SPF, rather than a foundation. Making small improvement like this will dismay unnecessary wrinkles and oddly toned skin. The American Cancer Society has estimated that there will be 62,480 new cases of melanoma in 2008, in which 8,420 will die from the disease by the end of this year. A very frightening statistic! The sun can harm several areas of your body besides your skin, including your eye, lips, and even your hair.
Make sure to get a stylish pair of shades, strong enough to block the sun from your eyes. Even your hair can be saved from sun damage! While not all of us our lucky enough to escape gray roots and obtain natural highlights, we spend quite a bit of money on getting our hair colored. There is nothing worse then going to the salon, walking out with the perfect hair color and then having the sun ruin it for you. There are now hair protector sprays you can spray on your hair everyday to keep the sun from ruining your sleek salon color. My favorite spray is made by Lanza, it goes on lightly without leaving a heavy residue.

Here are some of my top choice sun-sational SPF products:

Foundations
CoverGirl Outlast Liquid Makeup SPF 14 ($9, drugstores)
Max Factor Facefinity Long Lasting Make-Up SPF 15 ($9.50, drugstores)
Origins Nude and Improved Bare-Face Makeup SPF 15 ($18.50, origins.com)
Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation SPF 42 ($30, www.sca.shiseido.com)
Lip Balms and Gloss
M.A.C Tinted Lip Conditioner ($14.50, maccosmetics.com)
Bobbi Brown Lip Tint SPF 15 ($17, bobbibrowncosmetics.com)
Hair
Lanza Swim and Sun Daily UV Protector ($16 , Beauty Distributors and Salons)

So make sure the next time your strolling in the sun, do so with some SPF!
Find out your sun safety IQ by taking this quiz!