Is there a natural way to protect our skin from being burnt by the sun?

Knowing of the many toxic ingredients in traditional sunscreen, I refused to put that chemical soup on my skin. There had to be another way.

Yes, we can cover our body with clothing and opt to stay in the shade; but what if we want to enjoy the beautiful benefits of the sun’s rays and not worry about burning?

As a fairly light-skinned guy (Irish and German background), this has historically been a challenge. I thought it simply came with the territory of my family heritage. “We don’t tan, we burn” is the story I told myself and believed. While the power of thought is a whole other article, it does begin there. It begins with the open-mindedness that there is another solution out there. Over the past decade, I have been on a health and personal development journey. I have noticed that with my higher quality of living and avoidance of sunscreen, I burned a bit less with each year of improved health.

I wondered at this point if it was possible to avoid burning at all and enjoy as much sun as I like.

Here is what I have found to work:

1. Begin going outside in the sun year-round and exposing as much skin as possible starting in short time frames. This is where we begin to build up the tolerance. Maybe opt for 5 minutes every morning and see how your body responds, gradually increasing the time. Yes, this means starting in the late winter or early spring here in Massachusetts. Free cold and light therapy!

2. Clean up your food and water intake. If our body is busy dealing with toxins; that will be its highest priority. Hint: eliminate seed oils such as canola oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil to name a few. There are many new studies coming out that seed oil consumption may lead to higher burning rates on the skin. Your skin is a reflection of what goes on inside you. The body will always focus first on eliminating the toxins before anything else. Rid the poison, then focus on growth and healing. It may be worthwhile to look into a quality detoxification and replenishment program such as the Purium Ultimate Lifestyle Transformation program here.

3. Hats. I find that my face is the one part that needs the most protection. Our skin tends to be much tighter on our face compared to other areas of our body and usually gets the most sun. I was never a hat guy, but keeping my face shielded in the peak sun time works wonders. I allow my face to get adequate sun in the morning or evening when the sun is less direct.

4. Coconut oil (maybe). After you have built up a decent tolerance to the sun, you can opt to use coconut oil as a natural sunscreen. This is ONLY after you have a strong baseline tolerance. Coconut oil has a variety of estimated SPFs ranging from 4-7. If you have no baseline, this is an oil which will cause you to burn. Be very mindful of using this. This may be best used to help the skin heal at the end of the day. Be sure to give the skin nourishment with aloe, coconut oil, or a high-quality lotion.

5. Astaxanthin. Now this last one has been hands-down the biggest gamechanger. As I mentioned prior, I was doing a variety of these tactics for years and still getting a light burn every so often. About 10 weeks ago, I started working outside with an urban landscaping company doing 10-12 hour daily shifts in the sun. I was worried that I might not be able to handle that. I had researched about the benefits of dense greens and something called “Astaxanthin”. Sounds like a chemical I thought. Can’t be good for me. Can’t be natural. The deeper I dove, the more I was impressed. It is a powerful antioxidant that is naturally found in Salmon, Krill, Trout, Algae and a few other sources.

I decided to start taking astaxanthin everyday in hopes that it would help me with my new sun-packed days of working. I have been absolutely blown away by the results. Not only have I remained strong and endured these long days, my skin has not burned and I have gotten a decent tan (for an Irish & German guy). My entire perspective of what is possible for me has changed. I hope the same can be true for you. As is the case for many of favorites, I source my Astaxathin from Purium; an organic, non-gmo company which is going 100% plastic free. They’re awesome.

Here is what they have about the product on their site:

“Purium’s Super Xanthin (ZAN-thin) contains a carotenoid that is considered a more potent antioxidant than beta carotene. Astaxanthin helps protect eyes and skin from UV A and B damage by quenching singlet and triplet oxygen. It helps combat free radical damage to muscles and helps reduce the buildup of lactic acid that causes post-workout soreness. We recommend combining this product with our Super Amino 23 so you can get the most out of your workouts.

• May protect muscle tissue from damage

• May provide some protection for the skin from UVA and UVB damage

• May reduce lactic acid build-up and improve athletic recovery time”

Some of those recovery benefits may also help explain how I’ve been able to dive into so much physical labor and thrive in the process.

Give all of these options a try and message me on Instagram with your progress @wholehealthconnections

Grab your Astaxanthin (Super Xanthin) and save $50 off a 3-pack with the code wholehealth

Thanks for reading. Go soak up those rays!