Expert sun care advice for Sun Awareness Week 2023

As part of Sun Awareness Week, 1st -7th May 2023, Alexia Blake, our Director of Research and Development, explains how to take care of your skin during the sunnier summer months.

SPF All Day, Every Day

Practice safe sun exposure and apply products with broad spectrum sun protection against UVA and UVB rays, especially if you plan on spending prolonged periods of time outdoors. Our Rejuvenating SPF 25 Day Cream is the perfect summer formula – layerable, providesbroad-spectrum coverage, and loaded with other ingredients to protect skin from the damaging effects of UV exposure, such as our proprietary ageing prevention blend of CBD and CBG, hyaluronic acid to combat drying, and a ferment extract to protect against UV-induced collagen loss.

Be careful of actives that cause photosensitivity 

Unfortunately, many of our go-to ingredients for tackling signs of ageing, such as retinoids, AHAs’s (glycolic acid, lactic acid) and BHAs (salicylic acid) can cause our skin to become more sensitive to sunlight. This is known as ‘photosensitivity’ and can increase the risk of sunburn or irritation following sun exposure. If using these ingredients during the summer, be sure to protect skin from direct sunlight when possible by either wearing a hat, staying in the shade, or being diligent about SPF application. Alternatively, consider formulas with non-photosensitizing ingredients such as our Rejuvenating Face Serum. This formula contains CBG to protect skin from the ageing effects of UV exposure, as well as palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, one of the most research-backed anti-ageing peptides in the market that has been proven to address signs of ageing as effectively as retinol, but without the irritation.

Incorporate antioxidants into your morning skincare routine 

While there’s no doubt that SPF is a must during summer, the reality is that even a highly-rated SPF product won’tprovide 100% protection against UV rays. Enter antioxidants, which have the ability to prevent some of the damage caused by reactive oxygen species, which are triggered by UV exposure. CBG and to a lesser extent CBD have been shown to be 1,800 times more effective than Vitamin C at preventing the formation of reactive oxygen species, while also being able to stop inflammation and other ageing-related changes to your skin from occurring following UV exposure.Try our Rejuvenating Day Mousse for a daily synergistic dose of CBD and CBG, or our Rejuvenating Day Serum which contains our highest level of CBG.

Treat your skin post-sun

We’ve all been there – the first sunburn of the year. If (or when) this happens, be kind to your skin and layer up on skin-soothing ingredients that can reduce redness, cellular inflammation and help with the impending post-sun dryness. Our Rejuvenating Night Cream is the perfect post-sun treatment thanks to CBD and CBG which work together to combat inflammation caused by UV exposure. Our Night Cream also contains a hydrating complex to restore moisturisation to the skin over 24 hours as well as Manilkara multinervis extract which promotes the synthesis of elastin, one of the key proteins in our skin that gets directly damaged by excessive UV exposure. 

Dress down your daily skincare routine

Summer weather can bring both heat and humidity, which when combined with heavy and very occlusive skincare products, can lead to clogged pores and breakouts, particularly for those with oily or blemish-prone skin. Consider swapping out your heavy-duty winter products for lightweight summer formulas. Our Rejuvenating Day Mousse is a great choice due to its featherlight formula and inclusion of niacinamide, which is known to regulate sebum production.